42. Lena

42

LENA

I sit at my kitchen table, reading the headlines about Richard Wilson's disappearance on my cell phone. The words blur together as Detective Chen's business card catches my eye for the hundredth time. He's been calling daily, asking the same questions with increasing suspicion.

"We need to leave." Talon's voice breaks through my thoughts. He stands by the window, scanning the street below.

"They're watching the apartment." My fingers trace the rim of my coffee mug. "I saw an unmarked car this morning."

"David vanishing was one thing. But Richard?" Talon moves behind me, his hands settling on my shoulders. "They're connecting dots we can't afford them to connect."

The weight of our actions presses down on me. Every knock at the door sends my heart racing, and every phone call could bring out whole world crashing down.

"I could transfer," I whisper, thinking of the acceptance letter from the University of Texas sitting in my drawer. "Start fresh somewhere else. I got accepted to the University of Texas."

"Austin would work. Big city, easy to blend in." His thumb traces circles on my neck. "We could leave tonight. I've got cash, new IDs..."

A police siren wails in the distance, and I tense. Talon's grip tightens protectively.

"What about Mrs. Wilson?" The guilt gnaws at me. Despite everything, she'd been kinder than Richard.

"She'll survive." Talon's voice holds no sympathy. "But we won't if we stay here. The cops are building a case, Lena. They've interviewed your classmates about David. They know about our connection."

He's right. With each passing day, the noose tightens. The questions get more pointed, and the stares are more suspicious. My carefully crafted responses feel thinner and more transparent.

"Pack light," Talon says, kissing my temple. "Only what we absolutely need. We'll get new everything in Texas."

I nod, my decision made. Boston holds too many ghosts, too many secrets buried in shallow graves.

I stuff clothes and essentials into a small duffel bag, my hands shaking with each item. The apartment feels different now—every shadow holds a threat, and every sound could be approaching footsteps. Talon moves silently through the rooms, methodically erasing traces of our presence.

"Leave the phone," he instructs as I reach for it. "They can track it."

The hours crawl by like years. We sit in darkness, watching the street below through a gap in the curtains. The unmarked police car remains stationed at the corner, its occupants probably drinking coffee to stay awake.

At eleven thirty, Talon's hand finds mine in the dark. "The night shift change happens soon. That's our window."

I nod, though he probably can't see it. My heart pounds so hard that I worry the cops might hear it from the street.

Minutes tick by. The surveillance car's headlights finally flicker to life, and it pulls away from the curb.

"Now," he whispers, handing me my mask and hoodie.

We can't risk being picked up by cameras. Once my mask and hoodie are in place, the hood drawn up, we move like ghosts through the building, taking the back stairs to avoid the lobby cameras. We emerge into the alley behind the building. Talon's car sits three blocks away, parked in a blind spot between security cameras.

My legs feel weak as we walk, trying to appear casual. Every passing car makes my stomach lurch. But we make it to his vehicle without incident. The engine purrs to life, and Talon pulls onto the empty street.

"Don't look back," he says as we pass the city limits sign. "Just keep your eyes forward."

As Boston disappears behind us, I sink into the passenger seat, the highway stretching endlessly south into the darkness.

The headlights cut through the darkness as we pull into a deserted motel parking lot. My muscles ache from sitting so long, and exhaustion weighs heavy on my eyelids. Four hours of watching trees and road signs blur past has drained me.

Talon kills the engine, plunging us into silence broken only by crickets chirping in the distance. "We should get some sleep here. Can't risk using cards or leaving a paper trail. And we've got cash, but we must be careful about spending it."

I turn to him. The dim parking lot lights cast shadows across his face, but I can still see the weariness in his eyes. He's been driving nonstop, keeping us moving forward while I dozed on and off.

"I love you," I whisper, leaning across the center console to press my lips against his. "Through everything, I love you."

His hand cups my neck, pulling me deeper into the kiss. His familiar taste grounds me, reminding me why we're here and running. For all his darkness, for all the blood on our hands, he's my anchor.

"Back seat," he murmurs against my mouth. "More room to stretch out."

We climb over the seats, arranging ourselves in the limited space. Talon pulls me against his chest, and I curl into his warmth. His heartbeat thumps steadily under my ear as his fingers trail through my hair.

The leather seats creak as we settle in. It's uncomfortable, but I feel safer with him than I've ever felt.

I can't sleep. My mind is a mess of thoughts and worries, each knotting my stomach. The steady rhythm of Talon's heartbeat eventually draws my eyes open. The car interior is almost pitch black, illuminated only by the faint glow of the parking lot lights through the windshield.

We're pressed together, his body curled around mine, with my ass snuggled against his hard dick. I shift slightly, needing some relief from the pressure building between my legs. His hand settles on my hip, his thumb making lazy circles on my skin.

"Can't sleep?" he murmurs, his warm breath tickling my ear.

I shake my head, not trusting my voice. Being this close to him, skin to skin, has my heart thumping erratically.

His hand slides down to cup my ass, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Horny?"

I swallow. "Kind of."

"Mmm, me too." His hand moves lower, fingers dipping between my legs. "You're so wet."

I nod, biting my lip to hold back a moan as he teases my clit. "Your fault," I whisper.

"My fault?" He chuckles, his free hand tightening on my hip. "Baby, this is all you. I can't help it if my girl likes to rub her ass against my cock."

I can feel the smile stretching my lips as he continues to play with me, his fingers slipping deeper. "I didn't think we'd end up fucking in my car."

He thrusts his hips gently, his cock sliding along the cleft of my ass. "There's a lot of things I never thought we'd do, but somehow we keep surprising each other." His fingers curl inside me, hitting just the right spot.

"Oh, fuck," I breathe, my nails digging into his arm.

"My thoughts exactly," he says, lips trailing down my neck. "Gonna make you come all over my hand, baby. And then, I'm gonna fill you up and make you scream."

His thumb presses against my clit, sending sparks through my body. "Talon," I gasp, my back arching against him.

"That's it," he groans, kissing my shoulder. "Let go for me."

His fingers curl and pump, his thumb working in perfect rhythm. I can't think, can't breathe, can only feel. I'm tumbling over the edge, dragged under by his whispered encouragements.

"That's my girl," he breathes, kissing my ear as my body shudders through the aftershocks. "I need to bury myself deep inside that tight pussy."

His dirty talk sends sparks straight to my core, desire coiling low in my belly again. "Fuck, yes," I manage to whisper.

He pulls his hand away, and I whine at the loss. "You're insatiable tonight."

I roll my eyes, even though he can't see me in the dark. "Says the guy with the raging hard-on."

His chuckle vibrates against my back. "Fair point. Guess it's my turn to take care of this problem."

The car creaks as he shifts, and then I feel him lining up at my entrance. He pushes inside, filling me in one smooth stroke. I cry out, my body adjusting to his size. He feels so good, stretching me in all the right ways.

"Jesus, Lena," he grits out, his hips beginning to move. "So fucking tight. I love your greedy little pussy."

My back arches as he begins to thrust. I bite my lip, trying to keep quiet, but it's impossible with the way he's pounding into me. My body rocks with each snap of his hips, the car bouncing slightly in time with our rhythm. His hands grip my hips, guiding me into each stroke, his cock slamming deep.

His fingers dig into my flesh, his movements becoming more urgent. "I'm not gonna last, baby. Your pussy milking me dry."

The filthy words push me over the edge again, and I come with a cry, my body clenching around him. "Talon, yes!"

He groans my name, his release pulsing inside me. He stills, his forehead dropping to my shoulder as he rides out the waves of pleasure.

Talon's arms tighten around me as we drift in the afterglow, his softening cock still buried inside me. "I want to keep my dick warm, and where better than your pussy?"

I giggle, my fingers tracing random patterns on his arm. "Yeah, I'll keep it warm."

His hips give a slight thrust, sending tingles through my sensitive flesh. "Maybe I'll just stay inside you like this forever."

I consider this, my hand moving to rest over his, where it's draped around my hip. "Could be worse places."

He chuckles, nuzzling his face into the back of my neck. "Much worse places."

We settle into silence, my eyes closing as I try to chase sleep. But my mind won't calm, images and memories flashing behind my eyelids. I shift slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position without detaching from him.

"You okay?" His voice rumbles through his chest, vibrating against my back.

"Yeah." I hesitate, not wanting to voice my fears and break the moment's peace. "Just trying to clear my head a bit."

He gets it without me needing to say more. "They'll find the bodies eventually," he says, his tone matter of fact. "But by the time they do, we'll be long gone."

I draw small circles on his arm, my heart heavy. "I know. They were monsters. But it doesn't make this easier."

His lips press a kiss to my shoulder. "You're feeling guilty, but I'm not. I'm glad they're dead. I'm glad we did it."

Those words lift some of the weight from my chest. I sink into his embrace, grateful for his unwavering strength. "I guess I am glad, too. I just... I don't want the police to think I had something to do with it."

"They won't." His free hand covers mine, lacing our fingers together. "They don't have anything to link us to the deaths, and that's if they even find the bodies."

His reassurance soothes some of my fears, and my eyes finally drift shut.