The Probability of Violet & Luke (The Coincidence #4)(16)

“Luke, get the f*ck out here.” Another loud bang and the whole door rattles. “We have a huge f*cking problem we need to discuss.”

I feel Luke’s muscles go rigid as he moves away and stares at the door, trying to figure something out as he scratches his head. Recollection slowly clicks across his face and he staggers away from the door, patting the back pockets of his jeans before rummaging around in all of them. “Fuck, I’m screwed.” He pats his plaid shirt pocket and lets out a frustrated breath.

I hop off the counter and readjust my dress over my legs. “What’s wrong?”

He swiftly shakes his head. “It’s nothing.” Without looking at me, he blows out a breath. “You need to go.” His gaze finally resides on me and through the drunken dazedness I detect a hint of fear. “Walk out of here, leave this f*cking house, and don’t come back.”

Someone knocks against the door again. “Luke, if you don’t get out here now, I’m going to have to bust the f*cking door down and that’s just going to piss Geraldson off more.”


I shake my head, tucking wilds strands of my hair behind my ears. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what you did,” I tell Luke, but then seconds later I put two and two together “Did you cheat?”

He puts his finger to his lips, urging me to be quiet. “I always do,” he whispers.

“We found the f*cking ace that fell out of your pocket!” The guy shouts from the other side. There’s a deafening bang as he probably rams himself into the door. “I warned you not to do this man!”

“Shit, we have to get you out of here…” He scans the bathroom for another way besides out the door and into the wrath of a very angry, very big guy who probably has a gun.

It seems like I should be more worried than I am, but this is nothing new to me. I’ve been chased down by people I’ve ripped off before, on more than one occasion—it’s how I met Luke. I know there’s more danger considering who the people are, but at the same time that sick addiction of mine is manifesting and telling me to bask in it because it’ll erase the emotions trying to shove up inside me, emotions Luke’s fingers and lips just brought out in me.

Still, I search for another way out of the bathroom and then remember that there’s a window near the shower. “Jackpot,” I say as I walk over to the shower, step inside, and lift the window up. A gentle breeze blows in as I stare down the three-story drop. Not too bad. Doable maybe.

“Are you f*cking crazy?” Luke gapes at me as I pop out the screen, letting it fall to the ground below then stick my head out to calculate what I’m up against. No fences. There are cars down there, but hey it wouldn’t be the first time I had to land on a car before. “We’re on the third floor for God sakes.”

“Yeah but that… could be… doable…” I glance over my shoulder at him and am alarmed by the fear in his eyes. But then I think of his sister and how she committed suicide in an act similar to this and feel sort of bad. But still, the other alternative isn’t that great. “I’ll go first if you want me to.”

Shaking his head, he snatches ahold of my wrist. “I don’t want you going anywhere outside the window. I f*cking mean it Violet.”

Sighing, I stick my head out, ignoring how tight his grip gets on my arm as I look for other options and moments later find one. “There’s a fire escape just at the corner… and the ledge is pretty thick. We can walk on it and then climb down the fire escape.”

“No.” His voice is firm and so is his hold. “I won’t—”

He’s cut off by the sound of the door being crashed into again, this time to the point where the hinges start to give in. While he’s distracted, I slip my arm out of his hand and hurry and climb out. Whoa, head rush. I brace my hands and back against the wall as the wind slams against my cheeks and hair.

Luke curses under his breath, reaching for my ankle as I balance up on the ledge. My heart thrashes, excited, nervous, terrified. This is everything I need at the moment and I calmly crouch down and extend my hand to Luke.

“Come on,” I say, so calm it’s terrifying, how terror can settle me. “It’s not so bad. I promise.”

He starts to protest but the banging grows louder and without any more hesitation, he’s grabbing my hand and ducking out, his body shivering either from the fear of heights or the fact that there’s a guy with a gun about to break down the door.

Luke works to catch his breath as he stands beside me, staring down at the three-story fall, his eyes wide. “Shit, this is intense… I seriously hate heights.”

Still holding onto his hand, I inch my way across the ledge with my back pressed against the side of the building, guiding him with me. “You act like you’ve never had to escape out a window before.” I cast him an amused glance in his direction, feeling way to at peace with the situation, but I can’t help it. This is what calms me, what distracts me, what makes the pain of being near him, quiet.

He has a tight grip on my hand as he moves with me, continuously keeping an eye on the ground below as his palms become sweaty. “You seem way too calm about this,” he notes, his gaze flicking to me. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess you were enjoying it.”

I shrug, not able to deny it. “I think you know me enough to know I’m not afraid of heights.”