see the glint of their peacekeeper badges. Uh oh. She turned and swiftly ran the opposite direction, rain dripping off her face and her kitten slippers squishing on the pavement.
Typically, she’d run straight to law enforcement for help, but in this situation hiding and remaining off-grid was the only way to stay alive. If they found her they’d arrest her for illegal transporter travel. They’d enter her in the criminal database and that would be the end of that.
She had to stay alive, because she couldn’t let that evil bitch, Daniela, gain control of the Garabedian fortune. Who else would Daniela seek to destroy on her path to ultimate power? Gods knew what she planned to do with the corporation and their employees. And what about Gerard? And Roberto? Would Daniela kill them too? She couldn’t keep her cousin and the CFO around—they’d been loyal to Dad. In fact, Gerard hated Daniela with the intensity of a thousand suns and had blamed her for every ill in his life, to the point where Lila had ceased to believe his rants. Now she knew he’d been right all along.
Holy crap, it was cold now, and she was so, so very tired. And could she be more pruned and wet? Her feet were killing her. Tears clogged her eyes. She really, really needed somewhere to stop and rest. Food and drink would be nice too, but mainly somewhere out of the cold and rain, where she could hide and wait for morning. Keeping her mind and body together this whole time was exhausting. She needed to rest and come up with a new plan. But where could she hide? All of the buildings appeared to be office, retail or high-rise apartment buildings with locked entrances.
Finally, she turned a corner and saw the edge of a dense jungle. It was dark and quiet. Damn. Going into a jungle with dangerous predators wasn’t a good idea. Staying in a busy town that would soon reopen with beings starting their day wasn’t an option either.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
And then she found a street that seemed to lead out of town. She walked down the street determined to leave no stone unturned in her search for somewhere to hide. And then a building appeared on the left, at the end of the street. This wasn’t a main road, it turned out to be a dead-end street with only one lone house at the end.
She stepped closer, emboldened by the fact that it was darker and quieter here than anywhere she’d seen so far, with no other housing nearby, so less worries about being seen. The housing she’d passed in the settlement, even in the dark rain, had all looked shiny and new, but this street seemed older and on the edge of the settlement.
Upon closer inspection the building looked condemned. The porch was slanted, and a rain gutter hung at an angle, spewing water onto the walkway. This place was a mess and looked barely habitable, with a wall of jungle behind and overgrown foliage in front.
Which made it a perfect place to hide.
Lila ran up to stand under the leaky front porch. She paused and glanced around, checking yet again that yes, this was a place where no one lived. The jungle encroached, and it looked completely abandoned. She stopped at the door, surprised to see the dim glow of a security system next to the dented panel. This decrepit building had power to maintain security? It had to be an old back-up system.
She placed her palm over the entrance lock. What if it didn’t work? Was it broken? Would it remain locked and not let her in?
Then what would she do?
At this rate she’d end up sleeping in the jungle, eaten by predators. Or caught by the local peacekeepers for breaking and entering, which would be a tragedy. They’d enter her in the universal criminal database and the assassins would be on her in a hot second.
Or she could end up in the throes of an extreme panic attack, while caught outdoors.
She chewed on her lip.
The lock lit up, examined her palm and retinas and then the door slid open. She blew out a relieved breath. Wow.
Lila stumbled inside, freezing and wet. The door shut behind her, sealing out the wind and the rain. She stood there, shivering with cold and fear. Were there lights? She cursed under her breath, because even if there were lights, she couldn’t turn them on, someone might see from