Run

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - ONE

I wake up the next morning feeling completely refreshed. It's been so long since I've been able to get a good nights sleep.

I didn't truly realize how tired I was until I collapsed on the bed after my shower. I fell asleep almost instantly. The fear of my father, of Vincent, slipping away. But now, the crippling fear and anxiety returns. I can't help but wonder where Vincent is; or if he's alive. I wonder if my father's out looking for me; or if he even cares anymore.

It's funny. One minute, my father practically hates me and has no problem handing me away. The next, he's shooting people, killing people. Doing anything to get me back. It just doesn't add up.

I sigh and try to rid my mind of thoughts about him. I'll never truly be able to escape if he's still lingering in my thoughts. It will take time, lots of time. But he just doesn't deserve me thinking of him. So I have to stop.

I grab the remote and turn on the TV as I get out of bed. It's nice to have a little background noise to use as a distraction.

I get up and started doing a few menial tasks. Like brushing my hair with a small brush I found in the bathroom, washing my face as best as I could with water, and trying but mostly failing to finger-brush my teeth since I don't have a toothbrush.

As I was exiting the bathroom, I saw a local news station was on. It was one of the few stations that spoke English, so I sat on the edge of the bed and listened closely since I haven't really been able to receive any news about the state of things since I was taken.

After a few minutes of the weather, a woman comes on the screen saying that there is an emergency report to be broadcasted. A picture of me appears next to the woman as she explains that I am a "runaway" who needs to be returned to her "family".

My heart immediately drops to the floor as a video of my father comes on the screen. He talks to the reported about how much he loves me and just wants me to come home.

I turn the TV off before I'm able to watch anymore. There's no need to watch when I know it will just frighten me even more. He knows now. Which means he's probably not far behind me. I have to get moving. Now.

I grab my backpack and head straight out the door, not bothering to make sure I grabbed everything I brought. All I know is that I have my money and I have my gun. Hopefully that's enough.

But right as I'm about to enter the lobby, I catch a glimpse of two of my dad's men talking to the woman at the front desk. They point to the picture of me on the news and ask if she's seen me.

She starts to say something, but notices me standing behind the corner. Her eyes widen and she starts to turn towards the men, but I bring my finger up to my lips and shake my head.

I pray that she understands. Pray that she doesn't tell. Her mouth zips shut and nods her head. It was just the slightest up and down movement of the chin, unrecognizable if you weren't looking for it, but it lifts a weight off my shoulders.

She turns back to them and tells them no, her thick accent making it near impossible to understand her. The men look at each other, back at her, and then leave. They get into a black sedan and drive off. The woman immediately releases a sigh of relief before looking my way again.

"Is your name Leah Russo?" She asks as she slowly makes her way over to me. I take in a deep breath and nod, expecting her to bombard me with questions or demand that I turn myself in. But instead, she puts her hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eyes.

"Come with me."

She leads me past the desk and into a back room. It was an office of sorts. A computer here, a coffee maker there, a stack of files sat on the desk next to the computer, making the small space seem more cluttered than it really was.

"Sit, per favore." I sit on the small chair in front of the desk and she walks around and sits in the swivel office chair.

"You are running from Mr. Jordan Russo, sì?" I nod my head.

"How did you know?"

"He was on the television. Said his daughter had run away. He showed a picture of you. I didn't realize it was you until I saw you this morning."

"Yes, thank you for not ratting me out. You don't realize how much that helps me."

"Sì, sì, of course. But tell me, why have you run away?" I hear the concern and sadness in her voice as she talks. I can see the pity in her eyes. Instead of lying to her like my instinct told me to do, I decided to tell the truth. I don't know, but I just feel like I can trust this woman. I feel like I already know her.

"He was holding me against my will. I had to leave, had to escape." She nods, understanding my feelings.

"Ah, Jordan never was good when came to his so called 'possessions'. He was very strict, very paranoid. Never wanted to let them out of his sight. I'm not surprised he did the same to you, Leah."

I'm stunned by her words. How could she know all that? Has she been watching my family?

"Wait, how do you know all that? How do you know my father that well?"

She laughs slightly before answering.

"Because I am his sister, Leah."

********

Adrianna Russo's POV

"Where the hell is she, Adrianna?"

Jordan's been asking me the same question for at least two hours now. I've been trying my best to deflect them, but there's only so many lies I can tell before I run out.

"I told you, I don't know." Don't look him in his eyes. Don't let your voice shake. Don't allow your anger to show. Keep your cool.

I've learned exactly how to handle myself during our arguments. My anger fuels his own, so I've learned to hide it.

"Dammit Dre! I know you know where she is. Some guards said they saw you saw you walking towards the shed last night. Now where is she." He's too close. He's so angry. And when he gets angry, he gets close, and when he gets close...

"Dre." He grabs my wrist. Hard.

"Tell me."

"You're hurting me." I try to yank my arm free, but he just tightens his grip, likely leaving bruises. The other ones had just barely healed.

"Tell me where she is. Now." He grabs my other wrist now and pulls me even closer. His eyes are the only thing I'm able to look at. They've always held a sort of beauty that I never really understood, but always admired. But now, his eyes hold fire, rage. Pure unadulterated hate, and it's aimed at me.

"I'm not telling you anything." The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. And he doesn't like them.

His face scrunches up in anger and he pushes me away from him. I stumbled back from the force, but catch myself on the wall behind me. My hand immediately goes to my stomach, hoping that my little one's okay.

"She escaped. She escaped and you helped her!" He screams at me now. I start to tremble. I didn't want this to happen, none of this was ever supposed to happen.

The sudden pounding of foot steps makes us go quiet and soon three of our best guards are standing in the room.

One of them looks over at me, hunched up and clinging to the wall.

"Is everything alright in here, Mr. Russo?"

Jordan looks over at me, his face completely void of emotion.

"Everything is fine."

*******

Okay soooooo yeah

A couple new plot twists were revealed in this chapter. They just kinda make me hate Leah's dad more and more

Also, thank y'all so much for almost 200k reads! That's literally insane and I cannot tell you guys how much that means to me.

As always, hope you enjoyed the chapter😊