Page 3 of His Asset

It’d taken me months to learn the window at the end of the corridor wasn’t anywhere near as strong thanks to my master—no, he wasn’t that anymore!—having plans to extend his already substantial granite tower.

Though that one window was triple-paned glass, I didn’t doubt my competence in shattering it.I’d been secretly practicing my echolocation ability.Not only did my soundwaves enable me to see all around me in the dark, when I escalated the frequency and pitch, it turned the waves into a weapon that broke objects and materials while having the capability to hurt others.

A shame I’d never had the chance to try it out on my master—on Adam.Doing so would only have made him enhance his already first-rate security and likely make him break his promise to never put security cameras in the so-called sanctuary that was my bedroom.I’d had to stay patient and lay low while practicing my ability in private.

Inhaling deeply, I sent out a high-pitched scream that no ordinary mortal would hear.The window rippled, then blew apart.I grinned.My runners would bear the brunt of any jagged pieces of glass lying on the corridor floor.

“Bella, no!”

Though my heart squeezed like a fist at Adam’s shout—of course he had a failsafe method of opening my door—I ignored him and instead pumped my arms harder, intent only on the gaping hole ahead that was my ticket to freedom.Glass crunched beneath my runners, adrenaline pouring through me as I launched out of the corridor and into the sky, my wings at full stretch as the air billowed beneath them and lifted me high.

Alarms blasted and men shouted, no doubt the security detail he kept on the ground floor.I scowled.Adam and his men wouldnotcatch me.

I flapped my wings, and immediately careened out-of-control, the ground racing up to meet me.Shit.I straightened my wings, my pulse galloping as I somehow stabilized, the ground and surrounding treetops growing a little more distant.

Apparently the best I could manage was to glide.

Why had I thought flying would be natural to me?I was as inept at it as I was at embracing my freedom.The farther I got away from Adam the more my chest restricted and my doubts expanded.My independence would be laughably short-lived if I couldn’t release his spell over me.

I had to get as far away from the tower that was my prison, and Adam who had been my master, before what was left of my willpower dissolved like grit in a stiff wind.

He’d be gloating if he knew the truth.His abnormal, overpriced pet fighting to quell separation anxiety.

A warm thermal flung me up high, the air puffing up the leathery membranes underneath my huge wings.I didn’t look down.If I did my balance might get skewed again, threatening to send me flailing to the ground.

I managed to cover a lot of ground by staying motionless while steering by carefully dipping my left or right wing.Was I too heavy to do anything but glide?The thermal dissipated and I slowly drifted lower, but not before I noticed a town or even perhaps a city in the distance.

I laughed, giddy with anticipation.I’d glide as far that way as possible.There was a good chance I’d be able to get lost amongst other people.

Then I heard the roaring start of Adam’s helicopter as its rotors turned.

Chapter Two

Ihit the ground withmy wings pulled back to slow my descent.It didn’t stop me from gasping as my body jolted from the impact, a stick digging into my already injured ankle.

There was no time for self-assessment.To my left was a rocky incline with a sprinkling of stunted trees.To my right was a forest of pines and evergreens that rose straight up into the sky.The earthy richness filled my lungs even as the burbling river farther away teased my enhanced hearing.