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‘I don’t know if you could ever love me again, and I know I don’t deserve it. I couldn’t stand to lose you.’ He lifted one hand to her face, rubbing his thumb along her jaw. ‘I’m begging you, please come with me?’
All rational thought floated away as his lips found hers. His kiss was soft, almost fearful. She rose up on her toes, firming her mouth against his. Alex wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her close, his other hand entwining in her hair. Their lips parted and tongues collided. Her hands snaked around his neck, needing to be closer still. He moaned into her mouth, before pulling back.
‘We need to go,’ he whispered.
At that moment, Sarah would go anywhere with him, just to be with him. She nodded. ‘Okay.’
ChapterNine
Alex breathed in the scent of Sarah as he held her against his chest, her head tucked under his chin. The train chugged through the early morning darkness while a hurricane of thoughts rushed around his mind. Through the reflection in the glass, he could see her staring out the window, her face unreadable. Was it possible she was already having doubts about coming with him?
He wanted to pinch himself. This was not how he expected the night would end. Half of his heart was singing with joy. The other half was shrinking with shame.
Alex didn’t have the words to explain to her why they had to run now instead of going to the police. Any explanation he could offer would send her sprinting in the opposite direction as soon as she got the chance. That’s why he’d told her he loved her. If nothing else, he hoped she knew that.
He glanced across at her reflection. She was twenty-four years old and up until yesterday she’d had the whole world at her feet. Until he walked back in and destroyed everything she’d ever worked for or dreamed of. Sarah didn’t know that yet. She didn’t know there was no going back.
Alex shifted in his seat, trying to ease the tension between his shoulders while making sure the passengers in the carriage hadn’t moved or multiplied. Satisfied he and Sarah were in the clear for the moment, he sat back against the plastic molding.
Maybe he’d been wrong. About trying to extricate himself from The Devils in the hope of starting a new life. Perhaps he should’ve run away with Sarah when she’d made the suggestion, and not answered Zep’s phone call. Would everything have worked out? Would they be sitting on a beach somewhere in South America - or buried side by side in a shallow grave?
He wouldn't have broken her heart though.
The thought was sobering. The one thing of any value he’d ever been given was Sarah Darcy’s heart. She was the only person who’d ever loved him, and that he’d ever loved in all his twenty-eight years. The night they’d met he’d tried to convince himself that she was just another conquest, a short-term amusement. She was beautiful, and innocent. He’d seen that straight away. So different to most of the women he hooked up with, and that’s all it ever was. Physical.
He’d never had any trouble attracting the ladies. The boys at The Devils called him Hollywood for a reason, after all. Alex used that to his advantage and never chased a woman. They usually just fell into his lap, and then his bed. There weren't that many of them, only from time to time when he wanted some company. He had no use for an ‘old lady’ or any of the wannabes that hung around the clubhouse offering their favors in the hope of getting a permanent gig with one of the brothers.
When he walked into the bar, he knew right away he’d caught Sarah’s eye. Her jaw had nearly hit the ground as she ogled him before turning her reddened face away. He’d never told her how obvious she’d been. He’d noticed her too; it was hard not to. The moment he looked into her eyes and brushed his lips against hers, he’d fallen for her and despite his better judgment, couldn’t stay away. He thought he’d kept her hidden from his other life, a secret only he knew. How wrong he’d been.
At the next station they would need to change trains again. Time to get his game face back on. He couldn’t afford to let his guard slip. Stick to the plan. Stay alive.
It was not quiteseven-thirty in the morning when they arrived at Harwich International. Sarah could see the ferry terminal from the platform. Although ‘ferry’ seemed an understatement. The enormous white vessel looked more like a luxury cruise ship. The company name,Stena Line, was stenciled in blue across the side.
They followed the small crowd making their way to the terminal, the signs directing them to the Stena Line queue. Approaching the UK Border Control, staff were instructing travelers to have the documents out and open. Alex produced two passports and handed one to her. She took it automatically. It was only when she opened the passport in her hands and her face stared back at her with a different name that she realized how wrong this was.
Claudia Hendricks?
Sarah’s heartbeat sped up, thundering across her temples. Uncertainty turning her legs to jelly. Alex had a fake passport for her?
‘Alex, wait,’ she whispered, grasping his arm.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Where did you get this?’ She couldn’t quite form the question she needed to ask. ‘When was there time for you to organize this?’
Alex took her hand and stepped out of the line, smiling at the couple behind them. He led them to a water dispenser, digging in his pocket for change for the machine.
‘I organized the passport when I landed in London.’ He kept his voice low.
Heat prickled her skin beneath her clothes. She must have misunderstood. Why would he organize a fake passport for her unless he’d always intended for her to come with him? To run with him? She pressed her lips together to stop from opening and closing her mouth as words escaped her.
A bottle of water fell from a row in the machine. Alex bent down to retrieve it.
‘Why would you do that?’
Alex examined the bottle in his hand, avoiding her gaze.
‘Alex?’
