Acumen: Riddling Life

42. Hit and Run

The plan works. He frees Arianna and stumbles, holding his head as I gawk at him. Red liquid starts trailing down, with each passing second the stream of blood getting more.

Is it me or has the bar gone quiet?

"Prendili! Get them!" he shouts.

The bottle gets yanked out of my grip and when I look up, Adrien is standing next to me with worry, muttering words I can't comprehend.

His hands are warm against my shoulders as he shakes me, I blink, staring at him, as he keeps repeating himself with urgency. Blinking again, the world refocuses, and I understand what he says.

"Run!"

I survey the club. The man is on the floor. But a lot of guys, clad in black, are making their way to us, from everywhere. Are they his bodyguards? I knew something was off about him.

Did I kill him?

Oh my god, I'm so screwed.

Then I notice Dylan by Arianna's side. Adrien pushes my purse into me before grasping my other palm and pulls me in the opposite direction as Dylan and Arianna dart to the rear door.

With the last tug, my limbs regain their senses and I try to sprint. I ignore my ankles twisting once in every three steps, the adrenaline pulsing through my body overshadows the ache.

I peer, five men are racing towards us.

We are officially fucked.

I clutch Adrien's hand as he runs ahead, and I follow him as we rush out.

The pavement makes it harder to run as Adrien takes different turns to lose them and I struggle to maintain my balance. They keep drawing closer with every second.

Each time my foot slaps the ground, pain shoots up my legs, lagging further behind. My muscles scream in protest. The sad reality of never showing interest in any physical activity therefore not having the capability of running dawns on me in the worst moment possible. We make a turn and I peek backwards. The men aren't in sight.

I let go of him and stop, panting.

He halts and spins to me. "Eleanor, we need to move faster." He reaches for me, but I pull away and shake my head.

"I can't more than this," I wheeze.

He curses under his breath while pushing his fingers through his hair. A quick glance ensures they haven't reached yet. "Take them off," he declares.

"I will not run barefoot in these streets, do you know how many bacteria-" I begin. But he cuts me short by covering my mouth with one of his hands and places the other around me and hauls us into the nearest dark alley.

My back hits the cold brick house, his grip on my shoulder tightens as he removes his other hand.

He presses his index finger to his lips. Adrien carefully peers over the side, taking in the surroundings.

We stand there in silence, in fear of my heels' clicking giving away our hiding spot. I concentrate on the sound of their footsteps, loud and clear, echoing in the dark and silent night.

One palm placed on the wall, and his other on my shoulder, still holding it in a firm grasp. His cologne tickles my nostrils as I try with desperation to calm my ragged breathing with deep and even breaths. His chest rising and falling in equally rapidly, lesser than an inch apart from me.

As the noise recedes, Adrien peeks out, scanning the surrounding before securing my hand in a tight grip. We make our way to the bridge. It's our only path of returning to our hotel.