Chapter 26 Running Blind
RUNNING BLIND
ALORA
The moment Thane told me to go, his voice low and steady and wrapped in that terrifying protectiveness I was only beginning to understand, something inside me cracked.
I wanted to stay. I wanted to fight him on it.
I wanted to refuse to leave his side because everything in me screamed that the danger was around him, not around me.
But the look in his eyes, that wild combination of fury and fear, left me with no choice.
He wasn’t asking. He was begging without saying the words.
He needed me gone so he could deal with whatever waited in the shadows without worrying about me slowing him down.
So I ran.
I turned and sprinted toward the end of the alley, my breath catching painfully in my chest as the city unfolded before me in a blur of people and noise.
Every step away from him felt wrong, as if my body rejected the distance.
As if some invisible thread stretched between us and burned as it pulled tight.
I kept glancing back over my shoulder, terrified the moment I could no longer see even him standing there.
But he had told me to go. He had trusted me to listen.
And if I stayed, I knew I would only distract him, which might cause him to hesitate at the wrong moment. Might get him hurt.
So I forced myself forward.
I spotted a cab just as it slowed to drop someone off at the curb.
I practically lunged for it, yanking the door open and collapsing into the back seat with trembling hands.
The driver glanced at me through the mirror, eyebrows raising at the panic etched on my face, but he asked no questions.
I gave him my address and sank into the seat, pressing my palm over my heart to try and steady the frantic pounding.
My thoughts spiraled around Thane, replaying the tightness in his voice, the tension in his arm, the stiff way he had positioned himself between me and the mouth of the alleyway. He had been shielding me. Protecting me. And the fear in him had not been fear for himself. It had been fear for me.
I hugged my bag against my chest as the cab sped through the city, my stomach twisting tighter with every passing block.
By the time we pulled up outside my building, my nerves had frayed to the point of shaking.
I paid quickly, almost fumbling with the money, and hurried toward the entrance while telling myself that once I was inside, once I locked my door, everything would feel normal again.
But the moment I stepped into the building’s quiet hallway, an uneasy sensation crawled across my skin.
A prickling awareness that I tried desperately to ignore.
I took the elevator up to the apartment, telling myself I was being dramatic, that everything was fine, Thane would protect me.
That he wouldn’t have sent me home if he didn’t think it was safe.
I reached my door.
And that was when it happened.
A hand shot out from behind me, clamping over my mouth so hard I tasted blood as I bit the inside of my cheek.
A second arm wrapped around my waist, yanking me backward and slamming my spine into a solid chest. A muffled scream tore through me, my heart exploding into panic so fierce I almost lost my breath.
“Not a sound,” a voice hissed against my ear, low and cold and unlike anything I had ever heard. “Don’t fight, and this will be quick.”
Terror surged through me in a way that made my vision blur. I jerked, twisting blindly, clawing at the hand over my mouth. His grip tightened as his other arm locked like an iron bar across my ribs, soon dragging me away from my door. Away from safety, away from any hope of help.
But fear did something strange to me in that moment.
It made me move.
Made me fight, and it made me desperate.
I sank my teeth into the hand covering my mouth.
Hard. Hard enough to draw a choked curse from him.
His grip faltered for a second, just enough for me to twist my body violently, throwing all my weight to the side.
He stumbled, losing his hold, and I wrenched free, spinning around to shove him with both hands as hard as I could.
It was clumsy and frantic and nothing like what Thane would have done, but it was enough.
He stumbled backward hard enough that he fell and hit his head hard against the wall.
As for me, I didn’t wait around to find out what damage I had done.
Instead, I bolted. My legs were moving before my mind did.
I tore toward the stairwell, ignoring the elevator entirely, knowing he would trap me inside if I tried.
I grabbed the railing and launched myself downward, nearly tripping over my own feet in my desperation to flee.
My breath tore through my lungs. My pulse thundered like a drum.
Sweat stung my eyes as I flew down the steps two at a time.
Then I heard it… his footsteps above me. Fast and getting closer.
I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. Because if I saw him closing in, I would freeze.
So I shoved myself through the stairwell door at the bottom and burst into the underground parking before making my way to the street and doing so with the force of a kicking heartbeat, gasping as the cool night air hit my face.
The world outside looked normal. Cars passing. People talking. Neon lights now glowing. All of it so painfully familiar, so cruelly ordinary, while my entire body trembled with terror.
I stood on the sidewalk, chest heaving, adrenaline flooding every nerve. I had no idea where to go or who I could run in to. Of course, only one name filled my mind, cutting through the fear like a blade.
Thane.
But where would I find him? I swallowed hard, fighting tears, trying to decide what to do next. Because I was alone and someone had tried to take me. It felt like danger was closing in from every side and the only person I trusted in this city was out there somewhere, facing a danger of his own.
But I needed him.
I needed him now.
I stumbled down the street, breath ragged, my heartbeat still thrashing wildly in my chest as I looked around frantically for any more threats.
People walked past without noticing the terror on my face, without seeing the man who had just tried to drag me away, without hearing the echo of his footsteps somewhere behind me.
I spun once, trying to decide which direction was safest, but the city blurred around me in frantic colors, the panic smearing every sound into something unrecognizable.
Just keep moving, I told myself. Do not stop. Do not look back.
I forced my legs forward, weaving between strangers, my eyes darting across the street for any sign of help.
But the more I walked, the more isolating the city became, its crowds feeling like a trap rather than protection.
Every shadow felt too thick. Every alley too dark.
Every person too close. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him.
The man from the apartment.
He stepped out from between two parked cars, his face half-shrouded by the glow of a streetlamp, his eyes fixed on me with cold, focused intent.
A second man appeared behind him, and the sight of a third then made my blood freeze.
They were spreading out, blocking the sidewalk and cutting off my escape.
I took a step back, and they took two forward.
My breath hitched, terror climbing the length of my spine in sharp, trembling jolts. I turned sharply, hoping to dart across the street, but another figure rounded the corner. They were closing in on me from all sides.
I was trapped.
My throat tightened in fear, but right before I could bolt, before I could run blindly and hope for the best, a sleek, dark car screeched to a halt inches from the curb beside me. It was too expensive, too polished, too out of place for this street. The tinted passenger door flew open.
“Get in!” a woman’s voice barked, sharp and commanding.
My heart hammered, as I didn’t know her and therefore had no reason to trust her.
But then what other choice did I have? The men were seconds away.
So, with no other options, my feet moved before my mind did.
I lunged for the open door, grabbing the frame as the woman shouted to someone unseen in the front.
“Go!”
The car jerked forward the second I pulled the door shut, sending me stumbling into the seat as the world outside blurred into streaks of light.
I turned to look out the back window, watching the men shrink into the distance, their figures swallowed by the crowd as the car sped away.
Only then, when safety finally caught up with me, did I realize my entire body was trembling.
I turned toward the woman sitting beside me.
She was beautiful.
Stunning, really.
Long black hair cascaded over one shoulder, covering half her face like a veil of ink.
The visible side revealed sharp cheekbones, a strong jaw, and eyes that glittered like obsidian.
She wore black from head to toe, elegant and severe, her posture relaxed but coiled with something sharp beneath it.
One gloved hand rested unmoving in her lap.
“Who are you?”
She watched me for a long breath, her gaze sweeping over my shaking form with an expression that felt strangely familiar. As if she were examining something precious rather than something fragile.
Then she spoke, her voice smooth but edged with steel.
“I’m a friend of Thane’s… his only one, no doubt,” she said dryly.
I blinked, my breath catching.
“You… know Thane?”
Her lips twitched, almost a smile.
“Better than anyone, which is why I also know all about you, and why you can call me, Janie.”
Janie.
The name hit me with a strange jolt, one that felt like stepping into a piece of Thane’s world I was never meant to touch.
My throat tightened as I clutched my bag against me, trying to stop my hands from shaking.
But the recent events weren’t the only thing causing my discomfort now.
No, it was also bitterness that I felt as jealousy grew, making me wonder whether, by 'friendship,' she actually meant something more.
Could she have been his girlfriend at some point?
Was that why she claimed to know him better than anyone?
“Where are we going?” I asked, unable to keep my tone steady.
She tilted her head, the hidden side of her face turning slightly as she regarded me with a mix of pity and something softer, like kindness.
“Somewhere safe so that I can keep you alive,” she said simply, quickly adding, “Before he tears this entire city apart looking for you. And I do not say that metaphorically, sweetheart. He will burn the world to ash if he thinks you have been taken.”
My breath caught, and my stomach fluttered, but it was more than that. It helped ease any worries about jealousy, as she didn’t seem bitter with her comment. No, if anything, she seemed concerned for me and spoke of his attachment to me with ease.
“He’s looking for me?”
Janie let out a slow, almost amused exhale.
“He will be more than looking for you. He will most likely unravel the moment he realizes you’re not at home. And if I don’t get to you to him first, then he will start a war in your name.”
I swallowed hard, shocked to my core.
“What… what are you doing with me? Where are you taking me?”
At that, she smiled. A strange darkness shadowed her silhouette, which I couldn’t make sense of. It was like she knew a secret I was about to discover.
“I’m taking you to your new home,” she said, her grin widening, as if she was enjoying this conversation.
I stared at her, stunned and breathless.
“My… new home?”
Janie nodded.
“Thane’s home,” she corrected, before adding…
“Where you belong.”