Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Clara felt a cold shiver run down her back, sharp as a knife. She forced herself not to look over her shoulder.

The mountains here seemed endless, one after another, stretching on forever. With no phone on her, she couldn't call for help. All she could do was trust her gut and keep moving.

She walked and walked, until Dylan's car was nothing but a tiny dot behind her, almost lost in the distance.

Clara took a deep breath. She'd made her decision. No more looking back. She had to get away, and fast.

The whole area was just dense forest and steep hills. Even if Dylan sent a helicopter, all they'd see from the sky would be a thick blanket of trees-nobody would ever spot her down here.

She'd thought this through. Even if Dylan tried everything, there was no way he'd find her.

Clara didn't even know how long she wandered through the mountains.

Eventually—maybe two days later—she finally saw a few houses clustered on the edge of a village.

Her heart wouldn't settle. Dylan's eyes when she left kept haunting her: half mocking, half amused, but also touched by something much darker, almost wild.

She lowered her head. That look stayed with her every step, flashing through her mind again and again, making her head ache so badly she could barely stand it.

When she finally reached the village, she just sat down on someone's front steps, worn out.

They were still technically in the Capital's outskirts, so it wasn't too remote. She managed to borrow a phone, but as she held it, she realized she didn't know who to call.

In the end, she dialed Scarlette.

Almost no one knew they were friends, but Scarlette had connections-enough to help her right now.

It had been two days since Clara left Dylan. She'd spent two nights in the mountains and, weirdly, didn't feel tired at all.

When Scarlette answered, she sounded shocked, making Clara repeat herself more than once.

"Wait, you're saying Dylan took you off, married you, then locked you up in Palm Bay, and you only just managed to escape?"

Clara nodded, then couldn't help asking, "Scarlette, did you hear anything? Is Dylan okay?"noveldrama

She figured he must've gotten out, but what if he'd been hurt?

No matter what, she couldn't forget the way he'd looked at her.

Whenever she was about to

collapse, that look would flash in her mind, like something from the dark was chasing her. If she didn'tkeep moving it would pull her dow with it.

"Dylan? He's fine, as far as I know. Nicholas has been calm, and if something had happened, he and

the others would've lost it. Palm ne

brother Cam

Bay's been quiet. You looking for you, but didn't

ca

but didn't you post

on social that you were going off the grid? I thought you really meant it."

Clara took a long breath and sent Scarlette her location, not saying anything else.

Turns out, Scarlette was coming to a nearby village for work and would be there in two days.

They agreed to head back to the Capital together then.

Clara was determined to see Z. It had been so long since they talked-she had no idea how he was.

She didn't even dare to call him. She'd have to make it up to him in

person, coax him face to face when she finally got back to the Capital, she'd do whatever it took.

119

She glanced down at the red bead bracelet on her wrist. She'd never taken it off. She'd told him—as long as she wore it, there was still a chance for them.

But then she thought about that day in Dylan's car, when they were being chased. Why had she kissed him in a panic, just to calm him down?

Her head was a mess. She kept circling back to the Westhill Cemetery. What was hidden there? What had Dylan seen that left him so shattered?

No matter how much she thought about it, everything came back to that note: -Dylan will definitely marry Tara.

Clara let out a shaky breath.

He had someone to protect, and so did she. Maybe it was time they became strangers for good.