Page 82 of Sweet Deception

After I’ve surveyed my escape route and cast a glance toward the gate—empty, since the guards are checking the perimeter—Iuse the wall on both sides of the toilet and all my yoga and dance training to maneuver myself out the window, feet first.

The escape itself is almost too easy. The men assigned to guard me seem far more versed in keeping people out than in.

Piro meows as I pant and huff. Squeezing bunches of ivy vines for dear life, I attempt to find footholds with my toes, descending the wall bit by bit.

Blood pounds in my ears as I hoist myself down.

Some of the ivy rips free from the safe house’s exterior wall, leaving me supporting myself with only one hand. I press myself against the wall, and my injured thigh scrapes against a particularly rough patch of brick.

As I squirm from the pain, the ivy breaks away. With several feet to go, I start falling, bracing for impact as the dusky sky expands above me.

Scrunching my eyes closed, I wait for the pain?—

Only to land in a pair of strong, familiar arms.

My eyes snap open, but I’m sure I’m hallucinating.

Darren cradles me the same way he did the night I received these cuts and bruises.

“Leaving without saying goodbye?” His voice is a rough murmur, his laser-beam eyes wild and intent.

With the secure grip he has on my body, it feels like he’ll never let me go.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Fear glints in Nika’s upturned eyes, and my heart trips a little until she relaxes. Napalm meows between us as she winds her arms around my neck.

Staggering relief crashes through me.

The sight of her falling down the wall damn nearly sent me over the edge.

My hands itch, and I fight off the urge to grab my lighter. I’m shaken. Angry too. But mostly shaken.

I almost can’t believe my terror over the thought of her getting hurt again. Why is she so reckless? Endangering her life left and right. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t shown up?

I don’t say any of that as I gently place her on the ground. Probably because I’m not one to talk.

But it’s different when I’m the one risking my life.

“You came back.” She straightens, wincing. Her injury from the apartment must be bothering her, even if she tries to hide her pain behind that infuriating smile.

“And you just tried to escape.”

“What does it matter to you?” She drops her eyes. “You left. And lied about who you are.”

How can three little sentences unleash so much emotion in me?

Irritation. Confusion. The fact that I abandoned her here hurts me enough without the guilt treatment, even if it’s warranted. She acts like she cares that I left her behind, as if the memory claws at her the same way it’s been annihilating me.

“I never lied. I just never told you Shane was my uncle. I don’t go by Gallagher because Donal’s not my birth father. And I thought you’d be happy to get away from me.” My voice roughens with an emotion I’m trying my best not to acknowledge. Something akin to hope.

Clearly, I’ve lost my ever-loving mind.

“Thought your boss told you to stay away from me.” The fire in her tone only attracts me more.

Stubborn woman. “No, he toldyouto stay away fromme.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “He toldmeto come get you and bring you back to the estate.”

Her eyes widen into saucers. “What? I thought he was going to let me go.”