“Take care.” It was an order, not a wish. “And if you need anything, call.”
He hung up.
____________
It took me four hours to drive to Ljubljana. It was a straight shot, no bathroom breaks. I drove with the same urgency Tiernan and I had when we escaped the work camp at fourteen. Like my ass was on fire.
Once in Ljubljana, I finally did something that wasn’t obsessing over Achilles’s upcoming nuptials—and that was to pee my own weight. As soon as I stopped at a gas station, I ripped out of the driver’s seat and ran to the restroom and peed my life away. When I stared down at my panties, bunched around my thighs, I noticed white dots of Achilles’s cum staining the fabric. That, along with the dull, stretchy pain between mythighs reminded me that we’d screwed each other’s brains out not even six hours ago.
While heknewhe was betrothed.
He could’ve said something before I jumped into bed with him.
Would that have changed things?
Honestly? No.
It wasn’t a real marriage and they weren’t a real couple. And maybe this obsession went both ways, because something told me I would always jump Achilles’s bones given the chance, no matter the circumstances.
It made me understand other women. The side pieces who preferred to take something over nothing, even if it broke their hearts and abolished their honor.
Oh my God, what was wrong with me? He was right. The first thing I was going to do after renting an apartment and buying a car was getting a therapist. Maybe two. Maybe six.
Exiting the restroom, I stocked up on water, energy bars, and gum at the convenience store. I walked out, leaving the car behind, knowing full well no one could track me down at this station, seeing as I was hidden under a ball cap and in a huge black hoodie I’d stolen from Achilles. It still smelled like him, and I was mad at myself for wasting his scent when I should’ve rationed it. Kept it in my backpack for the next time I needed a hit.
I made my way to the nearest main street, hopped on a bus, and didn’t get off until I spotted a busy flea market along the river. There, I approached an elderly man with a casket hat and suspenders. He sat at an empty booth, trying to sell ancient-looking books and records without any success.
“What kind of car do you have?” I asked in English.
He didn’t look up from his books, rearranging them on the small table. “Why you want to know?”
“I’ll buy it from you for double its price.”
That grabbed his attention. His gaze shot up to meet mine. “Renault Clio.”
“How old?”
“Five years.”
I nodded. “What’s that, like, sixteen thousand Euros?” I took a wild guess, but I wasn’t too worried about paying triple the market price. Money wasn’t an issue. Between Achilles and Tiernan, I’d have plenty of it.
“Something like that.” His eyes swept over me curiously.
“I’ll buy it off you for thirty-two thousand. Cash.” I stuck out my hand.
He looked around us, probably wondering if this was a prank. “I can’t leave my things here. I… The paperwork…”
“Don’t need it.” I shook my head. “Take the money, give me the car, and don’t ask any questions.”
He stared at me in disbelief before nodding. “Yes. I agree to this deal of yours, strange girl.”
An hour later, I was driving in a stranger’s car toward Austria.
The drive to Vienna took four and a half more hours, and by the time I arrived, I was way too exhausted to keep on going. I wanted to eat, drink, use the bathroom, take a shower, and get a good night’s sleep. Now that I knew Achilles wasn’t after me—that he was actively throwing people off my scent to help me hide—I could do all that. In theory.
In practice, as I checked into a hotel in Hietzing—a far cry from the seedy motel in Venice—all I could do was go through the motions. Bathroom. Shower. Room service.
I chewed my food robotically without even realizing what I was eating until the plate was half-empty and my stomach gave out.
