Page 132 of Criminally Yours

She panted as she hid behind a decorative wooden chair. She glanced at her knee. Blood poured from it, splashing the floor. If her mum could see her now. Talk about going from the quietest life to one filled with danger.

“Silly girl, you can’t get away that easily,”Randolph called from down the hall. “Do the right thing and take my offer. You’ll never have to worry again.”

The edge to his threat wasn’t lost on her. But if they could prove Hugo did it, then this would all be over.

She slunk tighter against the chair. She shoved her glasses up her nose, swiping away the sweat from her forehead as footsteps neared where she hid.

“I can’t find the exit. Randolph is close. The men are hunting me,” she whispered to her hidden microphone, staring at the wall lined with photos from Randolph’s fox hunts. She read somewhere that it was one of his favourite ways to schmooze world leaders. The whole family was disgusting.

Focus, Millie!

She must move. Here, she was a sitting duck.

Remember, you’re not someone who watches their future unfold around them. You’re in charge of it.

And you’re a fighter.

“Hugo, where is she?” Randolph’s voice echoed down the corridor. “You’re so bloody useless. Why do I always have to sort out your mistakes?”

“I’m not the only one who makes?—”

“Shut up,” Randolph barked. At the crunch of bone against bone and the following gasp, she glanced around the chair, but she couldn’t see anyone. “You go that way, and I’ll head down there. We will shut that girl up for good.”

She needed to leave, but what if one of them was nearing where she hid? She crawled slowly past the next chair, checking for footsteps or any sounds that suggested they were close.

Blood mixed with the sweat dripping from her. She glanced at the fox hunting photos again. What if they had a dog in the house? It would find her in seconds.

Go now or die.

She crept to the next corner and looked down the corridor. Light bloomed from the window in the front door. If she reached it, she’d have a chance of escaping.

“Stal, I can see the front door. I’ll hide behind Strike’s car until Bear finds me,” she hissed.

At a scratching sound, she turned on her heel, checking the corridor. Hugo stood at the end of it, grinning manically.

“I got you now, you little bitch.”

“No,” she screamed as she sprinted down the corridor, adrenaline making her blood thunder in her ears.

“I’ve got a gun,” Hugo shouted. “You’d better stop, or I’ll shoot.”

What did they say in her books? People find it harder to hit a running target than a still one.

There was a mirror by the door, and she ran toward it. In the reflection, she witnessed Hugo violently shaking.

There was no way he’d hit her unless it were pure luck.

Distracted by the sight of Strike behind him in the reflection, she slammed into a solid body.

“It’s okay,” Bear said. He wrapped his arms around her and carried her away from danger.

A scuffle and a bang sounded, but it wasn’t the sound of a shot. She held her breath as she waited to hear something, anything.

Please let Strike be okay. I can’t lose him. Not now.

Time stilled as her vision of the future she wanted faded at the edges before disappearing completely.

She panted against Bear’s solid form. Tears slipped down her cheeks.