14. Chapter Fourteen

It's seconds before the air is so thick it feels like I'm breathing in wool. Maybe a minute before I begin to sweat. Not dripping, but it's there, coating my skin like an icky blanket.

Maybe another minute when the first wave of panic seizes my chest.

I'm going to die here if I don't get out. My brain is screaming at me to get out.

Babies die in hot cars all the time. Dogs too.

This is dangerous.

What am I doing? I don't want to die.

I'm pissed, but I don't want to die. I really don't. I just want to go back to my life. Back to my house with my father. This whole day needs a do-over. I glance around, noting the only person I see is the guy who drove us here. He's standing a few feet from the front of the car talking on his phone. He's about the same age as Enzo, but much meatier. The guy looks like a pro wrestler. Which makes me think he isn't just a driver, but a bodyguard too.

What the hell does Enzo need a bodyguard?

With the driver's back to me, I undo my seatbelt and look around. I should have paid better attention to where I was, so I knew how to escape. But I was too upset to do that. It was a mistake, I know, but I'll make up for it. To the left, beyond the large circular driveway, is a tall, smooth mountain wall. So tall I can't see the top until I move to the window and look up. Directly to the right is the huge contemporary style house, the outside a mix of white and cream stucco with a lot of large windows and small balconies. Behind me, it's clear. More mountains are off in the distance, and a road curving around the mountain wall. Must be the way out of here.

There are two major problems with me running. One: I'm naked, meaning I have no shoes. Two: the bodyguard-driver guy isn't far enough away I can guarantee an escape.

But I have to try, right?

I have to try.

I wait a beat to watch the driver. He's still talking on the phone with his back to me.

Sweat drips down my head now. My lungs are aching.

I place my hand on the handle, and when he pulls out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, I hop out and make a run for it.

His chuckle echoes around me.

That can't be good.

Still, I keep going.

I run as fast as I can, which is more difficult naked than I thought it would be. My boobs ache from bouncing, but if I try to hold them down, I won't run as fast from not having my arms to help push. I ignore the pinches in my feet from the rocks I step on and keep going. I'll worry about the injuries later. What matters is getting the hell out of here. Even if my feet are torn to shreds once I make it.

I round the bend and onto the small road. To the right is the tall mountain wall, while on my left is nothing. Literally nothing—just a cliff. It causes my stomach to do a flip because I hate heights, but I ignore it and keep going.

My breaths come in heavy pants, sweat dripping down my face and body. I don't hear the guy coming after me. Maybe he doesn't care. Maybe he's secretly working for my father and wants me to escape. How amazing would that be? What a twist. I keep running, this curve seeming as if it goes on forever.

How much longer? It can't be much longer, can it? I spare a glance over my shoulder and note the giant house is out of my view. It's just mountain wall and nothing. I turn back and skid to a stop, my feet burning as the skin scrapes against the asphalt.

"No," I whisper, staring at the tall security gate further down the road. "No, no, no!" I shout.

My chest aches as I pull in air, only stopping for a moment before I jog to the gate. I grasp the rungs and shake, but of course the damn thing doesn't budge. I push my shoulder between two of them, trying to squeeze between them, but there's no way I'm getting through.

"No!" I shout, slamming my foot on the ground. Then I hiss because it hurts.

I limp away from it to get a better look. It's a gate. Two large cream columns on either side, connected in a large arch over the top. No guard booth, no key pad. Just a damn gate connected to the side of the mountain and stopping at the edge of the cliff on the other. How the hell does this thing work?

Against my better judgment, I limp toward the cliff. Once there, I peer down, my stomach dropping, my head getting dizzy. I take a step back, close my eyes and take a breath.

We're so high up. Too high up to jump and live. I glance up the road to find it empty. No one is coming after me. He's fucking with me. He knows I can't go anywhere. Well, I'll show him. I'm not giving up. If I'm anything, it's a fighter. My sweaty hands grasp onto the rungs, and I move to the very edge of the cliff. If I can reach around this column to grab the other side, I can swing myself around.

I press my palm to the smooth column and slide it to the edge, grasping the first corner and inching closer. My stomach rolls with nausea.

I can't do this.

You have to do this! This is the only way out. It's just a gate. Just a stupid little gate.

I take a few breaths, then try again. I stretch my arm around the side of the column, but it's hardly enough. My wrist lines up with the corner and there's at least two feet left until I reach the end! There's no way I can scale this and make it around the other side.

Obviously this is made to keep people out. Or maybe in…

Either way, it won't be so simple to cross over. I should know that. If it was, it would be useless.

The only useless thing here is me. I move a few feet from the cliff and will the dizziness to go away. Tears sting my eyes as the soft rumble of an engine grows louder. I press my forehead to the warm stone, the scent of dirt filling my nose. I choke out a few coughs, my chest feeling tight.

"You done playing games, or what?"

I don't recognize the voice, so assume it's the driver. Why the hell would Enzo himself chase me down?

A sob wracks through me. A long, deep wail. There is no way I'm getting out of here. I'm well and truly stuck. I slam my palms against the gate, the slap stinging, but I don't care. I do it again and again and again.

"Throwing a tantrum won't get you anything in this house. Best you learn that as soon as you can," the guy says. "Only gonna make it worse for yourself."

"What the hell do you know!" I scream, turning on him. He doesn't seem to care I'm naked or yelling.

"I know if you stand out here for much longer with no clothing or sunscreen, you'll get burnt. I know the bottom of your feet are likely bleeding, if not definitely blistered. I know there's no way in hell you're getting through this gate unless the boss wants you to."

The boss?

The boss?

"Fuck him!" I scream, flailing my arms. "And fuck you too!"

And all I hear in my head is his voice…

"Mind your language."

It makes me cry harder.