𝓦𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼

❃ Chapter Twenty Five - Escape

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Zoe
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The silence was loud enough for the crickets to come in. Too bad, there were no crickets to break the thick ice. Adriano found it right to do so instead, "When are we doing it?"

"One am. When everyone should be sleeping," Jer answered.

"Until then?"

"Act normal."

Xen glanced between the two of us for a moment, her brows arching softly, her voice just as delicate, "You didn't tell us where you will take us?"

"Well," he sighed, "Seeing that my address is already known to your father, we can't go back to my place. Your friends aren't an option either. If Arturo figures it was all a set-up, he'll check there first." He rubbed at his goatee, his eyes narrowing a little, "I have a… friend who can take us in."

"What friend?" I murmured.

He scratched his neck, shrugging, "A friend who owes me a favor."

"Then, I guess it's a plan," Adriano pinched the bridge of his nose, adding, "We should probably go now."

Xen nodded absently, letting herself led out of the room through the door, by her bodyguard. It was as I stared at them, that I found it weird how Xen knew about Adriano from the beginning.

When Jer had come clean with his identity and admitted he knew "Jose" wasn't actually a Jose, Adriano became a little defensive, fact that my sister didn't seem to just notice, but be terrified by. She was the one to ask Jer how he found out in an awfully trembling voice as she put two steps distance between herself and Adriano.

It had been weird, I knew my sister to be afraid of men in general, but not someone like Adriano and definitely not terrified. The man was laid-back and calm, probably even as kind as Jerome. But still… something in her reaction made him appear fishy. Jerome must've caught the same vibe that he lied, saying he'd done a security check in the police data base and tracked the fake file back to the real one. Adriano bought it.

Xen didn't relax, and only tensed more when Jer and I started explaining our plan, the plan we managed to come up with before they came in. Adriano kept a completely blank stare the whole time he listened, but his muscles gave him away. His jaw was hard, his neck had popped a vein and his whole body was extremely stiff, excluding the finger he repetitively tapped to his elbow as he held his arms crossed.

"I don't trust him," I said bluntly.

"Neither do I," Jer glared at the door, "We need to be careful with him."

I nodded in agreement, glancing at the food Xen brought when they came, "I need to play sick now, in case father comes to check on me."

"He'd do that?" Jer frowned.

"Hey, I told you I acted before. Of course he'll come check on me to make sure I didn't lie to him." I ran a hand through my hair, standing up from the bed and going up to him. Turning with my back, I asked, "Can you please-"

I didn't even have to finish my sentence that his hand was already on my back, unzipping my dress with a loud ssschhht. He didn't say a word as he traced my shoulders with his fingertips, letting his rough fingers to follow my scars. His huge palm found its place between my shoulder blades, on the very scars left by my father's whip. The scars that were still red, not completely healed after a few weeks of having them.