The RunAway Model

XXVIII. Secrets

It was hard to leave someone when that someone had always been, for quite some time, the constant in your life. And not just any constant—a constant source of safety, passion and even of a few laughs here and there.

For Khaye, Marco had become her walking life insurance. Not Gian, not the police though he was one, but just him.

And to even think of leaving, of walking away, would not only be risky but also stupid on her part. It would mean she'd be running away from what she had fought for in weeks.

What would he think?

"Stay away from Marco."

That was all Gian said. He did not even have to explain because it was in his voice and it was full of warning and there was something in the way he said that made Khaye believe he would not hesitate to do the unthinkable.

Her brother didn't do anything to her. He didn't hurt her. He didn't do anything she feared he would do when they met at the park one week ago. The sincerity in his voice and the way he looked at her was enough to convince her that he meant what he said: Stay away from Marco. Clearly, her brother only wanted her to be gone.

A big part of her was telling her to listen to her brother. She had known him the longest. They were family. That should account for something.

Marco. She had only known him for weeks, two months the most. Or maybe it was one. It was hard to think about time when one was running for her life. And in those weeks they had known each other they hadn't actually reached anything.

Or maybe he did and he wasn't telling her everything.

He would work on his computer which he would immediately close or casually turn away whenever she was in the room. Khaye realized that the only times she was allowed to come close to the thing was when he was willing to show her something. And those were only videos or footages of Desiree from weeks ago. Never had she seen anything else from then on.

She wanted to blame Gian for warning her about Marco. Because of him she had grown more restless and wary around the man, though the sex would help from time to time.

Staying would be more convenient, but leaving might save her life.

It took her one week to come up with a decision.

*****

One week had passed since they all agreed that Desiree had to go back to Vernier.

And in that one week, Desiree spent more time with Richard than she could have imagined. There was no mention of Jamaica or whether he still thought she killed her best friend. For some reason, Desiree thought they had come to some sort of a truce.

Theo, on the other hand, had been distant. She shared his bed at night only because he chose to dispose of her box, but that was all. For almost seven days he did not touch her or said anything that she would consider a conversation. If they talked, it was because Richard was there and they were planning a risky mission.

It wasn't as if there was a concrete plan at all. The more they thought about it, the plan was just as simple as get inside the Vernier residence and out—alive as much as possible. Vernier would have guards, of course. The last time Theo and Richard barged in the guards were shocked and intimidated by their presence. They couldn't do the same thing now, could they? Vernier would have given his guards instructions after what happened.

Richard and Theo believed that it was the only problem they would have to face tomorrow evening.

Tomorrow.