Always Been Yours (Tessa and Nicholas) novel Chapter 67

Chapter 67
Tessa thought her heart would fly out of her chest, but without stopping to think, she opened the door and hurtled into the car to shout at the driver, “Sir, there are some bad guys chasing after me right now, so could you please drop me off somewhere crowded in the city? Please! I’ll pay you double!”
Startled by how quickly things had escalated, the driver was shocked when he finally noticed the approaching burly bodyguards, all of whom looked like vicious brutes.
Adrenaline rushed through him as he slammed on the accelerators, whizzing Tessa away in record time.
Tried as they might, there was no way the bodyguards could catch up now. They stalked back to the house, looking guilty as they reported to Lauren, “She escaped, ma’am.”
Lauren’s blood boiled when she heard this and she barked, “You fools! You had one job! How could you allow one person to outrun all of you?”
Sophia, too, was seething with rage.
She had wanted to teach Tessa a hard lesson, and yet, the woman had gotten away. “We can’t let her get away that easily, Mom!” she cried, her fists clenching at her sides.
Lauren looked as wicked and ferocious as a scorned witch. “Of course I won’t let her get away!” Then, she snapped at the bodyguards, “Go over to Pinnacle Community now and drag that wench back here!”
“Yes, ma’am!” The bodyguards immediately rushed out the door after receiving their orders, not one of them daring to dawdle.
Meanwhile, after her narrow escape, Tessa let out a huge sigh of relief when she peered out the window and saw that none of the bodyguards was pursuing her.
The driver who had aided her escape was an honest man, and presently, he couldn’t help worrying as he registered how rattled Tessa was. “Say, young lady, do you need me to call the police or something? You look like you got yourself into trouble with the wrong folks.”
“No, thanks,” she replied with a shake of her head.
He let the matter drop although he added, “Then, how about if I drop you off at the hospital? You’re hurt, and if you don’t see to those wounds, they’ll get infected.”
She nodded and didn’t turn down his offer.
Not long after, they pulled up at the hospital.
As she stepped out of the car, Tessa insisted on paying the driver double as promised. “Take the money, sir. Thank you for going through the trouble so save me.”
However, the driver refused to take the money, and he was sympathetic as he responded, “I can’t take the money, young lady. I can tell you look like you have it rough in life. Now, go and get those wounds treated; I can only do so much to help you for now.”
With that, he drove away before she could press the money into his hand.
Tessa felt a surge of warmth as she watched the car disappear into the distance before she muttered under her breath, “Thank you.”
She turned around and stared at the hospital building, then looked down at the abrasion on her arm. After hesitating for a second, she walked away from the hospital entrance.
Going in there meant she had to spend money and she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Besides, her wounds weren’t serious enough to warrant an overreaction; she could easily purchase ointments and such from any nearby pharmacies without tearing a hole through her wallet.
There happened to be a pharmacy not too far away and it was still open for bus
The pain made her grit her teeth as she braced through each step. When she finally limped through the doors of the pharmacy, she bought antiseptic and pain relief ointment before she staked out a bench near the roadside greenery. She stretched out her leg on the bench to proceed to tend to her wounds.
As she did so, she thought about where she was going to stay for the night.
She most definitely couldn’t go home; knowing Lauren and Sophia, they would never allow to escape that easily, and going home would be the same as digging her own grave.
Meanwhile, Nicholas and Gregory were still waiting outside Tessa’s apartment, but when she never showed up, they decided to leave in disappointment.
On the way back, Gregory pressed against the car window and stared out at the scenery dejectedly, the light in his eyes completely gone.
Their car drove past the bench where Tessa was seated a second later.
He was the first one to notice her sitting on the roadside bench. His eyes immediately sparkled as he shouted cheerily, “It’s Miss Pretty Lady! She’s there! I saw her! Daddy, she’s over there!”
Nicholas raised a brow in surprise and looked in the direction Gregory was pointing, then realized that it really was Tessa! At once, he ordered, “Stop the car.”