On the Run

Running his hands through his hair, Niall leaned back against the concrete wall, as he looked out at the parking lot in front of him. He’d never had to stand watch before – never had a reason to – but now that he was, he realized just how nerve-wracking of an experience it was.

He held all nine of their lives in his hand. If he messed up or let his eyes falter for even one second, the police could be on them, or worse: The Viche.

A deep breath fell from his lips, as he scanned the parking lot once more. There was no movement, but that didn’t stop him from looking again. He couldn’t risk letting anything slip.

He’d only just begin his lookout shift, but he was already tired of it. Sleep was calling to him, but it was his turn to stand guard.

“Niall?”

He turned quickly, his heart racing in fear before he realized the voice belonged to the sweet girl.

“Gianna?”

The brunette stepped forward, her tanned Italian skin glowing in the light of the street lamps. Even in such a horrible place, she radiated like the sun.

“How’s your shift going?”

Her arms were pulled against her chest, as a cold chill ran through her body. Even though Nevada days were warm, nights could be as cold as winter in the Midwest.

“It’s going well.”

Niall quickly pulled his jacket from his body – the one the girls had packed for him – and threw it over her shoulders. She smiled at him, pulling it closer to her skin.

“I’m sorry about all this,” Gianna said, looking out at the parking lot.

Her gaze was far off in the distance, as if she was somewhere else entirely. He knew that this wasn’t what she’d had planned for herself, and part of him wondered why she came at all. She should be back with her father, under the safe blanket The Viche put over her, but instead she was running with them. It didn’t make sense, but the selfish part of him was thankful that she was.

“Don’t be,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault we got a botched job.”

“My father wouldn’t do that, you know?” She looked at him, her eyes meeting his in a pleading stare. “He didn’t do what they said. He didn’t set you guys up. I know he may not seem like it, but my father’s a good man. He takes good care of me and my mother. He’s not anything like what they say.”

He let his lips curve up in a smile, more to comfort her than anything else. He could hear the shakiness in her voice, and see the worry in her eyes. She needed him to believe her, so he did.

“What’s he like?”

She chuckled, as her gaze moved to the floor. She was clearly remembering something – something he would never know and never understand either – and she shuffled her feet beneath her.

“You can’t tell him I told you anything,” she said, nearly laughing as she spoke. She didn’t have to worry about that. Niall hoped to never see Enzo again. “But he’s loud. Really really loud. And he likes Disney movies a lot. Mulan is his favorite. He refuses to leave the house on Sundays because he claims it’s his day devoted to spending time with his girls. He cooks my mom breakfast and burns half of it, and gives me the half that’s cooked well.”

Gianna was talking, naming countless things about her father that Niall never would have guessed. It was strange. The way she talked about him almost made him seem human. Thinking about Enzo Mazetti as a husband and a father was enough to make Niall’s head spin.

When the brunette was done speaking, Niall smiled at her, showing off his perfect grin. “He sounds great.”

“You hate him.” Gianna chuckled, her smile meeting his. “It’s okay, a lot of people do. I don’t mind.”

His teeth tugged at his bottom lip, letting her in on the secret that he really did. He only hated Enzo because he feared him too much not to.

“I miss him.”

Niall wanted to reach over and pull the small girl to his chest, so he could run his fingers through her soft hair and tell her everything would be okay. He could see how badly she was hurting and he wanted so much to fix it.

“Gianna I –”

“It’s okay.” She shook her head, letting out a nervous laugh. Looking up at him, her eyes soft, she spoke quietly. “Please don’t tell them what I said. I don’t want anyone to think I’m going to go running back to him. I already make them nervous.”

He couldn’t deny that. He could see the tension in a few eyes every time they were around Gianna. She made them worry about what could happen to them, and they didn’t want to face that.

“I won’t tell,” he said, his face soft. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

She smiled , before looking back towards the parking lot.

They stood in a comfortable silence, with Gianna shuffling her feet beneath her. Even though she had Niall’s jacket wrapped around her, she was still shaking from the cold.

Niall wanted to reach over and pull her close to him, so they could warm each other up, but she made him more nervous than the courtroom did.

Even in all the chaos that was going on around them, nothing made Niall more nervous than the beautiful girl.