Page 5 of Run

Two

Vincent

My blood trudgedthrough my veins like molasses.

The instant I’d walked into the place, I took in my surroundings, the smell of stale beer, the low murmur of conversation, the eyes that were all on me.

But none of them mattered.

Because, like a beacon, everything inside of me was drawn toward her.

Though it felt like the wind had been knocked out of me, I kept moving, took up a spot in the back corner of the bar. With every step I took, I was keenly aware of her.

I wasn’t yet able to look at her, didn’t know how I would respond if I did but still, I knew.

After all these years, I had found her.

Giovanna, the only woman I’d ever loved.

And the one I hated with every fiber of my being.

If I wasn’t so shocked, I might have found some humor in this situation.

I’d given up looking for her years ago, told myself I was done with her, that if she didn’t want anything to do with me, that she could go to hell, that I would forget her.

A lie. And a huge one.

Even after Giovanna had left, had gone to such desperate measures to make sure she’d never be found, I still wanted her.

Needed her.

I hadn’t even known how much until now. But less than ten seconds of being in her presence had changed everything.

I told myself I’d been alive when she was gone. Technically, at least, I had been, moving through the motions of living.

Now I knew that whatever I’d been doing when she was gone, it wasn’t living.

Because even though I hadn’t talked to her, touched her, even really looked at her, everything had changed. The air felt different, electric. I felt different, like a shell had been ripped away, the feelings I had now almost too intense for me to process.

They left me raw, weakened, something only she had ever managed.

Reminded me of how much I hurt.

I didn’t like that, hated it in fact. Hated it so much that hurt became anger.

She’d left the safety of her family, left me to come here?

I looked around the room quickly, again confirming that most eyes were on me, measuring me, trying to guess what I might do. Given how I felt in this moment, even I couldn’t guess what I might do.

For the first time, I was glad Sergei had sent me here with clear orders, a plan. I was to observe, make sure that Giovanna was here, and then get back to him for the next steps.

Most times I would hate being so constrained, but now I was grateful.

Seeing Gia had knocked me right on my ass and without a clear goal, I had no idea what I would do. At this point, I wondered if I would even be able to observe anything but her.

I still didn’t look at her directly but followed her movement around the room.

She looked taller, something I realized was due to the heels that she wore.