The cabin creaked with wind and rain, a rhythmic warning pulsing through the
walls. Elena stood motionless, Liam's breath warm against her forehead, his
chest still damp from the shower. The world beyond the window was a dark blur,
and time—just for a moment—stilled inside the room.
She wanted to stay like this. Just for one night. Just until morning.
But Liam pulled back first.
"We should pack," he said, voice low, regret threading through the words.
She stepped away, nodded once, and turned toward the duffel on the bed. Her
hands trembled, folding clothes by touch rather than thought.
Liam disappeared into the other room, but within seconds she heard a click—metal
sliding into place. A gun being loaded.
She swallowed hard.
"What happens when they catch us?" she called out.
"They won't."
"But if they do?"
A pause. Then: "I won't let them touch you."
Elena closed her eyes. For the first time, she didn't question if he meant
it.
—
They left just after midnight, headlights off, moving through back roads
slick with rain. Liam's jaw was tight, his grip on the steering wheel rigid.
The GPS was disabled. His directions were memorized.
After twenty minutes of driving through black woods and gravel roads, Liam
slowed and flicked the lights back on.
"Next stop's a gas station. Remote. No cameras," he said. "We fuel up,
switch plates, and change clothes. Then we move again."
Elena glanced at him. "You've done this before."
He didn't answer.
Instead, he pulled the SUV behind a line of trees and parked. "Wait here."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he was already out the door. A minute
passed. Two.
Then—
Crack.
A twig snapped near the tree line. Her breath caught.
Liam reappeared moments later, holding a new license plate and a small black
bag.
"Don't ask," he said, tossing the items onto the backseat.
"I wasn't going to."
A flicker of amusement crossed his face. "I like that about you."
Before she could respond, the sharp glow of headlights flared in the
distance—approaching fast.
"Go!" Liam barked, diving into the driver's seat.
They peeled onto the road, gravel spitting behind them. The car behind
followed. Closer. Closer.
"Hold on," he growled.
He jerked the wheel and veered off the main road onto a muddy trail. The SUV
bounced, Elena bracing herself as branches scraped the windows. Behind them,
the other vehicle tried to follow—but skidded, lost control, and disappeared in
the rearview.
Liam didn't stop driving until they were miles away, pulling into the shadow
of an abandoned bridge.
He killed the engine.
Elena's pulse roared in her ears. "What now?"
"We stay hidden until sunrise," Liam said, eyes scanning the dark. "Then we
head to the next safe zone. If we're lucky, they won't have backup this far
out."
She looked at him—hair wild, shirt clinging to his chest from sweat and
rain, knuckles bloodied from God knew what. And yet somehow, she felt safer now
than she ever had in her old life.
"Liam?"
"Yeah?"
She reached out, touched his hand.
"I'm done running alone."
He looked at her, and for a heartbeat, the man beneath all the steel showed
through.
"You never were!"