Run!

CHAPTER FIVE

ELENA’S POV

The thoughts of the message slipped my mind immediately I got another response from my client. I was given an approval which came with a generous bonus and tight final deadline.

So I spent an immense amount of my time locked in the studio, fine-tuning every single shot from the session with Marcus.

By the time I stepped out, it was past 11 PM and my body couldn't appreciate a good night’s rest any better. Still, a gentle sense of pride filled my chest. The campaign was finally complete.

So I decided to treat myself to a baguette. They were my favourite and I hadn’t had one in forever. I walked down the street toward the shop.

They were just about to close. I squirmed inwardly and rushed to buy one before they could pull up the sign and even got a bottle of white wine while at it.

I thanked the lady and left. I wasn’t in any rush so I decided to walk home. The night air was cold but refreshing after being stuck indoors all day. London’s streets were mostly empty, the glow of streetlights reflecting on wet pavements from earlier rain.

For a moment it almost felt normal. Just a girl walking home after a long day with bread and wine and a feeling that felt suspiciously like hope brewing in her chest.

I hadn't felt that in a long time. Not since before Mike, before the messages, before everything started feeling like it was closing in.

This was what I had always wanted when I moved to London. Just this. Quiet streets and good work and the feeling that the city was mine too.

I had barely covered two blocks when I felt it—that constant prickling on the back of my neck.

Then I heard footsteps.

I glanced behind me and my stomach dropped. Two men were walking on the opposite side of the street, keeping pace with me.

One was the skinny guy with the neck tattoo, who apparently seemed to be Mike’s favorite errand boy. The other was bulkier, with a shaved head and a scar across his eyebrow. I’d seen him once or twice at the apartment when Mike still had his crew around.

So they weren’t even trying to hide anymore.

“Elena!” the tattooed one called out in a mocking voice. “Boss wants a word.”

I ignored them and walked faster, clutching the strap of my camera bag like a lifeline. My heart started hammering against my ribs.

“You deaf or something?” the bigger one shouted. “Mike’s pissed. He says you’ve embarrassed him long enough.”

“Honestly you have, I don’t know why the boss even bothers with a frail bitch like you.” The skinny one added. “Tol ederos. Pathetic whore.”

I crossed the road quickly, trying to put distance between us, but they crossed too. Their footsteps grew louder and faster. I turned a corner quickly and broke into a light jog.

And they started jogging too.

“Stop running, bitch!” one of them laughed. “You know how this ends.”

Panic immediately overwhelmed me. I clutched my bag tighter and ran harder. My coat flapped behind me as I sprinted down the dimly lit street.

Their heavy footsteps pounded behind me, closing in very quickly. So close that I could hear their breathing now, they sounded like hunters enjoying the chase.

I cut into a narrower alley, hoping the tight space would slow them down. But that was a seriously wrong move as it only made their voices echo louder.

“You think that new pretty boy neighbor can protect you?” the tattooed one taunted. “Mike knows where you live now. He knows everything.”

A hand grabbed the back of my coat. I screamed, twisting violently and slamming my elbow into whatever I could reach. The guy grunted but didn’t let go. I swung my heavy camera bag wildly and it connected with his jaw with a sickening crack.

“Fuck!” he snarled, stumbling back and clutching his face.

I caught the sight of dripping blood, but I didn’t wait to confirm anything. I ran again, barefoot this time after kicking off my heels.

The rough ground cut into the soles of my feet, my lungs were running out of air, tears filled my eyes refusing to fall and every shadow in the alley looked like it was reaching for me.

But I kept running because they were still coming.

“Get back here!”

I could hear them laughing between heavy breaths. One of them threw something that smashed against the wall near my head, it was a glass bottle and it shattered everywhere, causing a small cut on my face.

I gasped, pushing my legs harder even as exhaustion made them feel like lead.

The end of the alley was close. If I could just reach the main road, maybe there’d be people. A car. Anything.

But they were too fast.

And then something connected with the back of my skull, and I screamed in pain.

A metal pipe!

The force sent me crashing forward and I hit the ground hard, scraping my palms and knees on the concrete. Blood trickled down my neck and into my collar. The world around me started spinning violently and nausea immediately enveloped me.

I tried to crawl away, but a pair of rough hands grabbed my ankle and dragged me back across the rough ground like I weighed nothing.

“No… let me go!” I choked out, kicking weakly.

“Mike said bring you back breathing,” the bigger one growled, raising the pipe again. “But he didn’t say you had to be unharmed.”

I thought about my camera. Which was a stupid thing to think about in a moment like this but it was the first thing that came to my mind.

All those years of carrying it everywhere, of building something from nothing, of choosing this life and this city and this version of myself.

I was not going to let it end in a dirty alley over a man who never deserved a single day I gave him.

Through the ringing in my ears and the darkness closing in at the sides of my sight, I saw a tall, powerful figure moving swiftly toward us from the mouth of the alley.

Broad shoulders, dark clothes and lethal intent in every step.

It was Marcus!

Even as consciousness slipped away from me, I recognized his frame.

He was coming for me.

Then everything went black.