30. Running From The Shadow

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★JANIE★

My right toe collided against a small rock and I found myself toppling over to the ground, face flat.

“Ouch!" I expelled a wail of pain as my knees throbbed and my whole body ached.

Tears instantly pooled in my eyes. I could not explain the amount of anguish overwhelming my guts at the moment.

Yet, this was all for the best.

I expected that escaping from Luciano would come with a daring price. Infact, I knew it would. Having injuries like this, the risk of getting kidnapped by yet another gang, or perhaps never making it out of here alive. But it was worth giving it a shot anyway.

"You can do this, girl," I muttered to myself as I gathered every ounce of strength left in me and then thrust my body upward.

"Oww!" I groaned again from the shock that gripped the region of my knee, down to my legs.

When I looked down at my throbbing knee, terror engulfed me as I watched the crimson-red blood trickle down. No wonder both of my knees hurt like crap.

Breathing heavily, I decided to rest a little then nurse my bleeding knee. Since I have been running for about thirty minutes now, it would take more time for Luciano and his men to find me. Alas, I could use that time to gather my strength before running again.

I struggled with my labored breathing pace as I plucked some leaves and then scrub against the surface of the injury.

My whole body surged and tears gathered once more as the leaves incited a stinging sensation and I almost bawled my eyes out.

Pressing my hand to my mouth to muffle my little screams, I squeezed out more of the juice on my wound before tossing the remains to the ground.

My head fell backward and I took in a deep breath, trying to regulate my tense nerves for more seconds. But then, I heard ruffles among bushes.

The ground trembled beneath my overbearing weight accompanied by a couple of voices.

“She has to be here, somewhere!" One of them yelled.

"Yes, since she doesn't know her way around here, I'm sure she would be lost." Another added.

A loud gasp emanated from the back of my throat.

Panic surged through my veins as I quickly scanned around, looking for a place to hide. With my injured knees, there was no way I could outrun them. So the smartest move was to hide and hope they wouldn't find me.

Luckily, I found a fallen, almost rotten tree by my right. It had a small hole for me to fit in and I couldn't be more grateful as I picked myself up from the ground, then limped over there and crawled into the tiny hole.

It contained me perfectly. So what I just hoped for now was that— they don't find me here.

I covered my mouth to muffle the whimpering sound coming from the back of my throat.

For Luciano's men to be searching for me, that meant he has already found out that I left. However, a part of me kept wondering why Luciano doesn't want to let me go. He has done enough by destroying my life and ruining my plans. But still, he should let me live now.

We are two different people, meant to be a world apart. While he was a ruthless mafia king, I happened to be a young girl, unable to hurt a fly.

He always had a thirst for blood, while I, on the other hand, detested the sight of blood. I only began to get used to it because of my passion to become a nurse.

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