He Didn’t Kidnap Me. Not Exactly novel Chapter 224

Chapter 224

(Aria’s POV)

I ran the moment I burst out of the apartment because staying there any longer would have been stupidity, not courage.

The operation had collapsed in a matter of seconds, four men were down, Adrian DeLuca was still alive, and every variable that had once belonged to me no longer did.

The SUV we’d arrived in came into view, and I sprinted toward it without slowing. Gravel crunched beneath my boots as I yanked the driver’s door open and threw myself inside. My hand immediately reached for the ignition, only to stop the moment my fingers found nothing.

The key wasn’t there.

“Shit.”

The realization landed almost instantly. Viktor had driven us here, and Viktor was now lying inside that apartment with a bullet through him.

Frustration surged through me. I slammed the steering wheel with the heel of my hand before forcing myself back out of the vehicle. Panicking wouldn’t help me now. I only needed another solution.

My eyes swept quickly across the driveway until they landed on another car parked a short distance away. A low black sedan with the keys there.

Adrian’s.

Of course.

He had rushed inside after Daisy’s call, convinced she needed him. In that state, taking the key out of the ignition would have been the

last thing on his mind.

I was already moving before the thought had fully settled. I reached the driver’s side, pulled the door open and looked down.

The key was truly there.

A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, though there wasn’t a trace of amusement behind it. For once, Adrian’s concern for

Daisy had worked against him.

The engine came alive beneath me, and I spun the steering wheel sharply enough for the tyres to protest before launching the car away from the apartment. The acceleration forced me back into the seat, yet my attention remained fixed on the mirrors. Every few seconds my eyes darted to the rear-view mirror, then to the side mirrors, searching for headlights.

Nothing.

I looked again.

Still nothing.

Even so, I refused to slow down. Buildings blurred past my windows as the city disappeared behind me, intersections melted into one another, and the engine hummed steadily beneath the mounting rhythm of my heartbeat. Only after several long minutes, when the mirrors continued to show nothing but empty roads, did I finally release the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

He wasn’t following me.

Good.

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