I get to my feet, groaning with pain and quickly glancing through the small opening. I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my chest. If I’m going to get out of here, then now is my only shot.
I reach up, gripping on to the loose stone left in the wall and make the opening wider to slip through. It’s pretty fucking dark outside. If I can somehow get down without dropping to my death, then I can run through the empty fields and get lost in the woods. Assuming Giovanni doesn’t have the castle surrounded by his men.
The stones aren’t easy to dislodge but after breaking a few nails, I finally get the hole big enough to slip through. My feet land on the old, tiled roof, and as my head slips out of the hole, I’m left standing on the roof with the howling wind threatening to knock me right off, realizing just how fucking crazy this is.
I should have run through the kitchen and into the long-ass tunnel that the boys spent five years digging instead of risking my luck with the glass coffin and falling off the roof. The boys were clear their father had never found their way out. What the hell was I thinking?
Keeping one hand on the side of the castle, I creep along the roof, desperately searching for the best place to try and get down. I’m at least four floors high and dropping from here is surely going to end my life.
I bypass three windows and drop down onto a small ledge before continuing, thankful for the millions of hidden walkways that these old castles were built with. Though, I’m sure they were built with the intention of fending off an enemy who dared come onto their land. Either that, or they liked to throw people from these heights to watch how they splattered on the ground below. Entertainment at its finest.
I come past another window before glancing over the edge to find the massive pool below. I let out a shaky breath, desperately trying to find that same adrenaline that was pulsing through my veins before.
It’s just one jump into a big pool … four stories down.
What could possibly go wrong?
Tears spring from my eyes as I creep right toward the edge. All I have to do is jump and I’ll be free. As long as the boys are alive and show affection for me, I will always be a target, no matter what. Whether it’s Giovanni or the next asshole trying to take them down. There’s no win in this life for me. If I want freedom, then I have to fight for it.
My heart thunders, the pulse in my ears making it nearly impossible to hear the other sounds of the night as the wind slams against my chest, rocking me back on my heels. If I miss … if I were to hit the bottom …
Fuck.
I can’t think about that. All I have to do is close my eyes and jump.
24
Vibrations travel through the roof and my eyes spring open.
I wobble against the rough winds that blow me back a step and I glance back, desperately seeking out whoever is coming after me, but the night sky is like having a black mask pulled over my face. I can’t see shit, but I can sure as hell hear the guy sprinting against the roof and feel the vibrations sailing through the soles of my dirty, cut-up feet.
He’s close. Too fucking close.
Panic sets in.
It’s now or fucking never.
I back up a few steps and without allowing myself to think this through anymore, I race toward the edge of the roof and fling myself off into the deep pits below.
A tight hold locks around my wrist, jolting me to a hard stop and leaving me dangling over the edge as a raw scream tears from deep inside my throat. I pull against the tight grip, desperate for freedom. “LET ME GO,” I cry, my hopelessness shining through loud and clear as fear rockets through my veins.
I pull and claw at his hold, determined not to fall into Giovanni’s trap. “STOP FUCKING FIGHTING ME,” a familiar tone cuts through my wild panic.
My gaze snaps up and I stare into the dark eyes of Levi DeAngelis, confusion sweeping through me. He should be dead. There’s no way that he made it out of that alive. There were too many of them. My heart races and my breath comes in heavy pants, making it impossible to even speak.
Veins protrude from his strong arm as he keeps me from falling. He’s barely holding on himself. The majority of his body is hanging over the side, reaching down to have caught me before I fell. That couldn’t be easy. I shake my head, tears stinging my eyes. “Just let me go,” I cry, the desperation overwhelming me. “He’ll never stop coming for me. As long as you guys keep protecting me, I’ll be a target.”