Page 80 of The Librarian and Her Alphas

I have no doubt that by now, he’s worked out that Max’s call was a diversion and is looking for me. He’s going to be furious when he discovers that I’ve escaped, but I can’t let that stop me.

Freedom is just within reach.

I race through the airport, running so fast that my scarf whips off from around my neck, fluttering somewhere behind me. My suitcase is knocking into people left and right as I round corners wildly, and I can barely spare a thought for the shouts of complaint when I finally see the exit doors and the taxi bay nearby.

I burst outside and hurriedly wave down a taxi that is just pulling up, two people leaving the backseat.

The couple looks at me in alarm before grabbing their bags and hurrying inside the airport.

I fall into the backseat, slamming the door and ducking down to avoid being seen. If Zorin managed to track me outside, I don’t want him to know where I’m going.

Taking a deep breath, I try to calm my nerves before I speak to the taxi driver.

“51st Maple Avenue, please,” I wheeze at last, giving him the address of the home that I rented online. Hopefully, they’ll allow me to check in early.

“Are you all right there?” the driver asks in concern, staring at me with wide eyes. “Do you need me to call someone?”

“I’m okay,” I say quietly, wiping the tears off my cheeks. “I just really need to get going, please.”

He casts me one last concerned look in the rearview mirror. “All right, but let me know if you need anything.”

The driver pulls out smoothly from his parking spot, and I take one final look behind me as we pull into the city traffic to make sure that Zorin is nowhere to be seen.

Drive faster. Drive faster.

I’m nearly having a heart attack watching the traffic and how slow we’re going.

My fingers are trembling, and I clasp them together on my lap, trying to keep it together for just a little bit longer until I can get to safety.

Things could not have gone any more haywire.

Remembering the plane ride from hell, I’m just grateful I was able to escape him one more time. With Zorin, it was complicated. He was my ticket to escape my hellish mother and the hope for freedom.

But I was so wrong. So very wrong.

The taxi driver drops me off in front of my rental home, and I tip him generously for his promptness.

“Now you take care of yourself, miss,” he says. “If you need a ride anytime, call me.”

Grabbing my carry-on from the backseat, I lumber out of the car with shaking limbs, and the taxi drives off. I walk up to the house, rolling my suitcase behind me.

The home is a modest light green color, giving me cozy vibes. Punching in the code the landlord emailed, I walk inside and immediately lock the door.

I’m a little paranoid right now.

I double-check every window in the townhouse to make sure that they are closed and locked. I check the kitchen pantry, the bathroom behind the shower curtain, the bedroom closet, and even under the beds.

I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, but Zorin scared me badly enough that I think he’s already in the home waiting for me.

To make matters worse, Zorin never said whether he had acted alone in his stalking of me. Aleks and Raul could just as easily be part of his plan, and I would be none the wiser until they showed up. The thought terrifies me, and I feel a violent wave of nausea pulse inside me, desperate to be let out.

I rush to the bathroom and puke into the toilet.

This time, there’s no Damon sitting beside me to hold my hair and rub circles on my back, and I cry as I battle through my nausea, occasionally hugging the toilet as my body expels the little I’ve eaten today. I know that my vomiting is partly due to morning sickness, but I also think that it’s partly due to stress. Damon isn’t here to keep me calm with his purring.

Hopefully, I’ll be safe here for a while.

Panting, I slowly get up with shaky limbs and flush the toilet. I wonder when this nausea will stop.

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