Page 36 of Condemned to You

Scrambling to my feet, adrenaline surged as I ducked behind various furniture while tossing things in his direction. The apartment felt like a war zone, each breath I took heavy with the scent of fear. I could hear the man moving around the room, searching for me.

“Come out, you coward!” He shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. “You think you can hide?”

I could take the easy way out right now, blast his head off, but I’m already on the run, and I don’t have any connections here to save my ass. I scanned the room for anything I could use and spotted a heavy metal vase on the shelf and grabbed it, clenching it tightly in my hand.

The man’s voice was a low growl and the frustration boiled beneath the surface. “You’ve taken everything from me!”

As I heard him getting closer, I bolted from behind the couch, swinging the vase with all my strength. It connected with the man’s arm, causing him to stumble back, the gun momentarily slipping from his grip. Lunging for the weapon, we both hit the floor, wrestling for control of the closest gun. The man was strong, fueled by rage, but I fought back with desperation, managing to twist the gun from his hand and scrambling to my feet.

“Just think about Athena!” I shouted, keeping the gun pointed at him. “You don’t want to ruin everything more than it already is!”

For a moment, he hesitated, anger flickering in his eyes as he processed my words. The tension hung thick in the air, both of us breathing heavily, caught in an unnecessary moment. Rage will overpower a man’s logic, and he wasn’t going to stop until he got a piece of me. Getting onto his feet, his expression narrowed, and he lunged again. I sidestepped, managing to dodge his direct hit, and the two of us collided against the wall. The gun slipped from my grip, clattering to the floor.

Chaos ensued as fists flew in a flurry of anger and frustration. He managed to land a hard punch to my jaw, sending me staggering back, but quickly I recovered, using the momentum to tackle the man onto the coffee table, which splintered beneath us.

My hand wrapped around his neck in an attempt to cut off his oxygen flow. “I’m not your enemy. I’m not the one who betrayed you.”

The man’s eyes widened and then his body slightly calmed down as he realized I was right. Helping him up to his feet, he gave me a nod. Wiping the sweat off my face, I turned to head toward the freezer to get my jaw some ice. A gut feeling told me to look over my shoulder, and when I saw him reach for my gun that I had tossed on the sofa, I instantly bolted out of the door. The sound of the man’s furious shots echoed behind me, gunshots only making me run faster.

My heart was pounding as I took off down the street, desperate to put as much distance between myself and this madman as possible. I reached the end of the block and turned around to fall back onto the building, breathless and shaken but alive. As I leaned against the building, gasping for air, a car came screeching up to me.

“Get in!” Athena shouted to me.

“You bitch,” I spat back with flared nostrils, “Your husband is trying to kill me.”

“If you want to live then get in the car.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“He’s a cop, Jim. One phone call and he will have this area locked down looking for you.”

Shit. Inhaling sharply, I got into the vehicle and she sped off. Just my luck, the phone in my pocket rang.

“Couldn’t have better timing,” I answered.

That raspy laugh rattled in my ear. “Saw you had company and didn’t want to interrupt. Have the lady take you to the airport. And don’t do anything stupid, I’m right behind you.”

Hanging up the phone, I told Athena, “Take me to the airport.”

“You’re mad at me.”

“You could have given me a warning about your husband showing up.”

Wearing a faded smile, “Last night I told him that I wanted a divorce. He didn’t take it well. I don’t know how he found out it was you.”

“Well I’m sure your appointment book has me down enough times to look suspicious.”

Cracking a smile, she nodded her head, “To be fair you always did get your massage. The happy ending was just extra.”

“Why help me?”

The sparkle in her eyes told me what I already suspected. “It’s my mess, not yours.”

Despite no emotional attachment, Athena was a good woman and I didn’t need to be harsh with her.

“You going to be okay?” I asked.

“I will.”