Page 22 of Keeping My Girl

It only takes her a few seconds to make a decision. And as soon as she darts off to the right, I know that decision was made. She doesn’t want to stop. She wants to run. And my only choice is to run after her.

The adrenaline pumps in my veins as I chase her. She’s fast. But I’m faster. I gain ground on her within the matter of a few seconds, and I gently grab her arm, bringing us to a stop, not wanting to hurt her.

But then she starts to fight. “Fuck,” I curse as she elbows me in the ribs. Grabbing her tightly, I put her in a hold with her arms crisscrossed in front of her and her back tight up against my front. I don’t want to hurt her. That’s the last fucking thing I want to do. “Stop fighting me, Lina!” I order.

“No!” she cries out, kicking at my shins.

I hold her until she wears herself out, and then and only then do I finally release her. Panting, she takes a few steps away from me, glaring. And, fuck, if looks could kill, I would drop dead right here on the spot.

“What the hell is your problem? Why are you trying to leave?” I demand, desperately wanting to know the reason behind her sudden erratic behavior.

“I just need to leave, Nico. You couldn’t understand,” she says, her eyes tilting up to the night sky before she lets out a small sigh.

“I’m not letting you go for no goddamn reason,” I tell her, growing angrier by the second. “Constantine is still out there. Maybe even waiting for you!” I yell, trying to get it through her head.

“I know! That’s the point of me trying to get away from you. Don’t you get it? I don’t want him to hurt you too!” she cries. “I don’t want you to end up dead like them!”

“Them? Who?” I ask.

Her eyes grow wide as she realizes she said something she didn’t mean to. “Nothing. I didn’t…never mind.”

“No, tell me. I want to know,” I insist.

“It’s not safe for anyone, not you, not your family, if I’m here. He always finds me,” she says resolutely.

“He’d need an army to get in here. Don’t you get that? You’re safe here, Lina. You’re safer here than out on your own!” I say heatedly, trying to talk some sense into her.

She rolls her eyes at my words. “I’ve heard that before. You don’t know him.” She wraps her arms around herself. “No one knows him like I do. No one knows what he’s truly capable of.”

“Enlighten me then,” I suggest. “I want to know what you’re so afraid of that you want to leave the safest place on the planet for you right now!”

She swallows hard and doesn’t speak for so long that I begin to wonder if she’ll ever tell me. But then she finally starts with, “When I was fifteen, I got away from Constantine. They had docked his yacht in this little Italian village. Constantine wanted to go sightseeing or something. I don’t really remember.” She shakes her head. “I just know I was able to slip past him and his security guards. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore.” She shivers at the memory, wrapping her arms tighter around herself. “I found a house at the end of an alleyway. It was a family of five. The mother and father were so delightful, and their three small children were beautiful and kind.” She takes a moment to release a shaky breath. “The father knew a little English, and I explained to him the situation I was in. They agreed to help me.”

I listen to her story carefully; and even though I don’t know the ending, I think I know where this story is going. If it haunts her this much so many years later, it must be horrifically brutal. It obviously scarred her soul deeply.

“Constantine found me an hour later.” Tears fill her eyes, but she doesn’t let a single drop fall. “He killed them. Even the kids. He killed them all in front of me.” She closes her eyes, and a single tear sneaks out and trails down her porcelain cheek. “I was covered in their blood. Constantine didn’t let me shower for weeks. I wore their blood on my skin, on my clothes. He told me it was my lesson to learn — that it would happen anytime anyone tried to help me.” Her eyes flutter open and she gazes up at me. “I don’t want that happening to you and your family, Nico. I don’t want you to get hurt!” she exclaims, her voice wavering with despair.

I take a step closer to her. Slowly, wanting her to know my true intentions, I gently raise my hand and cup her cheek in my palm. Her breath catches in her throat as my thumb wipes away the stray tear from her cheek, and then she looks up at me with those haunting eyes of hers. Fuck, she’s never looked more beautiful. “He can’t hurt me, Lina. Only you can. By leaving,” I explain. “Constantine can’t get to you here. I promise you that. He wouldn’t get within ten miles of this place without us knowing.”

Selina scoffs like she doesn’t believe me, pulling away from my touch and taking a few steps backwards. So I tell her, “Come. Let me show you.” And then I turn and wait for her.

She stares at me, uncertainty written all over her face. But she eventually starts to walk and begins to follow me. I’m going to ease her mind and take her to the control room, as we call it. Because then, and only then, will she see how truly safe she is here.

---