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"Good eye."
I pulled her behind me, reaching the car in three long strides. Quick flick of the wrist, and the door was open, the scent of stale cigarettes and fast food hitting my nostrils. Fuck, I hated stealing shitboxes, but beggars can't be choosers. My poor Audi. It wouldn't stay nice long in this shithole town.
"Get in," I ordered, my voice like gravel. The keys were right where I guessed they’d be. "Predictable." I jammed them into the ignition, the engine growling to life.
My foot slammed the gas, tires shrieking against the concrete, the world outside blurring into streaks of color and shadow. I pushed the car faster, the needle climbing. This thing had pep, I'll give it that.
I wove through the unfamiliar backroads. The only light was the harsh glare of the headlights slicing through the darkness.
"Left or right?" Ella's voice cut through the thrumming silence, her fingers drumming on the dashboard, the rhythm erratic.
"Left." My knuckles were white on the wheel, my jaw set so tight it ached. The road forked, and I took the turn, tires screeching a protest.
"Seems like we're headed into the middle of nowhere," she said, a quiver betraying her attempt at casual conversation.
"Exactly where we need to be." I shot her a glance, saw her chew her lip—a flash of vulnerability. "No one will look for us there. We won't reach the safe house for a couple of days. We need to find another cum stained motel to stay in and rest. And I need a fucking shower. I stink."
"But... what if they find us?"
"Didn't you see how easy those fat fucks were to kill? Ella, you're safe with me." A cold laugh escaped me. "I'll take down every last one of those sons of bitches."
"Violence... it's all you know, isn't it?" Her observation was a punch to the gut, yet I couldn't deny it.
"Survival, Ella. It ain't pretty." I spat out the words, bitter as the truth they carried. "Haven't had the luxury of sunshine in my world."
Her hand found mine, and she gently stroked circles into my knuckles.
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. Not because her touch burned me, but because it didn't. And that scared me more than any gun to my head ever could.
Sixteen: Ella
We'd been driving for hours, only slowing when the gas light came on. Chris' grip on the wheel was white-knuckle tight, veins bulging. His eyes, those deep blue fucking oceans, stayed glued to the road, but I felt his gaze on me every so often, heavy and searching.
"Keep driving like that, you'll wear out the damn rubber," I murmured.
"Shit," he grunted, easing his hold just a fraction. "Better?"
"Marginally." The tension rolled off him in waves, thick as the musk of his sweat.
"Need to stop soon," I said, stifling a yawn with the back of my hand.
He slowed, steering us onto an unpaved path shrouded by trees whispering secrets to the night. "On it. We'll rest and then hit the gas station down the way when we're up."
The car rolled to a stop, brakes squealing as he pushed on the emergency brake. He killed the headlights, plunging us into darkness save for the moon, a sliver of a shit-eating grin hanging in the sky.
"Here?"
"Secluded enough." He sounded tired.
"Great spot for a murder," I quipped, trying to lighten the air that felt as if it could choke us both.
"Or other things." The corner of his mouth twitching in the ghost of a smirk.
"Get your mind outta the gutter, Charming." But the heat in his gaze had me squirming, betraying me.
He leaned back, arms behind his head, stretching like a fucking panther. "Now's the time to rest, Ella."
"Fine." I reclined my seat, staring through the windshield at the stars, scattered carelessly across the heavens. They seemed so free up there. I longed to join them. To dance among the carefree and wild.
