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“I don’t want you getting anywhere near him.”

“He’s downstairs already, Ashe. He’ll know if I leave.”

“Shit.” I could hear the rumble of his bike in the background, along with the sound of general highway noise. He must’ve been on the fucking side of the road somewhere.

“I can’t get to you right now, darlin’. Not quick enough anyway.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “It’s okay. I’ll figure it ou?—”

“No,” Ashe cut me off. “I’ll send one of the guys to come and pick you up. Can you get onto the street without passing him?”

“I can exit through the front lobby instead of the garage.”

“Do that. Get to that little 7-Eleven on the corner and wait by the doors so you can head inside if he finds you.”

“It’s okay, Ashe. I just don’t want to see him, but I don’t think he’d actually hurt me.”

If Theo was undercover for The EA, the last thing he would want to do would be blow his cover. I could only assume that he probably would’ve been on his best behaviour if I did decide to confront him, but I just didn’twantto.

That may have made me difficult, or made me a brat—but everything inside of me was screaming to avoid the man at all costs.

“Yeah, well I’m not taking any fucking chances.”

I put a hand over my mouth, rubbing back and forth as I took a shaky inhale.

God.

This man.

“Okay,” I said, but it came out as a whisper.

“Head down to the shop, Princess. Let me organise somebody to come get you. I’ll wait here with my phone until I know you’ve been picked up. Okay?”

“Okay,” I repeated. “Thanks Ashe.”

He didn’t reply, he didn’t say anything else.

We stayed like that on the phone for a little while longer, neither of us saying anything, before I hung up and finished getting dressed.

As I headed out into the hall, I could hear the whir of the elevator working and my heart dropped into my stomach. I didn’t know if it was Theo coming, but I didn’t want to find out either, so I headed for the stairs and sprinted down and down as fast as I could.

I took a moment to compose myself before heading into the lobby of the building, trying to not look like a panicked mess.

There was only one woman in the hallway, checking her mailbox, and I offered the familiar lady a smile before heading out into the cool air.

The skies were grey, as they so often are in Melbourne, but today felt a little ominous. Maybe it was just my already heightened nerves, or maybe it was the brewing storm over the ocean that made everything feel a little more charged than usual.

But either way, my skin prickled and my senses were on high alert. Every sudden sound, every casual glance from a stranger made me nervous, when usually I barely watched where I was going while I walked around the city.

I hated Theo even more in that moment for making me feel this way.

I quickly got to the 7-Eleven closest to my apartment, and lingered by the doors just like Ashe had said. There was a small garden ledge by the shop’s entrance, and I leaned against it and got comfy. But I didn’t have to wait long at all.

Moments later, the conforming hum of the slow-moving traffic was cut by the sound of a guttural, rumbling motorcycle engine. I stood, immediately feeling a decent weight of the tension easing from my shoulders.

Then two familiar looking bikes mounted the sidewalk, pulling up right in front of me. Prince pulled a spare helmet from under a net and handed it to me as Freddie watched our surroundings with his head on a swivel.

I clasped the helmet tight under my chin and hopped on the back of Prince’s bike, snaking my arms around his torso and clasping my hands together like a makeshift seatbelt.