Free The Runaway Viper (Viper #2) by Kirsty-Anne Still Page A

for him, give him my silent plea to follow as quickly as he can. When I hear a loud smash we’re thrown apart, and he forces me onto the glass covered deck. I take one last look at him and flee.
    I’m thankful for the short distance between the back deck and our private boat dock.  I run blindly down it, the boat my only goal right now. All while I hear my name being called out, and it’s not Jace’s voice that’s the culprit. I look behind me and, in that second, I lose my footing and cascade forward heavily. The bag of clothes softens the blow, but my head hits the wooden sides. I clamber back up in fear of being caught and apprehended. I can feel a warmth sliding down my temple, but don’t inspect, I just run for the boat at the end of the dock, hugging the bag close to my chest.
    Getting to the edge of the dock, I jump down upon the boat’s deck, tossing the bag aside to get the get the motor started. When it’s on, I do nothing more than sit on the boat, engine now running, and feel the perspiration burst to life all over my body. Jace is nowhere in sight and as I hear glass shatter and my home be torn apart I start to wonder if I should go back.
    But I remember his words and grip onto the side of the boat. The feeling of going to help him doesn’t diminish as I see flames burst to life; the kitchen going up almost immediately. I can’t stop the tears that prick to life and begin to fall and I resort to dropping my head into my hands. I feel helpless and vulnerable, and I’m caught in a chokehold between what I should do and what my gut is telling me to do.
    “Joely!”
    I look up and see Jace running toward me. I watch him run toward me, just as windows blow out of the house. Our perfect home is now ablaze, and my heart is in my throat. I’ve never been happier to see him so unscathed and the look on his face tells me he’s happy to see me here like he ordered. Jumping onto the boat, he wastes no time putting his hands either side of my face, inspecting my grazes and marks. He notices the stream of blood down my face, and I see his eyes widen with panic.
    “I tripped, but I’m okay,” I whisper gently, closing my eyes as his thumb traces over my temple below the cut.
    “You’re okay?” he asks me as if not hearing my gentle sentence.
    I nod. “I’m okay,” I repeat to him, smiling mirthlessly.
    With that he nods his own head, calculating our freedom. “Okay,” he murmurs, and starts to look around the boat, the enormity of the moment catching up. Even though we’re hidden well out here, there’s still enough moonlight and light from the fire to make us visible.
    “What took you so long?” I scold him. I’m relieved he’s here, but my heart couldn’t take the thought of him being hurt or worse while I sat out here.
    “I had to get to the safe. I had to get money for us to be able to get out of here,” he enlightens me, stowing a large wad of money into the bag I carry. “We need to go.”
    “Jace,” I start, putting my hand onto his to stop him for the moment. “What happened back there? How were we found?”
    Even though he’s not looking at me while he unties us from the dock and pushes out into the bay, his words send my body into overdrive.
    “Because Clara’s found us.”

Chapter Seven
     
     
    Jace drove the boat further and further away from the inferno that embraced our home. He didn’t look back, didn’t slow the speed he was accelerating us forward with, and didn’t speak much until we made it to a new harbor.
    I didn’t speak, didn’t utter a sound, as I followed his chosen moves. I was his puppet right up until the point he had us safely locked away behind a hotel door. Once I was sitting on the large bed, the shock filtered away. It thawed out and drizzled from my system and left me a panicked shell of myself.
    Clara had found us. I don’t know how, but my insecurities flared up like torturous little beasts telling me it was Eli or Josh. That it could be