Jemma sat up in bed ready for the day for the first time in the last month. Her father was gone and had taken most of his guards with him, which meant if she was going to escape, today was the day to do it.

He had left her to herself most of the time, only occasionally forcing her to interact with him. It had been just like it had when she’d been a child, him ignoring her unless he wanted something.

It seemed things hadn’t changed much. He had already promised her hand to someone in another crime family. Like hell she was going to marry anyone he forced on her. She reached into the drawer and pulled out the small wooden stake she had whittled with a stolen butter knife. She also shoved said knife-dull now- into the waistband of her jeans.

She took one last look around her cell. She was never coming back here, whether that meant she escaped alive or in a body bag. Opening the door, she stepped into the hall of the large house.

Jemma made her way downstairs, passing the pictures of her father’s family on the wall. His mother had still been alive when she had escaped three years ago. The woman had been even more conniving than her son, and Jemma wondered just who had run the family when she had been in her prime. She would have been willing to bet her grandfather had little to do with any of it.

“Where are you going?” Rodrigues, one of her father’s guards, moved to stand in front of the door.

“Last time I checked, I was allowed to go outside.”

“Why?”

“Why the hell not? Would you want to be locked up in a flowery pink fucking room all day?”

“You better watch your mouth and be grateful to have a roof over your head.”

“Whatever. Move.”

He hesitated for a moment and then stepped aside so she could make her way out into the sunshine. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the brightness, so she stood for a moment and looked out at her father’s estate.

Liam Charmont certainly had taste as far as his belongings were concerned. His heart was black, and he was the evilest man Jemma had ever met, but at least his lawn was groomed. She scoffed and made her way toward the large weeping willow that she had been named after.

“Well, where’s our little Willow going?”

“For a walk,” she continued moving as one of her father’s guards followed her. She just needed to get close enough to the wall that she could jump over it. The property bordered the ocean, so if she could just get to the other side, she could escape into the water. She might not survive it, but it would be better than dying here.

“How does it feel to know you’ll be a married woman soon?” he mouthed off. “If you ever want to get out some last days as a single woman jitters, I’m here for you.”

At this, Jemma turned and offered him a smile. “My father would kill you for talking to me this way.”

“If he believed you. You are, after all, a traitor to your blood.”

“Look, it’s been a rough month. Think I can have some privacy?”

The man laughed. “No, I have strict orders to follow you around.” He looked her up and down and licked his lips. “Can’t say I can complain about the view.”

“You want a piece of this?” she asked him and fluttered her eyelashes. “Come and get it.”

He eyed her and took one step closer. When she didn’t move, he took another until he was inches in front of her. Without giving him a second to react, Jemma drove one knee into his groin, and slammed his face into her other. He fell to the ground unconscious, and Jemma took the moment to relieve him of his weapons. She tucked a large knife into her boot, and his gun into her waistband. Then she used the spaces between the bricks to climb, unable to resist, she flipped the security camera the bird once she reached the top.

She dropped to the other side of the wall and onto the short space of land before the edge of a small cliff. The water crashed into rocks below her, and Jemma said a silent prayer before jumping into the water below.

The chill reached her bones as the cold enveloped her, but she didn’t give it a second thought. This was the only part of her father’s estate that wasn’t patrolled regularly. But the second they caught wind of her being gone, which would be any minute since the cameras were monitored, they would be on her. She swam close to shore and pushed her muscles to the max as she made her escape.

Once Jemma was far enough that she might be safe on land, she swam to shore and made her way toward the nearest bus station. She hoped the money and IDs she had stashed before her first escape were still in her locker.

Otherwise, she was screwed.

* * *

Caid made his way to Jemma’s apartment building to do his nightly sweep. Not long after she went missing, the neighbor who had introduced herself as Maria had moved out. As it turned out, the who had lived there had been an eighty-year-old woman by the name of Lupita Hernandez, who went missing shortly after Jemma rented the space. Maria was supposed to be a granddaughter, but after a bit of digging, he found that cover to be a lie.

They hadn’t been able to track down the woman, although not for a lack of trying. Caid couldn’t shake the feeling there were some big players at work; he just wasn’t sure who.

It was dark out, well past eleven at night, and he was not looking forward to going home to his empty apartment. He parked near the side entrance to the building, flipped on his in-cab light, and pulled out Jemma’s file again. A picture from her driver’s license stared back at him. “Where the hell are you, Jemma?”

“Fuck!”

He heard a loud curse through his rolled down window, and Caid turned to see someone trying to reach the fire escape ladder.

He quickly placed the file to the side, and drawing his weapon, climbed out. “Can I help you?” He shined a flashlight, and the person froze. Dark beanie and baggy jacket didn’t give him a clue as to male or female, not that it mattered. A criminal was a criminal regardless of gender. “Turn around and put your hands up.” He lifted his weapon and waited as the person turned.

“Jemma?” He lowered his weapon and took a step toward her.

“Can I put my hands down now?”

“Where the hell have you been?”

“It’s a long story, Agent King.” She lowered her hands.

“I’ve got time.”

“You might have time, but I don’t.” She jumped up and missed the fire escape ladder again. “Shit!”

“Your apartment was tossed.”

She turned to face him. “I figured it would be. I still need to get inside.” She jumped again and missed. Dammit, she was tired of being short.

The scent of man filled her nostrils, and she refused to turn around when she felt his presence behind her. Her entire body began to vibrate as if it only reacted to the frequency of his. “Ready?” he asked, and she nodded, ignoring the heat from his body as he lifted her to the ladder.

It pulled down with a slight squeak, and she began to climb. “You don’t need to come with me.”

“Yes, I do. You’ve been missing for nearly a month. I’m not letting you out of my sight until you tell me what’s going on.”

They climbed the rest of the way in silence until she got to her landing. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She cussed at the cardboard taped over her window. “They stole my damn keys; why did they have to break my window?”

“Yeah, that was me.”

She shot him a glare, and he shrugged. “You were missing, your place was tossed, and Mikel and I were worried.”

“So, Mikel was part of the breaking and entering, too, huh?”

“Hey, cop, remember? I had plausible cause.”

Jemma rolled her eyes and pulled the cardboard down to step into her trashed apartment. “Those assholes,” she muttered as she looked over the destruction that was her home for the last three years. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. They were only things, I can replace them. The important thing is that I’m alive.

She headed for the bathroom, Caid on her heels. “Since you’re insisting on being here, can you help me with this?” She pointed to the mirror, and he nodded.

She flipped the mirror holders down, and they heaved the large bathroom mirror down. “What the hell is that?” Caid asked, pointing to a hole in the wall where a string was thumbtacked.

“My security net.” She pulled the string up, and a flash drive came out.

“Who the hell are you, Jemma?” He stared at her stunned just as the front door was kicked in. Caid pulled his weapon out just as Jemma did.

“Go,” she whispered. “They won’t kill me, but they won’t hesitate with you.”

“I’m not letting you shield me.”

“Don’t be a stubborn ass, Caid. They won’t shoot me, trust me.”

She shoved him out and blocked his body with hers as they ran to the fire escape.

“If it isn’t little sapling. I knew you’d be stupid enough to come back here.”

“But not stupid enough to stay,” she said and climbed out after Caid. “No! Don’t go down, go up.”

“To the roof?”

“Just trust me, will you? I’ve planned for this.”

He headed up the fire escape, and blood pounding in her ears, Jemma followed him. She heard the yelling behind her, but she willed herself to stay calm. It was strange. She would have panic attacks over nightmares and being out after dark, but when it came to survival, her adrenaline pushed her though it.

“Come on.” She tucked the gun back into her waistband and jumped over the small gap to the next roof. She turned to see Caid staring at her, but to his credit, he only hesitated for a second before following her.

The close proximity of the other buildings had been why she’d chosen this area of the city to live. It was her backup plan had her father and his men ever found her. Three years she had been prepared for this, and now that it was here, she found herself already missing the tiny apartment with her books and premade salads.

They continued running and jumping until she reached where the buildings were slightly more apart. Then she climbed down a fire escape and onto the busy street.

“We have to keep moving,” she said and walked toward the sidewalk.

“To where exactly?”

“We need to leave the city, possibly the state.” She kept looking behind them until Caid pulled her into a small diner.

“Two please,” he said with a smile to the waitress.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jemma growled through her teeth.

“You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on, little sapling.”

The nickname sent chills up her spine. “Please don’t ever call me that again.”

Caid noted the way her face paled, and he placed his hand on the small of her back. “Then you can take the time to tell me just what I’ve gotten myself wrapped up in.”

“Right this way,” the waitress said with a smile, and they followed her to a booth near the window.

“Actually, can we have some privacy?” Caid wrapped his arm around Jemma and without thinking she leaned into him.

The waitress looked Caid up and down, and Jemma felt a stab of jealousy. “Of course. Right this way, sir.”

This time, she led them to a small booth at the very back of the restaurant. Jemma was already looking for possible exit routes, and was grateful it was near an emergency exit.

“Now what can I get you?”

“I’d like a coffee to start.” Caid smiled.

Jemma nodded. “Same, please.”

“You got it.”

Once the waitress was out of ear shot, Caid turned back to Jemma. “So who’s after you?”

Not wanting to waste time, she decided to go ahead and answer any questions he had --within reason. “Liam Charmont, but I believe you cops call him The Runner.”