Chapter 19.
A pair of strong hands stopped her before she could do so.
She chuckled nervously as she met angry gazes. 'Old habit I guess." Inside, Laurel wanted to cry. Her plan B was just dashed to the floor. She shouldn't have planned her escape according to movies.
Lucas invited himself into the house. He glanced around and was welcomed by an unfinished bar of chocolate stuck under his shoes.
Laurel chuckled as she went farther into the apartment. She had seen it and jumped over but Lucas was too preoccupied. Seeing the disgust in his eyes, Laurel had decided not to warn him. It was fun watching him struggle to take it out.
Cecil on the other hand was trying his best not to laugh. He has never seen his boss as flustered as he looked right now.
Not only was Lucas upset, he was repelled by the amount of unhealthy snacks on the table beside him. There was an unfinished peanut cheese sandwich on the floor. Clothes lay on the only sofa in the room and…
'Boss, have you seen Laurel?" Cecil asked suddenly after scanning the room for a whiff of bunny love pajamas and seeing nothing.
Lucas paused. He scoffed as he realized she had used the chocolate as a distraction to find her way out of the apartment.
'Should I look for her?"
Lucas shook his head. 'No. I think I know where she is." He pointed at a door at the far end of the room. 'She must have used that door to escape."
Cecil nodded. 'Luis made mention of a room leading to the stairs. The same stairs the boy tried to use."
A sound of notification was heard and Lucas pulled his phone out of his pocket. He read the message from Luis. 'I have Laurel with me. The boy has been caught." He placed his phone back into the pocket.
The guard didn't need to hear his Boss speak. He knew laurel has been found alongside the boy.
…
10 minutes earlier.
Laurel had found an opening. She found Boss Lucas and his guard really distracted by the untidiness of her apartment. It wasn't part of her plan but she took advantage of the distraction and when they weren't looking, she opened the door leading to a fight of staircase.
She had gone down slowly incase if they figured out she was gone and came looking for her. She could tell them that she was looking for her cat. With the thought in mind, she quickened her pace and in no time, she found the back door, leading to her streets. There she could bode a bus heading far, rent a motel and lay low for a few days, and then come back to the apartment to pick some of her belongings later on. It was perfect.
She opened the door half expecting to see Cecil. But found Matteo waiting, she felt relieved. 'Have you been here all along?" Laurel asked, closing the rusted gate behind her slowly. She couldn't risk them hearing the door bang shut. They would find her in a heartbeat.
Matteo frowned. 'I knew something was wrong the moment you gave me that nervous smile. Laurel, if you are in danger say so and I'll take you out of here."
Laurel felt a tear leave her eyes. 'I am in danger! Take me out of here please."
Matteo didn't ask any more questions as he ushered her to his Lexus jeep. The one Laurel knew and appreciated. She was surprised to find it functioning the time she needed it the most. She raised an eyebrow and Matteo understood her confusion.
'I took my baby to the market. It's brand new so you aren't allowed to judge." Matteo warned playfully in the high pitched voice Laurel have missed.
She wiped the stray tear away from her eyes and jumped into the jeep. Now, she could breathe in fresh air. The air around boss Lucas and Cecil was suffocating.
'I want you to tell me everything." Matteo requested gently as he drove out, into the streets.
Laurel exhaled. Where should she start from? 'I was abducted all because of you Matteo. But you are my best friend and I can't get angry with you."
Matteo sighed. He knew he was at fault. 'I am sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to take my shift. I had something to do and you were my last hope."
Laurel threw a side glance at Matteo. He looked genuinely sorry and besides that, she knew the guilt was eating her friend up. His green eyes looked tired and he had three day stubble on his face. His hands shook as his drove and Laurel felt guilty. He was wearing cotton grey polo with faded jeans. She stared at his feet to find it covered in sandals.
He was expecting her to get angry and when she didn't, he felt really bad.
'It was all my fault Laurel and you should get angry with me. You are allowed to get angry but when you brush it aside, I only feel bad and I don't think I can recover until I hear you say that you are angry at me. You should blame me. What if something bad had happened to you?"
Clearly nothing bad was going to happen seeing that he had found her in bunny love pajamas. Laurel chuckled earning her a quizzical look from a guilty looking Matteo.
'You haven't said a word about my pajamas." Laurel started. She didn't want him to keep on worrying about her even though it meant she had to hide the details of her abduction and the heated moments between her and Boss Lucas. There was no way she was going to tell him everything and then risk putting him in danger. She has seen boss Lucas take out someone two times and she didn't want her friend's death to be the third time.
She didn't.