Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Mariana
It’s locked from the outside, but Papa taught me how to pick a lock when I was five years old. Within seconds, it’s unlocked, and I pull it open.
A quick glance down the hallway reveals that it’s empty. Fabian wouldn’t waste guards on me when he can just lock me in my room. There will be guards on the ground, but I know how to slip past them. Especially since there’s a shift change happening right now.
Instead of heading for the main staircase, I turn in the opposite direction. I turn down the next hallway and hurry to the wall at the end. Finding the switch is easy, as I’ve used this entrance more than once.
While Mama and Papa didn’t require our household staff to use the servant’s staircases, the house came with them.
Fabian, on the other hand, forces them to use them.
Fucking prick.
I should just be glad Papa didn’t have them walled up after he caught me using them to sneak into Christian’s room when I was a teenager.
Slipping into the dark, I pull the false wall shut behind me and take a moment as grief rushes through me.
Come on, Mariana. Keep it together. We’ll grieve our losses once we’ve made it out of the country.
I steel myself and hurry down the stairs, coming up short when the door at the bottom swings open to reveal Ana Maria.
“Mariana?” she hisses, glancing over her shoulder before stepping inside and closing the door behind her. A second later, the light flickers to life. “What are you doing?”
I bite back a curse. What is she doing awake? She should be sleeping right now.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
“I’m leaving,” I tell her, leaving no room for argument. “Fabian killed Christian and promised me to some old man. If I leave with him, I’ll be dead within the year, so I’m getting the hell out of dodge.”
Tears fill her eyes as she nods. “Good. Very good. Do you have a plan? You know if he finds you, he’ll punish you.”
“I have a new identity waiting and an escape plan. I’m leaving the country tomorrow. I just have to get out of the house. I wasn’t expecting someone to be using the servant’s staircase at this time of day.”
Ana Maria blushes, looking away. “I was going back to my room while the shift change was happening.”
I want to ask her where she was sneaking back from, but I don’t have time for that.
“I have to go, Ana Maria.”
She nods, pulling me into a hug. “I know you do. Be safe and get as far away from Miami as you can. I’ll keep an eye on your brothers. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I squeeze her once more before brushing past her. “Stay safe. I don’t want to hear that you’re the next one he’s killed.”
She waves me off. “Don’t worry about me. I’m no threat to Fabian.”
Neither am I, but he still keeps coming after me.
It’s what I want to tell her, but I don’t have much time.
With a tight smile, I give her a quick wave before ducking into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, I’m hurrying down the sidewalk of my neighborhood toward the waiting car.
“Mariana.” Sebastian nods as I slide into the passenger seat.
He hands me a large envelope before he pulls away from the curb and drives away from the only home I’ve ever known.
“This has everything you need for your new identity. You didn’t ask, but I forged a transcript with some help from Lark so if you decide you want to continue with college you can. ”
“Thanks, Seb.” Taking a deep breath, I open the envelope and pull out my new ID card. “Luna Salazar?”
He chuckles. “You can’t keep any part of your name, but I know how much you loved your dad’s nickname for you.”
Once again, I’m fighting tears. “Thank you, Seb—for everything, but especially for that. Were you able to get the car for me?”
“I was. I’m going to drop you off at the bus stop. You’ll ride it for two stops, and you’ll find the car in the gas station parking lot. The keys are in the envelope.” He hesitates. “I wiped everything from my system, so Fabian won’t be able to access your new identity, but he’s not dumb, Mari.”
“Luna,” I correct him. “My name is Luna now. He won’t kill you—you’re too useful to him—but don’t take any chances. Tell him you let me set it up myself so you don’t know what name I used.”
Sebastian clears his throat as he pulls up to the curb. “Take care of yourself, Luna. There’s also a burner phone in there so you can reach Lark, and I made sure you have funds he can’t trace. Get the hell out of here as fast as you can because if he catches your trail? I don’t know what he’ll do.”
Fabian has been in charge for two weeks, and he always has everyone terrified of him. I don’t know what he did to cause this kind of fear, but I’m thankful Sebastian was still willing to help me.
“I’ll be safe, I promise. Thank you again.” I climb out of the car and watch him drive away. This is one of the few bus routes that run twenty-four hours. I’m not exactly familiar with the bus system, having never used it before, but I figure two stops should be easy enough.
Not five minutes later, the bus arrives and I use the transit card before heading to an empty seat near the side door.
Two stops later, I climb off and cross the empty street to the gas station. I hit the button on the key and hurry over to the nondescript silver car that lights up. When I turn on the car, I find the gas tank full before pulling out.
New York City is nearly a nineteen-hour drive without stops. That should give me plenty of time since I’m not meeting Lark until noon tomorrow.
Now, I just have to get the hell out of Miami before Fabian realizes I’m missing.
Iwalk toward the rundown building I’m meeting Lark at, wrinkling my nose. While I knew we couldn’t meet at her house for fear of Fabian finding out, couldn’t we have met somewhere a little nicer?
I sigh, running a hand through my mahogany hair. I’m exhausted.
I stopped outside NYC around two in the morning and grabbed a hotel room. After a few hours of shitty sleep, I’d sold my car and headed into the city.
While I’m accustomed to Miami traffic, even I’m not insane enough to drive through NYC.
With a shake of my head, I push open the front door. “Lark?”
Lark pops her head out of a doorway to the right. “In here, Mar—I mean, Luna. Sorry about the meeting place, but things have been weird at the house. I had a hard enough time getting out to meet you. I didn’t want anyone interrupting us.”
“It’s fine.” I join her in the other room to find her with a laptop set up on a beat-up counter. I don’t know what kind of business used to be here, but the counter seems to be the only thing still standing. “Are we all set?”
“We are.” She presses a few buttons on her computer before turning back to me. “Are you sure you want to go to Colombia? There are a million other places you could go where your brother can’t reach you.”
I shake my head. “El Jefe will keep me safe from my brother. He won’t send me back when I tell him what Fabian did. He also won’t take him out of power, but I don’t care about that. I just need to get away from him. He fucking killed Chris, Lark. What else am I supposed to do?”
“I know.” Lark pulls me into her arms, hugging me close. “He’s a bastard, and if you decide you want vengeance, you just let me know. I can’t go after him directly, but we sure as hell can make his life harder.”
“Thanks, but I can’t even think about that right now. Tell me the plan.” I pull back, wiping the tears from my face.
I’ve spent so much time crying over the last few weeks. I’m so tired of it, but I know there are many more tears to come.
“I have a private jet booked for you at an airfield outside the city. I have a driver coming for us, and he should be here in a few minutes. He’ll take us there and then take me back home.
You’ll fly straight to Bogotá. From there, you’ll be on your own to make it where you need to go.
” Lark closes her laptop. “I know Sebastian set you up with some money, but I added to it. If you need more, let me know.”
I startle as the front door opens. “Your driver?”
Lark tenses with a shake of her head. “No, he’s still five minutes out. I don’t know who the hell that is. We should go out the back.”
“We were expecting one omega, not two,” a voice says behind us, and I spin around to find two alphas standing in front of the back door. “The boss will be happy with this turn of events. Two omegas for the price of one.”
“What do you want?” Lark asks, setting her laptop down as two more men enter the room from the opposite direction.
The first man who spoke sneers. “You’ll both be coming with us. There’s someone who wants to meet you.”
“Meet them?” Another man scoffs.
He shrugs. “Okay, he doesn’t care less about meeting you, but you’ll be coming with us, regardless.”
“Who sent you?” I demand, swallowing around the fear in my throat.
“Does it really matter?” the first man asks. “Why am I even bothering? Take them.”
I step toward Lark, who squeezes my hand as she shakes her head.
Don’t fight them, she mouths, and I frown.
What?
It’s not your brother.
I don’t know how she knows that, but I trust her with my life, so when the needle slides into my arm, I don’t pull away. I keep my eyes locked on Lark as my eyes grow heavy before finally succumbing to the drugs they injected me with.
What the hell else can go wrong?