Page 32 of A Secret Escape

Marcus

“ E ight…nine…ten…come on, come on! One more!”

My entire upper body is quivering, muscles screaming, teeth clenched, breath locked, as I channel all my remaining strength into that final push.

Mike’s encouragement spurs me on, my eyes fixed firmly on the silver of the bar hovering above me.

“Eleven!” Mike yells as I slam the bar back onto the rack with a loud clang, my chest burning as I let go of my breath . He jumps back, fists up in the air as though I’ve just won a title fight. “Fuck yes, mate!”

I sit up on the bench, my head dropping down as I attempt to catch my breath. Endorphins surge through me like lightning, momentarily making me feel superhuman.

I know I’m going to pay for it later but fuck that felt good!

“Mate, you’ve just set a new bloody record,” Mike says, his eyes bright with a complimentary glow of admiration and jealousy.

“Yea, well, after last night, let’s just say, I’ve got a renewed strength.” I push to my feet and wipe the sweat from my brow.

Mike smirks. “That good, huh? ”

A grin tugs at my lips as the image of Lila on her knees, looking up at me, flares to life in my mind.

“You wouldn’t believe it,” I say, heading toward the dumbbells.

Mike laughs, a playful grin on his face. “And how old did you say she is?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five, man. Fuck.” He shakes his head with a disbelieving smile. “Some of us really are God’s favourites, huh?”

He laughs and I shake my head, grinning as I grab a pair of twenty-five kilo weights off the rack, launching into a set of alternating curls.

Mike steps beside me, picking up a set of twenties as he matches my rhythm rep-for-rep.

We stay on curls for ten sets, our conversation drifting to the usual topics of protein shakes, politics and complaints about the modern music playing over the gym speakers.

Biceps fully burning, I start to make my way over to the squat rack when a buzz in my pocket startles me.

I reach for it, my eyebrows already furrowing with annoyance as I expect it to be a telemarketer or some other irritation, but it quickly dissipates when I see Lila’s name on the screen.

“Lila! Hey!” I answer.

“Marcus!”

Her voice sounds shaky.

It could just be distorted against the background noise of clanging metal, but it hits me in the chest anyway.

“It’s good to hear from you. You alright?”

A silence lingers on the other end of the phone, stretching just long enough for dread to pool in my stomach .

“Uh, no, not really,” she says.

My pulse quickens, and my back tenses as I hear the panic in her words.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

I don’t need to hear the answer to know I need to get to her. My feet are already moving, my body responding to the fear in her voice before my mind can fully process it.

“Are you alright?” I ask again when she doesn’t say anything.

“No, I… I…” A slight sob on the other end of the phone makes my chest tighten in a painful knot.

“Where are you?” I grab my bag from the locker, slam it shut and walk quickly back onto the gym floor, raising my arm to grab Mike’s attention.

“Home,” she whimpers. “Marcus, I’m scared.”

“Don’t move. I’ll be right there.”

I hang up the phone and run up to Mike, already pulling my coat on.

“Hey sorry man, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow!” And I’m out the door before he can respond, keys already in my hand.

It’s a twenty-minute drive from Salford to Lila’s apartment on the other side of town, but I go as fast as I can, taking shortcuts where I know them and avoiding the traffic of town, running two red lights in the process.

There’s no parking in front of her building so I’m forced to park down on the next street, and I sprint to her door, pressing the buzzer repeatedly, praying to God that she’s safe.

The door buzzes and I fly up the four flights of stairs, taking three steps at a time until I’m at her door. I knock urgently, my mind running with a million different scenarios.

“Who is it?” her voice sounds from the other side of the door .

“It’s Marcus.”

The door swings open and Lila grabs my arm and pulls me in, slamming the door shut behind us as she quickly locks it and bolts it.

“What’s going on? Are you alright?” Adrenaline courses through my veins, but at least she doesn’t appear to be injured.

She turns to face me and the look of raw terror on her face makes my stomach churn. Her complexion has gone pale, and her eyes are red and puffy.

Her back against the door, she slides down to the floor as a sob escapes her throat, her shoulders shaking as tears roll down her cheeks.

Fuck. What the fuck’s happened?

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m here.” I lower myself down on the floor beside her and pull her into me. Her body shakes with each ragged breath. “I’ve got you.”

A wave of nausea rises to my chest as I try to imagine what could have driven her to this state.

I hold her for several minutes, louder sobs gradually softening into gentle whimpers as I stroke her hair. The tension in her shoulders begins to ease, her body slowly melting against mine.

“Can you tell me what happened?” I ask eventually, keeping my voice soft and steady.

She lifts her head off my shoulder, wiping her tear-streaked face with trembling fingers. Her eyes meet mine, red-rimmed and puffy, marred by fear but also – something else. Maybe hope – and trust. Trust in me.

“I know who it was.” Her voice is barely a whisper.

“Know who what was?”

“Last night.”

My breath catches. “What? Who? ”

“His name is Chris. He’s…” She swallows hard. “He’s an idiot I went out with back in school. I haven’t seen him since I was sixteen, which is why I didn’t recognise him.”

Hope rises in my heart. She’s remembered. This nightmare can be over soon.

“Have you called the police?” I ask.

She shakes her head, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye.

“I’m sorry,” she says, dropping her head as she breaks down all over again. “I should have called you.”

My heart aches for her, and I feel a sting of tears in my own eyes as I pull her tight against me, praying that my arms bring her a sense of peace.

I’ll do anything to make this better.

“It’s alright,” I whisper, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “Everything’s alright.”

She shakes her head and stands up suddenly.

“ No, it’s not !” she yells, the unexpected force of her voice startling me.

I slowly push myself up from the floor as she continues.

“It’s not fucking okay, Marcus! He showed up here last night after you left! He threatened me -”

The words hit me like a physical blow. White-hot rage sweeps through me as my brain struggles to process what she’s saying.

“I’m sorry, he – what?”

My pulse throbs in my ears as I take a step back from her, blinking rapidly.

My head feels dizzy and the hairs on my arms stand up as though electrified.

“Let me get this straight…” I measure each word, fighting to stay rational even as adrenaline floods my system. “The man you believe killed someone… in the middle of the street… came here …and you just let him in?”

She shakes her head frantically. “No! I mean, maybe, I don’t know, but –“

My jaw drops as I stare at her, my eyes narrowing in shock as an unwelcome memory surfaces – Elle’s tear-streaked face when she left.

The same sick feeling washes over me now.

“But what?” I ask, my voice harder than I intend.

My chest starts to ache with a familiar pain - a kind of pain I promised I’d never let myself feel again.

My fingers curl into fists at my sides as a hurtful pang cuts through me, sharp and unwelcome.

If she has something else going on, I’m out. I’m not interested in playing these fucked up games.

I turn back to look at her. I need to see the truth in her eyes.

“You still have feelings for this guy?” I ask, the accusation tumbling out before I can stop it.

“ No! ” Lila yells. “Not at all! I swear! It’s nothing like that!”

A million and one thoughts race through my mind, trying to understand.

“Then what? Why else wouldn’t you call the police?” I demand, taking a breath to steady myself as the sound of my own voice comes out more aggressive than I mean it to.

“Because - he threatened me.”

She stands across the room from me, her arms hanging helplessly by her sides, a look of utter defeat etched on her face .

“He asked if I’d told them his name, and when I said I hadn’t - that I didn’t know it was him - he warned that if I said anything else, he’d kill me!”

Her voice breaks on the last words as she brushes past me and drops onto the couch, burying her face in her hands.

I stand frozen for three precise breaths, allowing my initial reaction – jealousy, fear, anger – to settle as her words register in my mind.

He threatened me. If I said anything else, he’d kill me.

Why hadn’t I come back? I’d wanted to. I sat in my fucking car for ten minutes after she’d gone inside, debating whether to go back in, but decided we’d both be better off with a good night’s sleep. Told myself she would have invited me in if she wanted me to stay.

I hadn’t stopped thinking about her even for a minute since last night, finding myself constantly licking my lips all morning, remembering the taste of her.

Her soft cry cuts through my thoughts, piercing my heart like a knife.

I sit down next to her, resting a hand on her back, the jealousy gone, replaced by worry.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

After a moment, the sound of a slight laugh surprises me as Lila lifts her head, wiping her face. Her mascara is smeared under her eyes and her cheeks are red and blotchy, yet somehow, she still looks beautiful.

“I bet most girls don’t cry this much after a first date with you,” she says, a half-smile playing on her lips as she wipes her eyes, the sleeve of my hoodie wet with her tears.

I smile at her, placing a hand on the side of her neck as any memory of pain in my chest fades away, replaced by warmth.

“You are nothing like most girls. ”

Her eyes meet mine, and the trust I see there – despite everything – makes me realise one thing with burning clarity. I won’t let anyone hurt her.

If there’s anything I can do to make things better, I will.

“I’m sorry,” she says again. “I should have called you last night. I didn’t want to scare you.”

“You absolutely should have called.”

Lila drops her head with a nod and looks down at her palms.

“How did he know you lived here?” I ask, my mind finally clearing enough to think straight.

“I don’t know. But I think he’s following me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I was out for a run this morning, just before I called you, and a black car drove past. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I took a different road just in case. Then it drove past again, and…” She starts to explain, but stops herself, taking a deep breath as tears well in her eyes again.

“Come here.” I pull her in against my chest, wrapping my arms around her tight. “It’ll be alright. We’ll figure this out.”

She takes a deep breath and sits up. “I got so scared, Marcus. I ran home as fast as I could and called you the second I got in.”

“You did the right thing,” I assure her. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

We sit together on the couch for several moments, holding hands in silence as I consider our options.

I go over every detail we told the police last night.

How quickly would they catch him if we don’t say anything? And would harm come to her if we did?

No. I’m not going to let that happen .

“We’ll wait it out,” I say, making a decision. “We won’t say anything.”

Lila nods.

“If they are watching us, they’ll see that we’re just going about our daily lives. No police stations, no meetings, nothing suspicious. And hopefully, within a day or two, the police will find them and it’ll all be over.”

“Them?” she asks, her eyebrows furrowing.

“They’re saying on the news it was a drug murder. Those kinds of things are usually organised by gangs. He – sorry – what was his name again?”

“Chris,” Lila mutters, the sound of it raspy on her breath.

“Chris – may have done the actual killing, but he didn’t do it alone. We don’t know how many may be involved or to what extent.”

“So even if they catch him…” she says, thinking out loud.

“If they get him and know for definite that he committed the murder, it’ll be over. As long as there’s no risk that we’re going to testify against anyone else, they’ll forget about us. You don’t know anyone else that he works with, do you?”

She shakes her head.

Several moments pass as we sit in silence.

“I don’t want to leave you alone,” I say.

Lila lifts her eyes to look at me. “Stay.”

A smile creeps across my face. “Yea?”

“Yea,” she nods.

I take her hand in mine, my eyes locking on hers. I lean in and gently press my lips against hers. My heart starts to race and I pull back, telling myself to calm down.

Fucking hell, what is it about her that does this to me ?

Suddenly, a loud grumble fills the silence as Lila holds her hand to her stomach, looking down with a slight laugh.

“Sorry about that,” she says. “I didn’t have much breakfast.”

I laugh. “I could do with some food too,” I say. “Should we order something? Or is there somewhere nice around here?”

She wipes her cheek of its remaining tears and lets out a big breath. “Yea, there’s a pub just around the corner. Just give me a minute to get changed,” she says.

I nod as she stands and walks towards her bedroom, looking back at me with a small smile that makes my heart skip a beat.

I can’t help but notice that below my hoodie, she’s wearing tight black leggings that leave little to the imagination.

A smile fixes itself onto my face as I remember she said she’d been out for a run, realising that we were working out at the same time.

Thoughts of Lila being hot and sweaty makes me lightheaded as a rush of blood surges to my cock.

I toy with the urge to follow her into her room the same way she had done last night, but I decide to hold back. Instead, I put my hand in my pocket and adjust myself, tucking my cock into my waistband. Not ideal, but the gym shorts I’m wearing are a lot less forgiving than jeans.

A few minutes later, she comes out looking refreshed, her make-up retouched and wearing a long-sleeve grey top and jeans. She looks incredible, and I smile as she walks towards me.

“Very nice,” I say with a cough, pulling my hoodie down to ensure my waistband doesn’t draw any attention.

She does a little twirl, shooting me another smile that sends my heart straight into my throat.

“Good to go?” she asks .

“Yea, let’s go,” I reply, adjusting myself again as she pulls on her coat and boots and we walk out the door.