Sure, when I spoke to Vienna, it made sense. They fought the Riders so hard to ensure the streets of Leeds were safe, but we had moved so far past that now.
Now it was just a dangerous escalation in a game of tit-for-tat. I’d be damned if that was going to be me.
So here I was, frantically throwing things in a suitcase, whilst also booking a ferry to take me and Bee to Ireland, where we would be safer. I figured I had at least half an hour before Dante arrived back, which gave me plenty of time to pack the essentials. Anything else could be bought when we were there. And I wasn’t planning on leaving forever. Just until enough shithad calmed down that we could consider this a safe haven once more.
My eyes glanced at the box on the bed, and I swallowed the pit in my stomach, refusing to entertain the contents of it. I had planned for every eventuality, and if Dante was not willing to let us go, I’d make it so he didn't have a choice.
As luck would have it, there was a ferry leaving in around four hours. It took a little over two hours to get from Leeds to Liverpool. So I figured I had an hour, maximum, before I needed to get the fuck out of here.
I ran down to Bee’s room and grabbed a handful of her clothes, throwing them on top of mine in the suitcase. On my second trip to her room, I grabbed her Monster High backpack, and filled it with her dolls, colouring books, and pens and pencils to keep her entertained, as well as her favourite bedtime story and comfort blanket.
I ran back to my room, my arms filled with her belongings and drew up short when I almost collided with a solid, muscular body next to my bed.
Dante was peering over the suitcase, looking at all the things in there. He held up a top between two fingers and gave me a pleasant, cordial smile. “Going somewhere?”
“Dante… I—”
“I… what? I am planning on leaving you? I’m planning on running away? I’m planning on taking your child and abandoning you?”
Shit, shit, shit.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and the fear almost made me sick to my stomach. This had the potential to go very wrong, very quickly. I had to choose my words carefully and try to defuse this situation.
“I—”
“I’m waiting.”
“Well, if you’d give me a fucking minute to answer instead of interrupting every second, your wait would be over!”
Nice going, Rachel. Very carefully.
“You think that’s the right attitude to approach me with when I’ve just caught you packing up your shit?”
“Yes. I do. Because once again, Dante, you’re not going to listen to me. You’re going to try shout over me and get your own way, when I actually have valid reasonings for doing this.Reasons which I’ve been trying to tell you about for weeks now, and you’ve been brushing me off.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this,” he laughed, sitting on the end of the bed. “Go on then.”
I scoffed at him, and began resuming packing, ignoring the way he growled every time a new item was folded and placed in the suitcase. “I’ve been telling you. This isn’t a safe place. Not for me, and not for Bee. And… not for any future children we may have. When this war is over, we can return, but until then, we’re leaving, and it’s as simple as that,” I patted the top of the clothes when I finished speaking, as though that added to the finality of my words.
“No,” he said simply.
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” I gently reached over and discreetly pulled the dreaded box closer to me.
“Exactly what I said. No. Bee is safer here, and that’s where she’s staying.”
“Have you seen what’s happened to her over the past few months? She certainly is not safer here. Had you spoken to her for more than a few minutes lately, you would realise she doesn’t want to be here either. She’s terrified!”
“She’s not terrified.” he rolled his eyes at me. “You’re being dramatic once again.”
“No. I’m not. But even if I was, it’s not as though I’m speaking lies. I was happy to play this cat-and-mouse game with you when it was just us two. When we were the only ones getting hurt. We’re both as fucked up as the other, so the damage we caused didn’t really make much difference. We were two fucked up souls being toxic and screwing each other’s brains out. But now people are being hurt, Dante. Innocent people. Includingourdaughter. I think it’s actually selfish that you demand we stay here and risk our safety.”
“And you think you’ll be safe out there?” He demanded, gesturing towards the window. “Do you know the enemies I have, and what they would do to you if they caught you alone?”
I clicked my tongue at him. “I’m not planning on pitching a fucking tent and camping outside. Nor am I planning on renting a cute cottage five minutes away. Give me some credit. I have actually thought this through. We’re going further away, where the reach of your stupid rivals isn’t as strong.”
“You really think there’s not an inch of this country where they don’t have members?”
“I’m sure they do,” I nodded, zipping closed the suitcase. “But I’m also confident that the further away we are, the easier it will be for us to hide.”
