Chapter 13

Freya’s Pov

The house was quiet that night. Too quiet for my liking.

I didn’t know what I would do or what was going through my mind at this time, but I knew it was not anything good. I really needed to get out of here with my daughter or I would be in serious trouble.

The more I paced, the crazier I was becoming.

Zac did not forgive. He didn’t forget. And that vase? That vase was enough to sign both our death warrants. I wasn’t waiting around to see how bad it would get.

I got out of the room and walked back in to see Zara still sleeping. I could not even sleep. Not with the thought of me being killed or worse.

I sighed. I had no choice. It was either I made this work, or I didn’t.

The only choice I came up with was to run away and leave all of this behind. That was all I could do now.

I walked to Zara and slowly shook her awake as she looked at me with wide eyes like she had been tortured while she slept.

“hey sweetheart,” I smiled. “Wake up.”

“Mummy?” She muttered. “what is going on?”

“Zara. Honey. We are going on vacation.”

Her eyes slitted open in a slow way, and she blinked up at me in confusion. “A… vacation?”

“Yeah.” I smiled, even though I could feel my chest aching. “A field trip. Just us. You and me. Tonight.”

She frowned but nodded, because she always believed me and it was that trust that made my throat hurt as it did not occur to her to wonder why, where? or what?

That hurt more than anything. I was taking her away from here to avoid her being beaten or used or anything like that. I had to be careful with things I did.

I helped her to sit up and got to the chair to grab her jacked as the night would be cold.

I heard someone move close to the house as I gulped. Those damn housekeepers were my biggest problem now.

God, how I hated them. Their eyes, watching. Their whispers, carrying news to Zac like they enjoyed it. One wrong move, one wrong word and I was done.

I had no choice.

I was being hunted. I think I still am.

"Stay here, baby," I told Zara, kissing her on the forehead. "Don't move. Don't make a sound."

She wanted to hold onto me, but I held a hand to her lips and left the room while closing the door shut behind me without making a sound.

I was sure the maids expected me to be asleep, but I had other plans. Not when I was under the impression that if zac heard of his favorite case being broken it would be my head.

Shadows curled in every corner. I had to go slow, so my bare feet would not slap against the cold floor. I listened hard for the sound of voices or footsteps or anything at all.

The kitchen was my destination.

Food. Food first.

If I were going to run from this place I needed food, money, anything I could get.

I slid out of the house and looked across the courtyard before running to the kitchen house.

I had done this before, a while ago. Back in Greg’s pack I had snuck in every day and stole food for Zara.

Hiding from the monsters in his pack was not so different from the monsters in this pack. It wasn’t something I liked to brag about, but it had kept me breathing.

And tonight, it would keep Zara breathing as well.

I slid into the kitchen and looked around to avoid the housekeepers who were using the back door. I had to be careful with how I moved in this place.

I slid around while heating the housekeepers in the distance gossiping.

The door to the main kitchen was slightly opened, with a slice of light. I caught my breath.

I stood still, my heart beating so strong. The hinges whined but I bit down and it was okay, the sound was small, swallowed by the house.

I slipped inside and was hit by the smell of bread and spices.

My stomach grumbled as I kept my eyes on the price. This was not for me. This was for zara.

I moved quick. I carried anything I could. Bread. Fruit. Dried meat. Things that wouldn’t spoil right away. My hands shook as I stuffed them into a cloth bag I found hanging by the counter.

Every sound felt too loud. It was like someone would catch me as I grabbed everything and kept looking at the door. But nobody ever came.

When I was done, I breathed easily and looked around.

Step one, complete.

But it was not enough to just have food

We would need money.

Without money, we would be caught the moment we stepped into town. Food wouldn’t last forever. Clothes wouldn’t hold out.

Money was survival.

And I knew where the treasury kept it.

I had cleaned the house once and found his study once, because the housemates were lazy. I remembered the drawer. I remembered the lock.

I smiled as I moved through the darkness and used my lithe body to sneak into places no one would suspect.

Every step groaned while I climbed the stairs. My heart jumped each time.

His study door yawned at the end of the gloomy hallway.

I looked around. Nobody there. Nobody to hear.

My hand shook as I reached the top of the frame of the door and found the key. Who left their keys laying around. I got it and put it in. It turned.

I pulled it open and inhaled sharply while slowly closing the door behind me.

Moving like a ghost I went to the drawer and opened it as I gasped.

Cash. Bundles of it. In an orderly manner.

My hand shook as I reached in, grabbing what I could and shoving it into the bag with the food. Not too much as he would know. Just enough to get us out of his reach, keep us safe until I figured... something else.

I closed the drawer, locked it again and headed for the door.

This was insane.

But it was our only chance.

I hurried back to the house, letting myself in like a thief of my own jail.

Zara was sitting up in the room when I entered, eyes open wide; she had expected me.

“Mommy,” she whispers.

“Shh.” I close the door quickly. “It is okay. I got us food. I got us… enough.”

“For the trip?”

“Yes.” My throat burned. I smiled again. “For the trip.”