A plan was already forming, but I knew it would be safest at dark. The expensive looking gold clock on the wall told me it was almost 4:00 p.m., which meant I had at least another hour before it was dark enough.

With nothing else to do, I explored my very temporary room. The bathroom was exactly as I thought, sleek and expensive, with the most tempting looking deep tub. Not quite tempting enough to put up with Mrs. Debitch though. A large room joined the main bedroom, and it was filled with clothes and shoes and makeup and … it was basically a mini-mall with every conceivable item a rich young chick would need. My mouth watered when I realized that there was a wall of shoes, and more than one pair of black heels with the red soles. I reached out and lifted one up, finding some swirly signature on it starting with an L. I had no idea what this brand was, but I was starting to see I had at least one thing in common with my birth mother. We were hooked on shiny black heels.

With reluctance, I placed it back on the shelf. I wouldn’t be taking anything from here with me.

The time ticked away at an agonizingly slow pace, but I had one shot at this. If she caught me, I would be under twenty-four hour security, I had no doubt. She wouldn’t have gone to all of this trouble to get me back, unless she really did “have need of me.”

When it finally got dark enough, I eased open the bedroom door and snuck a quick look to make sure no one was around. Normally I would have gone out the window, but with a broken arm, I couldn’t climb. My heart beat rapidly as I crept along the hall and down the stairs. There was a huge double staircase, which led to the impressive entrance to this house. Crystal chandeliers twinkled above, cascading lights across the marble.

I didn’t see anyone around, and was relieved when I managed to get outside and into the darkness without incident. From what I remembered, the front drive was long, which meant I was not safe until I was off Deboise land. Pausing, I realized that anyone this rich would have security. They were probably patrolling the perimeter right now, and I wondered if they shot trespassers.

I almost hesitated then, but I’d come this far, so I stopped thinking and started running.

Holding my broken arm against me, my legs pounded the pavement, and I veered off so I was away from the lights lining the main drive. The grass was thick and soft, and my pace picked up. My body still hurt. My head ached on and off, as it had done since I woke up, and no doubt this sort of sprinting was not recommended by my doctor when recovering from a car accident, but I didn’t care.

I needed out.

The Deboise estate was fucking huge, of course, but I still managed to make it to the imposing fences in under ten minutes. Speed had always been my thing; running and cars anyway … not so much the drug. The fence was my next obstacle, because it was three times my height, and had thick bars lining it. There was a symbol etched in the middle of each bar, on a round plaque. Something that looked like an M and a D, possibly, but it was hard to tell in this low light. I was guessing the D was for Deboise, and the M … mansion. Who knew what pretentious bullshit she was representing here?

Moving along the fence line, I stayed behind the hedges which lined it. I was close to the gates we’d entered through, and I wondered if they were on a sensor. There would have to be a code, I was sure of it. While I was trying to figure out what to do, a set of headlights turned into the fence, and I dropped to the ground, holding my breath. Fuck fuck fuck. The bitch was back.

3

The car paused for a brief moment at the gates while they silently slid open. Once my panic faded, I realized that this was my best chance of getting out of here. I pulled myself up while still staying out of sight. I’d have to time it perfectly, but I knew I could do it. I had to do it.

The thrum of an expensive car echoed past me as she accelerated, and I waited until the gates were just starting to close again before I pushed off hard from the ground and pumped my legs. My cast hit the side of the gate when I dived through, and I bit back the cry, trying my best to shake off the pain. It was worth it though, because I was on the outside, exactly where I wanted to be. Well, sort of. I remembered another set of gates at the start of this section of exclusive estates, but I was sure I’d manage to get past them too.

The second set had guards on them, but they were definitely more interested in who was coming in, rather than who was going out. I snuck through at the same time a black Bugatti Veyron rumbled out. Holy fuck.

My legs didn’t want to move, I just wanted to stare at the perfection of that fine ass piece of machinery. But there was no time for me to drool over my unicorn car. I had to get the hell out of Dodge.

As soon as I was a short distance from the guards, I started to relax. Right up until another set of headlights flared to life right before me. My muscles tensed, prepared to run, when a figure stepped out from the driver’s side and headed toward me. With the lights blinding me, it took me a few minutes to figure out who it was, and then I was running. Right into his arms.

“Dante!” I whisper-yelled. When his arms wrapped around me, I sank into the warmth and comfort. “How the hell did you find me?” I asked, pulling back from him.

His lips tilted up slightly, as he ran his gaze across me. That smile disappeared the moment he saw the cut on my cheek.

The hold he had on me tightened. “What the fuck happened to you?” he seethed, almost shaking me.

I jerked myself out of his hold. “My birth mom is a fucking psycho, that’s what happened.”

He didn’t seem surprised to hear me say “birth mom,” and I wondered how much persuasion it took for CPS to divulge my location. Dante could be very convincing when he wanted something.

“Is she dangerous to you, Riles? Do you think she’ll actually hurt you?”

I thought about it for a moment. “No way to know what that crazy chick would do, but I get the vibe that if I obey her rules, she’ll leave me alone.”

His anger deepened; ignoring this, I pushed past him and hurried across to the car, my hand already reaching out to touch her sleek lines. It was my baby, a dark blue Aston Martin V12 Vantage S. Okay, technically it was Dante’s baby, but he let me race her whenever I wanted.

“Why were you sneaking out, Riles?” he asked, watching me closely as I loved up on the car.

Pulling my hand back, I let out a low breath, facing him. “I don’t know what’s going on, but apparently my birth parents want me back. Catherine Deboise is completely insane, though. I’m not even kidding. She threw away all of my stuff. She wants me to change my name. She’s going to try and mold me into a Stepford child.”

He let out a low chuckle, and I wanted to punch him. “It’s not fucking funny, dude. This is serious. I can’t stay there.”

His eyes flicked to the cut on my cheek again, and then his jaw was tense, all signs of his laughter gone. “I agree, but you can’t just run from people like this, Riley. She has more power than you can fathom, and it’ll be nothing for her to hunt you down. Especially when you’re only seventeen.”

Two fucking months.

“What exactly are you saying, Dante?”

I was going to make the bastard spell it out for me. He reached forward and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’m saying, that you need to be smarter than this. I have connections, but not even I can go up against the Deboise family.”

“I have to go back,” I said resigned.

“Just for now,” he promised. “But ... follow her rules, Riles. Don’t let her hurt you again.”

Part of me was pissed he didn’t fight harder for me to run, but I could tell that he knew more about this than me and that he believed running wouldn’t work. Or he was too scared to risk it. Dante was tough, don’t get me wrong, but I’d seen him act like a bitch on more than one occasion when he got in over his head. Granted, that was something which hadn’t happened in the last few years, so maybe the Deboise threat was legit.

“Can I drive her before I go back?” I all but begged, knowing this might have been my only chance to blow off steam.

He laughed, and nudged me toward the door. “There’s actually a race here tonight, in Jefferson.”

“You drove four hours just so I could race?” I joked, already sliding into the driver’s seat.

Dante dropped into the passenger seat. “I drove four hours to make sure you were okay.”

His words were casual, but I knew my friend well enough to know when he’d been pissed off and scared. He changed the subject. “You wanna race?” His gaze flickered uncertainly to my plastered arm, then he nodded to himself. “Left arm, you should be good to drive at least half as good as usual.”