Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 75107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
I would consider it my Christmas gift to myself.
Venezio exhaled hard, and I knew the moment was over.
“You’re going.”
“You make it sound like I’m fucking leaving the country,” he said, sliding to the edge of the bed to gather his clothes. “I’m just gonna pop into the bodega to see if they have a cord.”
With that, he went into the bathroom.
Alone, I flipped onto my back, staring up at the ceiling and blinking away the sudden wetness in my eyes.
It was silly.
But I knew that everything was going to change once his phone was charged and we were in contact with the world again.
Venezio made his way back out a moment later, fully dressed, his stride no-nonsense until he spotted me.
“Fuck,” he sighed to himself.
His gaze tracked up and down me. Once. Twice. I saw the conflict on his handsome features. But as his shoulders slumped, I knew he had made his decision.
“You stay just like that. I’ll be back in ten. Less.”
Then he was walking out.
I listened to the door close.
Only then did I fold up, sucking in a steadying breath and climbing off the bed to grab my clothes. Because I knew better. Once the phone was plugged in, it would power up. Then he’d be making phone calls and plans. It was all almost over.
I stopped in the closet, digging around in all the bagged clothing and shoes until I found a pair of thick women’s slippers, hoping they would ease the ache in my soles, then made my way into the bathroom.
I took time putting myself together—brushing my hair, then pulling it back, swishing mouthwash, getting into the clothes and the slippers that were only half a size too big and felt like stepping on clouds, even with my aching feet.
I’d just flicked off the light and moved into the bedroom when I heard the doorknob jiggling.
“That was fast,” I mumbled to myself, pretending to ignore how much my heart ached, knowing that we were mere moments away from everything changing.
There was another jiggle, making my brows pinch.
Had he locked himself out?
I took a step into the hallway.
But then there was a crash that had my heartbeat stammering, had my spine stiffening.
Sure, it could have been Venezio, arms full of food or drinks from the bodega, just trying to balance it all as he tried to put his finger in the scanner.
But my blood felt like it went cold as there was another crash, and I realized the door was jumping in its frame.
Someone was trying to break in.
I didn’t stop to think.
I wasn’t that stupid.
I backtracked into the room, closing the door just as the one in the living room burst open.
Then there he was.
I slammed and locked the bedroom door and ran into the bathroom, slamming and locking that as well.
I could wait.
Venezio wouldn’t be long.
But what if he’d already found Venezio?
What if he was hurt?
Bleeding?
My stomach twisted.
No, I couldn’t wait.
If he wasn’t hurt, I could get to him first, warn him. We still had time to get away.
I slammed my palms into the stuck window jam. When it loosened, I shoved it upward, breathing in the city air for the first time in hours—car exhaust and a hint of burnt coffee.
The fire escape was rickety and rust-bitten.
But it meant freedom.
I hauled myself out of the window, slamming it shut after me as I heard the bedroom door give way to the intruder.
My slipper-clad feet slipped, sending me crashing onto my ass on the icy metal.
“Ow,” I whimpered, forcing myself to get up, using my sleeves for purchase on the slippery sides of the fire escape as I made my way downward, slipping every so often, but managing not to fall again.
The bottom ladder was missing as I got to the end of the platforms, though, and my stomach clenched realizing I was going to have to drop, to risk breaking something.
There was a roar in the room above me.
And with that, I let go.
I landed in a squat, my knees aching, but nothing seemed injured.
I rushed around the building, yanking open the bodega door and finding three or four people perusing the goods.
There was Venezio standing at the counter with two coffees and a little plastic case with a charging cord in it.
“Venezio!” I yelled.
His head whipped over.
He didn’t ask.
He didn’t have to.
He just ran to me, grabbed my hand, and we were off.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Venezio
I wasn’t sure anything had ever been as hard as leaving a naked Stephanie all alone in the apartment.
I’d even debated putting off calling in just to have a few more hours with her.
It was more than that, though. It was a safety issue not to have a phone. That was what made the decision for me. Because Steph had been through enough already because of me. I needed to do whatever it took to make sure nothing else happened.