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“Ye want to marry her?” Macnair’s eyebrows disappeared under his cap for the second time as he contemplated me.

“Yes.”

“Heh.” Leaning against the car, he reached up to scratch behind his ear, turning his head slightly, gaze traveling along the tree line. “Have ye thought about askin’ the lass herself?”

“I will, after I ask the don.” I hesitated for a moment. “I don’t think he’ll object.”

“Well, yer lass might.” He chuckled. “As she’s currently running away from ye.”

He nodded his head and I spun around, just in time to see a flash of gray fabric and pale legs, topped with blonde hair, disappearing into the trees, headed toward the nearby town. Dammit. Ivy was a hell of a lot more tricksy than I’d realized.

“Good luck!” Macnair called after me as I started running after her.

Ivy

I should have waited till I had shoes… that was my first thought. But it didn’t matter, because who knew if I would get another—or a better—opportunity. I’d managed to quickly take care of my business, wriggling my wrists out of the ropes while I did so, before climbing onto the sink and jumping from there to the tiny window. It was a tight squeeze, but the lack of food from Don Bianco finally had an upside, and I’d managed to fit myself through the window and drop down to the ground below.

It was exhausting, and the moment my feet hit the ground I was already out of breath and wondering if I’d made a mistake, but it was too late to turn back. I couldn’t get back up to the window from the outside, there was nothing to climb onto to get me there, so I couldn’t fool Tomas into thinking I hadn’t made an attempt to escape.

I also hadn’t realized there was a drop-off behind the building that would be impossible for me to scale, especially with my arms already tired just from making it out of the window. Since I couldn’t go straight back, and going to the left would be the opposite direction of the town as well as going straight into farmland with no real coverage, I started running for the trees.

If I was lucky, I could find a place to hide in the forest before Tomas realized I was gone. I’d always enjoyed the outdoors, and especially the forest, in my childhood. Plants had brought me solace when humans had let me down, over and over again.

Plants were always just what they were. They sprouted, they bloomed, they died, but they were never emotional or unpredictable. They weren’t violent—except perhaps the carnivorous ones, but those didn’t eat people. Just bugs. The idea of hiding in the forest was growing more and more appealing, allowing me to ignore the heat of the pavement before I reached the grass.

Hope bloomed in my chest as I reached the tree line.

Real hope.

The first I’d had since my father had passed me over to Don Bianco.

I might live.

And with that hope came desire.

I wanted to live.

I didn’t want to give up and resign myself to a less awful death.

I wanted life.

The forest floor was not any kinder to my feet than the pavement. There was soft soil, but there were also rocks and sticks. Branches whipped against my skin, stinging whips that snapped against my limbs and my cheek. It didn’t matter.

The sound of wood cracking behind me made me glance over my shoulder and what I saw nearly stopped my heart. Tomas had seen me. Tomas was following me. The expression on his face was hard and merciless.

The face of a killer.

I don’t want to die.

My head whipped back around as I tried to run faster, but my limbs didn’t have it in them. I was already worn out just from getting out of the bathroom. I’d been kept in a cage for months.

I had the will.

I did not have the way.

I let out a cry of despair as strong arms wrapped around me from behind, lifting me off my feet. The forest seemed to contract around me.

Surely he was going to kill me now.