It feels like all I do is run. Running the last few days is all I’ve tried to do, but fail each time. Shoes in hand and only his shirt on, I feel well underdressed. The man at the door of the hotel looks at me then quickly averts his eyes.

“Whore.” Spinning around, I see Amy standing there.

What the fuck is she doing here?

She smiles a sinister smile at me, looking behind me then back to me. “You didn’t think I’d let you go that easily, did you?”

My eyes search around, for anyone. The doorman isn’t at the door anymore, and all that’s there is a black car. With Amy standing outside of it staring me down. Her leg is wrapped in a bandage, and she’s careful to not to put weight on it as she stands.

“What do you want?”

Amy shakes her head at my words. “Well, for one, you’re never something I wanted. But now you’re gone, I miss having someone to play with.”

With a quick shake of my head, I take a step back. “You have issues, you know that, right?”

She shrugs at me. “We all do. I just embrace my crazy. You’re the same, Saskia. I see it in your eyes. You just prefer to hide and think you’re good.”

I shake my head at her. “You don’t know me.”

Amy tsks at my words. “Oh, but I do. You have severe depression, don’t you? And the only way you know how to control it is to take pills. You don’t need pills. Listen to the voices and do it.”

“There’s no voices, Amy. What are you talking about? Maybe for you there are, but not for me.”

“Is that why you tried to kill yourself?”

I look down at the scar on my wrist. “My world was changing, I tried to stop it.”

Once again, she tsks at me and steps forward. Her steps are slow, measured, but also because she’s virtually crippled from the stab wound Ryken so kindly gave her.

“You don’t have your pills. Don’t you want them?” Amy waves them at me. She thinks I need them to survive, but I don’t. I hope. But the two ailments are completely different. I know this much.

“I don’t need them to survive.” I look around to see two men step out of her car, and she crosses her arms over her chest.

“You see, though, I need you. I’ve come to miss you in the last twenty-four hours. Haven’t you missed me?”

I just about burst out laughing. “Not one single fucking bit.”

“Pity.” She clicks her fingers as the two guys start toward me. One reaches me before I can turn and run, so I kick him hard between his legs making him drop. The other takes that opportunity to grab me, locking my hands to my sides and picking me up like I’m a rag doll. I drop my head and bite his hand as hard as I can.

That’s when I hear it, gunshots. My body locks up, and my eyes go wide, as I try to look back to see where the noise came from. It was muffled, but it was definitely a gun.

“Oh, that was just my men killing yours. Nothing for you to worry about, Saskia.”

I could have pulled away, but this time his hand is back on me, and he’s lifting me and taking me to the car. He pushes me in and stands on the outside of the door, so I can’t open it and escape. The doors lock, and the driver starts the car as Amy sits next to me. I want to claw her fucking eyes out, reach for that injury and dig my nails in so far to see if she’ll scream.

“Your brain doesn’t turn off much, does it?” she asks.

The car speeds up, and I inch closer to the door. Traffic is everywhere, but the car windows are blacked out the tinting is so dark. My hand reaches for the lock, while she picks at her nails.

“Oh, it does, when I’m sleeping.”

Amy laughs at my words and I manage to unlock the door without her noticing. Looking forward, the driver doesn’t seem to be slowing down, but the road is full of cars.

“You’re jealous of me, aren’t you? That I’m prettier than you.”

Her lips form a tight line, and she looks ahead. I’ve managed to maneuver my hand on the handle. I’m not going back. No fucking way. Not a chance in hell.

“You don’t—” Her words are cut off as I open the door and fling myself out, jumping from the moving car. She screams, but I don’t care. My back and head hit the ground hard, but even trying to protect my head doesn’t do much. I hear screeching, and cars stop all around me. A man in a silver car gets out and walks toward me. He doesn’t look to be one of them, but I’m cautious nonetheless as I sit up to get away from him. Even if I can’t move far.

“Miss, miss, please don’t move. You jumped from a moving car. You may have some serious injuries.”

I shake my head and look at the car that I was in. It’s no longer there, they kept on driving. Thank fuck. Now I have to get out of here and as far away from her as possible.

“I’m fine.” The minute the words leave my mouth I know I’m not.

“No miss... please. I’m a doctor. At least let me take you to the hospital.”

I ignore him and attempt to stand. Some cars around us start moving again, apart from the one behind us which is his silver car. His hand slides under me, and he helps me stand, so I don’t fall.

“I don’t want a hospital,” I reply with shaky legs.

He doesn’t argue with me, escorting me to his car. “I have a clinic. Will you come with me there? Just so I can make sure you haven’t broken anything or have a concussion? You need a medical assessment.” He smiles kindly.

“No one else?” He looks at me in surprise. “Okay.”

He sighs as he opens his car door and I get in the best way I can. He runs around to his side, gets in and starts the engine. We pull off onto the street and sit in silence as he drives. My back hurts, and my head is pounding so hard I’m afraid it’s going to explode.

“Do you have anything for my headache?” I ask.

He shakes his head then looks to me. “We’re almost there. Once I assess you, I can give you something.” We pull into a doctor’s office and he gets out, coming around to my side to help me out. He walks with me, his hand on my hip, careful to not hurt me as he unlocks the door and turns on the lights. Assisting me on to a bed, he looks me over, checks everything and steps back, passing me some pain meds. “You should be watched closely for the next twenty-four hours, you hit your head pretty hard.”

I ignore his word of warning. “I need to go back home.”

He looks down, and that’s when I actually look at him. His hair is light, his face is soft, and he’s kind. Something I haven’t seen or been around for quite some time. Even Ryken’s not kind. Ryken wants me, and no one’s going to stop him from getting me. Even me.

“Umm... can I ask where your clothes are?”

Shit! I pull Ryken’s shirt down as far as it will go.

“You don’t happen to have any ladies clothing lying around, do you?”

He looks past me and walks to a closet, opening it and pulling out a woman’s skirt. He leans over and passes it to me. “This do? It’s my assistant’s.”

I nod. “Thank you.”

“What’s your name?”

“Sorry, it’s Saskia.”

“Well, Saskia... I don’t want to sound like a police officer or an investigator. But hey...” he smiles, “... you did jump from a moving car almost right into mine.” He shrugs his shoulders, and I try to not smile at his choice of words. “But, I must ask? Is someone hurting you? Do you have a problem you want to share?” He looks down to my wrist, then to my leg, where there’s no doubt as there’s a fresh wound courtesy of Amy.

“They were, but not anymore.”

His eyes go wide like he wasn’t expecting my answer. “Maybe you should go to the police.”

“No. I just want to go home.” Looking up to him before I put the skirt on, I ask, “What’s your name?”

He offers me a kind smile. “Wyatt.” He turns away as I slide the skirt on, then when I say, “Thank you,” he turns back to look at me.

“Where’s home, Saskia?”

“Not here,” I say, looking around. “Sorry, that was rude.”

Wyatt shrugs his shoulders. “I think you’re entitled to that. Will you tell me why you jumped from a moving car, though?”

My hands wipe over the front of the skirt I’m wearing. I’m so tired. Oh, so tired. I want to sleep again, for quite some time if I can.

“The woman in the car...” I pause, thinking about what to say, “... I don’t particularly like. And I didn’t want to go where she was taking me.”

He nods his head like he understands, but no one can. It’s impossible to know how much you hate someone just because they decide you’re too pretty. “I’ve wanted to jump from a few cars due to women, but I’ve never actually done it.” He laughs, and despite the situation, I actually laugh with him.

“Yeah, well, this one was next level crazy. Be thankful you’ll never meet her.” Looking around, I turn back to him. “You wouldn’t happen to know how close the nearest airport is, would you?”

“Yes. Are you flying somewhere?”

My hand rubs my arm. I’m nervous to tell anyone where I’m going. Eventually, they might find out. But for some reason, no matter how much I want to try, I know I can’t keep hidden, but I’m going to sure try. I shouldn’t need to, my debt was paid in full. So why should I have to? I know I have to get away from here. This is the worst place for me to be. “I want to fly up north, I need to get home.”

Wyatt turns, walking to the counter picking up his cell. He types in a few things then turns back to me. “Look, I wouldn’t usually offer this. But my parents have a private jet, and I can get you on it tonight.”

I’m shocked by his kindness. I haven’t experienced kindness like this for what feels like ages. Everything’s so draining. This life, my life, has become debilitating. I don’t even know how I got to this place in time, how I haven’t shattered into a million tiny pieces by now. This wasn’t where I was meant to be at this stage of my life. I was meant to be someone, love someone, enjoying my life. I need someone to love me, not play me like a fiddle.

Ryken Lord loves me.

Of this, I have no doubt.

But he’s also draining me. Even if I do love him, I can’t do it anymore. I need to live, and with him, I do the exact opposite of that. I barely survive.

“As kind as you are, I can’t accept your offer. That would be—”

“Look, feel free to say no. I get it. But it sounds like you need an escape and not one where people can find you. Let me do this for you?”

“Are you sure? I can pay you. When I get home.” I can, well, at least I hope I can. I did have money, and I do own my own business. So I hope that maybe it’s still going.

“I trust you, Saskia. Please let me help.”

I give him a simple nod. He grabs his keys and walks out the door.

Taking help from someone is new to me. The only person I’ve accepted any help from was Livia and her family because they are my family. So this just feels new. I can’t work out if it’s good or bad. But either way, I want to get home, and I can see this is a safe and convenient way to do it. I want to see my mother, and I want to sleep in my own bed again.

But most of all, I want to be away from this place as fast as I can. And if this is the way to do it, then that’s what I’ll do.