CHAPTER NINETEEN.
caramel coffee

Angeline took a deep breath, finding herself not too fond of the damp scent of the woods. Morning had bled into midday and the sun was high above, although they were shielded by the tall trees surrounding them. About an hour ago, they'd stopped so Mitch could properly assess Angeline's feet and she was now walking by herself beside the slightly older man.

"Angeline, do you think we could quicken the pace a little?"

She glared up at Mitch. "No."

He sighed heavily but made no further comments. They trudged along in silence, every step dirtying Angeline's white Converse even further. She thought being stuck in a motel room with Mitch had been bad, but this was far worse. They weren't bickering, in fact, they hadn't spoken at all, but all Angeline wanted to do was sit down and process everything that had just happened.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Angeline wondered out loud.

"Somewhere I can plug my laptop into," Mitch replied, "I need to contact my superior. ASAP."

"For a new car?"

"Yes."

Mitch marched along, slowing down every time he moved too quickly and remembered Angeline was struggling. It felt like an eternity has passed before they made it to a gate that led out into what appeared to be a playground. He pushed open the gate and slipped on a pair of sunglasses, warning Angeline to do the same.

"I didn't want us to be so out in public, but I guess there's nothing we can do about it," Mitch muttered.

It was a Thursday at about 12 pm, so the playground was only filled with younger children and a few dog walkers who strolled by, not even sparing Mitch and Angeline a second glance. He grabbed a hoodie out of his bag and flung it over to her.

Angeline hauled it on over the dress she was wearing, pulling the hoodie over her head. It smelt just like him and was oddly reassuring in a way.

They walked past the park and made it to the main road, cars whizzing by quickly. Mitch seemed not to like how overt they were, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her into his chest as they got to some traffic lights.

"We need to act like we're together," Mitch muttered lowly, "Less people will stare."

After a couple of seconds of contemplating Mitch's words, Angeline wrapped her arm around his torso to hold him on the other side as they waited for the light to go red. As soon as it did, Mitch grabbed her hand, his long fingers intertwining with hers.

"Just don't even look at anybody else."

Across the road was what looked like a small village area. There were a few drugstores, a pharmacist, some high street clothing brands. Angeline was barely paying attention when Mitch led them over to a cafe.

"Go sit over there. In that corner," Mitch ordered in her ear as they moved to the queue. "Just grab your book out."

Angeline didn't protest but did as she was told. Minutes later, Mitch arrived with a black coffee and, much to her surprise, a caramel one for her— just like she had always liked. She thanked him and began to sip at her drink whilst Mitch opened up his laptop, plugging it into the wall nearby.

He started to type, his eyes only occasionally looking up when someone walked nearby. Angeline tried to read her book, but she couldn't really focus knowing that her father really was looking for her. It still felt like she could feel that man's hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her in the car.

If it came down to it, Angeline didn't know if she would rather die at the hands of her own father or be tortured to death by her father's opposition. Either way, she was pretty sure that he would be her downfall, and she blamed him entirely. Angeline hated her father with every fibre of her being.

Maybe Mitch would be able to get her to this safe house in time, and then maybe he and his team would be able to get rid of both Mr Lewis and Mr Williams. She hoped he would be able to. She didn't feel like being tortured all too much.

"Mitch?" Angeline murmured quietly, gaining the attention of the man.

"Hm?"

"Has my dad reported me missing? Or does nobody know?" Angeline asked him. 

"I don't know what Mr Lewis is telling everybody, but your disappearance hasn't made news yet," Mitch replied, eyes shifting back to his screen before they lit up. "Come on."

He scooped up his laptop and shoved it into his bag, hauling it over his shoulder. Angeline stood up too, tucking her chair back under the table when Mitch grabbed her and began to walk quickly through the cafe. They were heading for the bathrooms.

"Mitch—"

"Shut up," he hissed.

Angeline craned her head over her neck as he led her out into the small hallway in the back, seeing that some men in suits were heading over to the counter, wallets in their hands that they were showing the baristas. She could only assume that there was a picture inside, probably of her.

She didn't wait around to see if the baristas pointed over to the table that she and Mitch had been sitting at. She let Mitch drag her into the bathrooms, a sigh of relief leaving him when he saw an opened window near the ceiling.

"This town is probably crawling with your father's men," Mitch muttered bitterly, working quickly to toss both their bags out of the window. "They know we couldn't have gone too far. Come here."

He waved her towards him and Angeline quickly obeyed, his arms wrapping around her waist. Her breath hitched as he picked her up and pushed her towards the window. She caught on quickly and made it through, a yelp leaving her lips as she slipped down and outside, finding herself in another alleyway surrounded by the cafe's bins. Her ankles burned more.

She moved out the way as soon as she heard Mitch coming through the window, his body coming out the other end with far more preservation than hers did. She hauled up their bags and passed Mitch's to him before he grabbed her arm and they took off.

Running again.

"Come on, come on, come on," Mitch kept muttering, craning his neck around left and right, his jawline becoming much more predominant as Angeline gazed up at his tall figure.

"What are you looking for?" She thought maybe she could help him and speed up the process. The sooner they got out of this bloody town, the better.

"That."

It was a large stone archway that had 'Kingsley's Parking Lot' written above it. Angeline frowned in confusion but jogged with him until they got inside, watching as Mitch craned his neck around again. Her eyes landed on sleek black Audi with tinted windows, and she tugged at his hand.

"Is that what you're looking for?"

Mitch breathed out in relief and squeezed Angeline's shoulder before taking off towards it. He moved to one of the back wheels and bent down, grabbing a key out from underneath it. Angeline raised her brows, wondering how Mitch's boss had been able to arrange something so fast until she remembered he worked for the CIA.

"Get in," he ordered, "Quick."

As soon as Angeline was on the passenger side, she flung her bag onto the backseat and buckled up, not even getting the chance to actually sit back properly before Mitch had taken off and out of the car park. He grabbed his seatbelt with one hand as he drove through the long roads they had just spent ages walking down, slowly putting it on whilst keeping his gaze on the road ahead.

"We're not stopping tonight, Angeline," Mitch told her in a warning. "We need to get as far away from here as possible. Throw them off our scent, even. We can only assume that if your father's in tow with us, that means your father's opposition is only one more step behind."

Angeline shuddered at the idea, the leather seat around her feeling cold against her skin. She pulled Mitch's hoodie closer to her body and tucked her sunglasses up onto her head, finding that the world was a lot clearer without them on. And a whole lot drearier too.

"We've come close too many times today," Mitch murmured, "If this tells you anything, Angeline, it's that you should trust me when I tell you that you need to start taking this more seriously."

Angeline nodded timidly, looking back out of the window. She felt sort of sick, thinking about what all of this meant. Her father was so desperate to shut her up that he wanted her dead. He probably wanted to do it himself too. Maybe he'd drag it on, maybe he'd just put a bullet straight through her head.

She seemed to be able to anger him quite easily, just like everybody else. Memories of a few weeks ago when he'd basically body-slammed her onto the dining room floor for talking back to him filled her brain and she felt disgusted with the man that had brought her up.

"You're being quiet," Mitch hummed after a while. "It's unsettling."

"I'm scared," Angeline finally admitted softly. "And I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the arse. I suppose... I didn't want to believe the intensity of the situation before today. I wanted to believe that my father still... I don't know."

"Loved you?" Mitch finished for her.

"No." Angeline shook her head. "He never loved me. He doesn't even love Elliot. He's just obsessed with the money. But Elliot complied. I never would. That's why I'm the only one out of the two of us that ever realised what a... what a fucking cunt that man really is."

"It impressed me every time you stood up to him," Mitch admitted, "Of course, I don't think you knew who you were really standing up against, but nevertheless, I was impressed."

Angeline raised her eyebrows. "I'll tell you a secret, yeah? I was scared of him. I never said half of the things I actually wanted to."

"Well, let's just hope we both make it out alive. Then you can tell your father how much of a fucking cunt he is."

Angeline grinned. That sounded like a good plan.

...

It was early morning. So early that the sky was still pitch black and there were barely any other cars on the road. Mitch was looking more tired as the hours passed on, and Angeline had already woken up from her third nap since they had gotten the new car.

"Mitch?" She called quietly above the engine in the silent night. "Do you want me to drive?"

Mitch scoffed. "That's highly inappropriate. Besides, you're not allowed to know where we are, where you're going, nothing. And I don't trust you to spot something suspicious."

"Fine," Angeline huffed, "Try not to fall asleep at the wheel, then."

"I've stayed awake for over seventy-two hours before. I think I can handle driving through the night," Mitch replied coolly, leaving Angeline silent in her seat.

She pulled her legs up and curled her arms around them, yanking her shoes off to give her injured feet a breather. Closing her eyes, Angeline tried to settle into another sleep, hoping this time she might actually stay asleep for more than an hour. Her body was exhausted, her eyelids weighing down in protest of her active mind.

Her last thoughts were of Ciara and Paige before she drifted off.

When Angeline's eyes opened again, the sky was much brighter than it had been before. Realising that she had actually been able to get more than one hour's shuteye, Angeline smiled a little to herself and lifted her head slightly from the window. It took a split second for her to realise that the car wasn't moving, and then another for her to realise that Mitch wasn't in the car.

The door was wide open and they were pulled over on the side of a road. It was most likely the cold air that had actually woken her up in the first place. For a second or two, Angeline sat there in silence, shock flooding her system at the fact that Mitch was nowhere to be seen. Then, panic settled.

"Mitch?" She called anxiously, her fingers quickly pushing the button to her seatbelt and releasing her.

Angeline scrambled to open the door, her eyes wide as she peered around at the empty road surrounded by nothing but trees. There was no reply from the shaggy-haired man. Her heart began to pound in her chest, and not just because she had been stranded alone-- but because Angeline was scared something had happened to him.

"M-Mitch?" Angeline cried, "Mitch!"

Suddenly, someone came rushing out of the trees and Angeline's entire body sagged in relief at the sight of Mitch there. He looked exhausted, but nevertheless, he was there-- and he was fine. Without thinking much, Angeline flung her arms around the man and hugged him tight, pulling away just as quickly to punch him in the arm.

"What? What happened?" Mitch frowned.

"You left me!" Angeline snapped, "I thought something had happened to you or something!"

"Well, chill. I was just taking a piss," Mitch shrugged, watching her grimace. "Awh. Were you worried about me, Angel?"

His teasing tone and the use of her own nickname against her had her rolling her eyes in frustration. Angeline sent one last punch to his arm, knowing it wouldn't phase the man. Mitch grabbed her wrist and turned her around, facing towards the car. Her back was against his chest for a second before he pushed her forward gently, towards the vehicle.

"In the car, Angeline," Mitch said lightly, "And watch where you tread. You still haven't got shoes on."

—
two updates in a row babyyy

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