Fraud (Antihero Inferno #2) - Lily White Page 0,71
while they weren’t carried out like the guys were, they stumbled out on their own with shocked expressions just before leaving school and never looking back.
“So they will chase us.”
She nods her head and scoots closer to where I’m standing.
I should never have dragged Emily into this. And being that I’m a good friend, I need to find a way to get her out of it.
“You should go inside. I’ll run.”
Her eyes snap to me, red hair flying over her shoulders as her head turns my direction.
“Are you nuts? We should both go inside.”
No. I’m almost positive they’ve already considered that course of action and have a way to terrorize us even if we manage to hide in the house. Emily doesn’t deserve it.
This is a result of my dumb decisions and fuckups. And she shouldn’t have to pay the price.
“Do me a favor,” I say, my voice shaky and quiet. “Go inside the house and lock the door.”
“What? Did you not just hear me? We should both go inside.”
Releasing her hand, I shake my head and run a slow look over all eight of the guys.
“I can’t do that,” I answer, my muscles loosening as I decide on my final course of action.
“Ivy, seriously, turn around and come with me.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
Because it’s best I just get this over with.
My head turns with one last look at the scene around me, terror clogging my throat that I struggle to speak around.
“Because I’m running.”
With that, I haul ass to my left and jump off the porch, my legs pumping as fast as they can toward the tree line.
The horn they always blow fills the silence of the night, my feet moving quicker to hear it.
Gabriel
It’s amusing that Ivy thought she could run. It only took a few hours for me to pinpoint exactly where she and Emily had gone after she wrecked my house and shredded our tires, but rather than chasing after her immediately, I decided to let her rest.
Not because she deserved another mini vacation, but more because I wanted to take my time planning out my next move while also allowing her to feel comfortable that she’d evaded me.
Everything was timed perfectly.
For two days, I let her sit pretty with the belief she was out of reach. Meanwhile, I was formulating the web that would ensnare her as soon as all the threads were tied together.
It didn’t surprise me she called almost immediately after the article came out that we’d broken up. I knew as soon as it was out that social media would run with it, one or both of the women seeing it when they scrolled through.
She called and was led to believe I was still a distance away. What she didn’t know is that we were already on top of them.
I hear Sawyer blow the horn and know Ivy is running again, except this time, she’s running right to me and doesn’t know it.
There’s only one trail we could find near the cabin where she and Emily are staying, and while the rest of the guys set up to cage them in near the house, I went into the woods to wait.
I know Ivy well enough to know she’ll take off. The woman can’t help herself when it comes to escaping and evading.
In truth, I’m just screwing with her, a love slap back for what she did to my house before stealing my car. This run will do nothing to pay the price she owes. It’s simply payment for fucking with me when she escaped my house.
And it’s only me out here. None of the other guys will run her down because when it comes to Ivy, she’s nobody else’s but mine.
Leaning against a tree along the path, I listen carefully for her quick footsteps.
Where I stand, the trail branches off in three directions. Straight, left and right, and I wonder which she’ll choose.
I’m the devil at the crossroads again, but I don’t wear a mask, and I’m not willing to bargain.
A minute or two pass before I finally hear her approaching, her steps pounding the dirt as her legs brush low lying branches. Pushing away from the tree, I step out into the path, my arms crossed over my chest and my feet planted shoulder width apart.
Ivy turns a bend and glances behind her to see who’s in pursuit, still not realizing the danger she should worry about is right in front of her.