Come on, Mariana. Keep it together. We’ll grieve our losses once we’ve made it out of the country.
I steel myself and hurry down the stairs, coming up short when the door at the bottom swings open to reveal Ana Maria.
“Mariana?” she hisses, glancing over her shoulder before stepping inside and closing the door behind her. A second later, the light flickers to life. “What are you doing?”
I bite back a curse. What is she doing awake? She should be sleeping right now.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
“I’m leaving,” I tell her, leaving no room for argument. “Fabian killed Christian and promised me to some old man. If I leave with him, I’ll be dead within the year, so I’m getting the hell out of dodge.”
Tears fill her eyes as she nods. “Good. Very good. Do you have a plan? You know if he finds you, he’ll punish you.”
“I have a new identity waiting and an escape plan. I’m leaving the country tomorrow. I just have to get out of the house. I wasn’t expecting someone to be using the servant’s staircase at this time of day.”
Ana Maria blushes, looking away. “I was going back to my room while the shift change was happening.”
I want to ask her where she was sneaking back from, but I don’t have time for that.
“I have to go, Ana Maria.”
She nods, pulling me into a hug. “I know you do. Be safe and get as far away from Miami as you can. I’ll keep an eye on your brothers. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I squeeze her once more before brushing past her. “Stay safe. I don’t want to hear that you’re the next one he’s killed.”
She waves me off. “Don’t worry about me. I’m no threat to Fabian.”
Neither am I, but he still keeps coming after me.
It’s what I want to tell her, but I don’t have much time.
With a tight smile, I give her a quick wave before ducking into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, I’m hurrying down the sidewalk of my neighborhood toward the waiting car.
“Mariana.” Sebastian nods as I slide into the passenger seat. He hands me a large envelope before he pulls away from the curb and drives away from the only home I’ve ever known. “This has everything you need for your new identity. You didn’t ask, but I forged a transcript with some help from Lark so if you decide you want to continue with college you can.”
“Thanks, Seb.” Taking a deep breath, I open the envelope and pull out my new ID card. “Luna Salazar?”
He chuckles. “You can’t keep any part of your name, but I know how much you loved your dad’s nickname for you.”
Once again, I’m fighting tears. “Thank you, Seb—for everything, but especially for that. Were you able to get the car for me?”
“I was. I’m going to drop you off at the bus stop. You’ll ride it for two stops, and you’ll find the car in the gas station parking lot. The keys are in the envelope.” He hesitates. “I wiped everything from my system, so Fabian won’t be able to access your new identity, but he’s not dumb, Mari.”
“Luna,” I correct him. “My name is Luna now. He won’t kill you—you’re too useful to him—but don’t take any chances. Tell him you let me set it up myself so you don’t know what name I used.”
Sebastian clears his throat as he pulls up to the curb. “Take care of yourself, Luna. There’s also a burner phone in there so you can reach Lark, and I made sure you have funds he can’t trace. Get the hell out of here as fast as you can because if he catches your trail? I don’t know what he’ll do.”
Fabian has been in charge for two weeks, and he always has everyone terrified of him. I don’t know what he did to cause this kind of fear, but I’m thankful Sebastian was still willing to help me.
“I’ll be safe, I promise. Thank you again.” I climb out of the car and watch him drive away. This is one of the few bus routes that run twenty-four hours. I’m not exactly familiar with the bus system, having never used it before, but I figure two stops should be easy enough.
Not five minutes later, the bus arrives and I use the transit card before heading to an empty seat near the side door.
Two stops later, I climb off and cross the empty street to the gas station. I hit the button on the key and hurry over to the nondescript silver car that lights up. When I turn on the car, I find the gas tank full before pulling out.
New York City is nearly a nineteen-hour drive without stops. That should give me plenty of time since I’m not meeting Lark until noon tomorrow.
Now, I just have to get the hell out of Miami before Fabian realizes I’m missing.
