He laughed and slouched back, throwing his arm over the seat again.

  “You need to leave me alone or…” I began, trailing off like the lame loser I was. He knew I was all talk and my bite was duller than a butter knife.

  His expression darkened. “Or what?”

  Now he was showing his true nature. What did he do for my father? Was he a bounty hunter? A hired killer? A ‘man who could get things done?’ Whatever it was, it wasn’t anything good. His tone suggested I didn’t have any say in the matter, and one way or another, he was delivering me as promised.

  When I didn’t answer straight away, Chaser smirked.

  It was time to leave. My expression tightened and his eyes narrowed, but I was too busy thinking about my exit strategy to dwell on it.

  Choosing to leave him hanging, I slid out of the booth and left him behind, anger searing through my veins. Maybe it should’ve been fear, but I’d vowed to never let it get the best of me again. I had a plan and I had to follow it. Cool, calm, and collected.

  When I reached the bar, I glanced at the clock.

  “Yvette, I need to skip out early.”

  “But you still have an hour!” she exclaimed. “It’s busy, Slo. You can’t leave yet.”

  I sighed and held her shoulders so she would look at me. “Just this once. This can be your payback for all those times I’ve covered for you being late. Okay?”

  She pouted and slouched her shoulders. “Okay. Just this once.”

  “Thanks,” I said, letting her go. “You’re a good friend, you know that?”

  There wasn’t much I would miss about the Sailor’s Arms or my anaemic paycheque-to-paycheque life, but Yvette was one of the good ones. She’d had my back.

  “Can you be a doll and take the rubbish out before you leave?” she asked before I could walk away. “First and only condition.”

  I sighed. “Nah, yeah. Give it here.”

  Taking the bag, I dragged it out back and down the hall, bits of shattered glass clinking noisily as I went.

  The air was cool outside, but I was alone. Music and chatter from the pub thumped behind me, and the sound of a passing siren wailed before disappearing into the distance.

  Throwing the trash into the bin, the bag smacked the sides with a satisfying bang. Wiping off my hands, I turned and stumbled.

  A man leaned against the wall, staring at me with a smirk on his ugly face. He was broad-shouldered, muscled, and was wearing a leather jacket, flannel shirt, and jeans. His ginger hair looked like it needed a good comb and his beard was ratty at best, but his eyes…they seemed to glow in the low light.

  “Well, hello there,” he drawled, his gaze raking up and down my body. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

  “Entrance is ’round front,” I said, taking a step back.

  He smiled and pushed off the wall. Everything in my body screamed at me to run, but there was nowhere to go but back inside where Chaser was still lurking…and the door was too far away. I wouldn’t make it in time.

  “That’s not the entrance I’m looking for.” The man took a step towards me, trying to herd me into a corner.

  He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a switchblade. Flicking it open, his lips curved into a malicious smile.

  My gaze lowered and I swallowed hard. I had to try.

  Lunging for the door, I grasped the handle, but a big hand slammed down, forcing it closed. Cool steel pressed against my throat, and I tensed.

  “You can’t run, little girl. Your daddy has to pay up. Blood for blood.”

  He grabbed my hair and twisted. Pulling me away from the door, he shoved me over a crate, forcing me face down.

  “Get off me!” I screeched, fighting against him.

  I kicked and thrashed, but his hips held me in place. He’d thrown me down like I was nothing, and no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t break free. Then the knife pressed against my jugular, and I whimpered, blinded by panic.

  There was no way out. I was stuck. Trapped.

  Chaser was right. There were men after me and they wouldn’t stop until I was dead, but was he any better?

  If I thrust my head to the side just a little, the knife would cut into an artery.

  Closing my eyes, I swallowed hard.

  Just a little to the side...

  Do it, Sloane.

  “You picked a bad night, friend.”

  The sound of Chaser’s voice echoed off the brick walls, and my eyes flew open.

  The knife slid against my skin, and I crumpled to the ground, my hand going to my neck. The sound of a fist slamming into flesh pulled my attention back to reality, and I gasped as the man stumbled back against the wall next to me.

  Chaser shook out his hand and reached into his jacket. A second later, a knife appeared, and he held it out towards the man.

  “I’ve got a message for you,” he said. “You go back to your boss and tell him she’s been claimed.”

  The man laughed, wiping the back of his hand across his bloodied nose. “I was wondering if I’d run into you. The infamous Chaser. Lower than a dog.”

  Chaser’s eyes narrowed, and he aimed the knife at the man’s thigh and threw. The knife spun through the air and embedded into the man’s flesh, almost to the hilt.

  He howled in pain, and Chaser was on him in a flash, moving faster than my eyes could follow, grabbing the end of the knife and driving it all the way into the man’s flesh.

  “I said,” Chaser murmured, closing his hand around the guy’s neck, “go back to your boss, and tell him if anyone comes after the girl again, I won’t be so gentle. She’s Fortitude property. Got it?”

  “How does it feel to betray your own kind?” the man rasped.

  Chaser twisted the knife, causing him to roar in pain. “Got it?”

  “Okay, okay. I’ve got it.”

  Ripping out the knife, Chaser shoved the man away and watched as he attempted to run. He dragged his leg behind him, disappearing into the darkness.

  My hand went to my neck again, and when I pulled it back, it was red. I stared at the smear of blood, feeling sick to my stomach. It was just a nick, but I still felt lightheaded as I rose to my feet.

  “Happy I stuck around?” Chaser asked, smirking at me. Always with the smirk. He smirked so much the word was losing all meaning. “Why didn’t you fight? You could’ve taken him on your own.”

  I stared at him, his words barely registering. Fortitude property? A knife to my throat? The girl has been claimed? I had to get out of here while I still had an out. Now.

  Backing away, I pulled the door open and darted into the pub. Weaving through the dimly lit corridor, I snatched my bag from my locker in the staff room and legged it through the bar. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Chaser appear, his head swivelling from side to side as he searched for me.

  “Hey, Bobby,” I called out as I neared the door.

  “Hey, Sloane,” he replied, his face lighting up when he saw me. “Is everything okay?”

  “See that guy over there?” I pointed Chaser out to the bouncer. “He’s been giving me trouble. Can you hold him here for a while? I’m on my way home, and I don’t want him to follow me.”

  “Sure thing, sweets.”

  “Thanks. You’re a sweetheart.” Rising to my tippy toes, he leaned down so I could kiss his cheek.

  “That’s what I like,” he said with a chuckle. “Go on home. I’ll watch out for you.”

  “Thanks, Bobby. See you tomorrow night.” I gave him a little wave and slipped through the door, my entire body on the verge of shutting down from shock.

  I couldn’t stop now. I had to run.

  It was time to cut ties and disappear. And this time, I’d do a better job of it.

  Chapter 4

  Sloane

  I didn’t know how much time I had.

  Chaser had been right about the men trying to drag me into their beef with my dad, but that didn’t mean I was going anywhere with him. This wasn’t a movie where the hot hero showed up and said, ‘Come with me if you want to live.’ This was real life, and in it, I had to be my own hero.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I hoped it was the last time I’d have to, but I knew I would be doing it for the rest of my life.

  Powering through the security entrance, I ran up the stairs to the fifth floor. I had to be fast. Grab a bag and stuff in as much as I could carry.

  Maybe I was doing the wrong thing or maybe I was too stupid to live, but I didn’t want to choose the lesser of two evils. Death in one hand or imprisonment in the other. The smart choice would be to go for imprisonment, but that was off the table. Not when I had a chance at disappearing before I was forced into it.

  I had to try.

  Jogging down the hall, I rounded the corner and almost slipped and fell on my backside. A body wearing a pink robe was lying half in and half out of the doorway to an apartment, her clothing clashing with the crimson pool of blood she was lying in.

  Mrs. Adelstein.

  My hand flew to my mouth, and I stumbled back against the wall. The shock I’d been trying to keep at bay since that man had grabbed me out the back of the pub threatened to overwhelm me, and blood whooshed in my ears. My head spun and I struggled to draw in a breath deep enough to calm myself.

  Glancing down the hall, the door to my apartment was closed, but that didn’t mean anything.

  Move, Sloane, I thought. Move!

  Stepping over the pool of blood, I swallowed the vomit working its way up my throat and pulled out my keys.

  I had to at least get my cash. I wasn’t getting far with the twenty bucks in my pocket. I needed that money.

  Raising my hand, I went to put the first key in the lock, but it never got there. A hand clamped down over my mouth, and I was pulled back against a hard chest, a strong arm trapping my arms against my sides.

  I screamed and thrashed, desperate to get away. Lifting my feet off the ground, I kicked backward, aiming for anything I could.

  “Sloane,” Chaser rasped. “Settle down.”

  Like hell. I thrashed harder, attempting to shake my head from side to side. If I could just gain enough slack, I could bite down and…

  “Quiet,” he murmured into my ear. “They could still be inside.”

  His words flipped my switch to the off-position. I slackened, and his grip loosened. When I didn’t try anything, he let me go.

  “Keys.” He held out his hand, and I placed them into his palm.

  I stood back against the wall, my knees trembling as he unlocked the door and pushed it open with the tip of his boot. It swung inwards, but nothing happened. No gunshots, no knives, no men bursting out…nothing.

  I glanced down the hall. Mrs. Adelstein’s hand was peeking out from her door, the pool of blood creeping farther toward the opposite wall. There was no way he could’ve gotten here before me.

  Chaser didn’t kill her.

  So who did?

  “Are you ready to stop running and start listening?”

  “How do I know you’re not one of them?” I demanded. “I have no reason to trust you.”

  “If I was one of them, you would’ve been dead long before you even saw me coming.”

  I tensed, my heart twisting in my chest. How long had Chaser been watching me? And more importantly, where had I slipped? I must’ve given myself away somewhere along the line. I had fake IDs, dealt in cash, used a scrubbed computer, and had a burner phone. I hadn’t even legally changed my name or submitted any forms with my signature. I’d made up a new one to go with my new identity. How did he know?

  “They’ll be back if they aren’t already on their way,” he said. “Get your stuff and be quick about it.”

  “I’m not going with you.” I fished around in my bag, looking for the present I would embed in his face.

  He grabbed my arm and shook me. “Get it through your pretty little head,” he said, his iridescent eyes blazing. “If you don’t come with me now—”

  Pressing the barrel of my gun against the side of his skull, I curled my lip. “If I don’t go with you, what?”

  “Put the gun down.” Chaser didn’t even blink; there wasn’t even a twitch on his handsome face. If anything, he seemed exasperated.

  “No.”

  “We don’t have time for this.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I repeated for what felt like the umpteenth time. “So you better let me go. I’ll do just fine on my own. I’m not your problem.”

  “You know how much of a mess firing at close range will make?” he asked, baiting me. “You’d better close your eyes and mouth, unless you want to eat brain matter, sweetheart. Are you ready to see that? Blowing a man’s head off three inches from your own face?”

  The smirk faded from my lips, the gun sliding an inch down the side of his skull.

  “I don’t care what you think about me, and I don’t care how much you hate your daddy. You’re coming with me because right now, it’s the only way you’re walking out of here alive.” Reaching up, he curled his hand around the gun, his fingers tightening on mine. “Either you pull the trigger or you get your stuff.”

  I didn’t know when I’d begun to tremble, but I felt it the moment his icy hand covered mine. He was right; I didn’t have the guts to blow his head off, just like I didn’t have the guts to fight back against that guy.

  I was too stupid to live and too cowardly to die.

  Lowering my hand, Chaser pried the gun from my fingers, though this time, he had nothing smart to say.

  “Two minutes,” he said. “Two minutes, and we’re gone. Okay?”

  Swallowing my brewing tears, I turned and went inside and found my bag. Pulling clothes from their hangers, I shoved them into the duffel. Upending old shoeboxes full of underwear and socks, I filled in the gaps. Toiletries and makeup went next, then my textbooks and laptop. I would have to give up the bond money on this place, but uni was one thing I wasn’t willing to give up on. Not yet.

  Chaser stood out in the hall like he was stuck out there. He raised an eyebrow at the books but remained silent, his body angled towards the stairs.

  Finally, I wedged the refrigerator away from the wall, sending a cockroach scurrying across the floor. Reaching around the back, I pulled out the resealable plastic bag filled with all the cash I had and shoved it into my handbag.

  “That’s it,” I said. “That’s all of it.”

  As I stepped out into the hall, Chaser’s free hand bunched around the collar of my denim jacket.

  Shaking him off, I hissed, “You don’t need to drag me. I got the message, loud and clear.”

  His eyes narrowed, then he nodded. “Quickly. Follow me.”

  Stepping over Mrs. Adelstein’s blood for the second time, we hurried down the hall and into the stairwell. Five flights down, we weren’t stopped. He led me towards the back of the building, my gun still in his hand.

  Chaser lingered, watching the back parking lot for a few minutes. I pressed behind him, my shoulder resting against his back. His muscles rippled as if he were reacting to me being there, but I couldn’t be sure. It didn’t matter, anyway.

  When Chaser was satisfied no one was around, he led me towards a car at the rear of the lot. A dark-coloured sedan with tinted windows, nothing special.

  Unlocking the doors, he gestured for my duffel. Letting him take it, he threw it in the back as I got into the passenger seat.

  Talk about eating my words.

  Chaser got in the front and gunned the engine. The headlights switched on, illuminating the car in front as he backed out of the space before roaring out of the lot and onto the street.

  Sinking back into the seat, the silence was deafening. Pressing my fingers against the cut on my neck, I checked for blood, but my finger came back clean. My pride hurt a lot more. I was supposed to be able to take care of myself…and poor Mrs. Adelstein. She was a crazy old bat, but she didn’t deserve to be murdered on her doorstep.

  Reality was sinking in faster than the car, which was now hurtling onto the freeway. I wasn’t one to get carsick, but it was becoming a distinct possibility.

  “Did he cut your neck?” Chaser asked, glancing at me. His nostrils flared and I sunk towards the window.

  “Just a little.”

  He glanced back at the road before checking on me again. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t hurt you. I can control it.”

  I stared at him, my eyes widening. Control what? Was he a serial killer? Did the sight of blood excite him or something? A plan began to formulate in my mind. The first chance I got, I’d try and slip away.

  Reaching into my pocket, I checked for my mobile phone. I took it out, but before I could even unlock it, Chaser snatched it from me and tossed it onto the dash. A second later, the butt of the gun smashed onto the screen, and the entire thing switched off.

  “Hey!”

  “You can’t be Sloane anymore,” he said. “Sloane is gone.”

  “You can’t just—”

  “I just did,” he snapped.

  “Sloane is the only person I know how to be.”

  He glanced at me out the corner of his eye and grunted.

  “What?” I pouted.

  “While you’re with me, you’ll do and say as you’re told.”

  “I’m not your slave!” I exclaimed.

  “It’s for your own safety, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “You’ll do and say as you’re told,” he repeated, this time more firmly.

  “Then?”

  “Then you’re your father’s problem.”

  Chapter 5

  Chaser

  As the sun began to rise, we stopped at a rundown motel a few kilometres shy of Coolgardie.

  Taking a key from the old lady behind the counter, I pushed out of the motel office and into the warmth of dawn. It was lonely country out here, the horizon flat and reddish-brown, but every time I drove across the outback on a job, it was the freest I’d ever felt.

  Sloane was standing beside the car, her cheek pressed against the metal. I crossed the parking lot, and she raised her head as she heard me approach. She’d barely spoken a word for the six hours we spent on the road.

 

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