Her eyes fluttered open just a few miles away from her home. “We’re almost home,” she said, breaking the comfortable silence.
“Can you feel him?” I asked more out of curiosity. It was still a mystery to me what exactly the two of them had going in their little freak show connection.
She nodded. “Yeah, but maybe not in the way you think. The pressure in my chest is lessening and it is easier to breathe. My lungs don’t feel like they are going to collapse anymore.”
I sensed that there was a whole shit ton more she wasn’t telling me, but did I really want all the nitty gritty details? I eyed her warily, thinking how much I liked my head on my shoulders. “Which means if you can sense your pending arrival, so can Chase.”
A bright smile crossed her lips. “That’s a given.”
“Great,” I replied sarcastically. “Maybe I should drop you off down the road and get a head start running.”
She rolled her eyes. I noticed she did that a lot. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him kill you,” she said, her voice bursting with excitement and impatience. I could tell she wanted to jump from the car.
I cocked my head, and my hands tightened on the steering wheel. “The funny thing is…I’m counting on it. You just might be the only person who could stop him.” And that was the God’s honest truth.
Chapter 14
I knew that a pissed-off Chase could kick my ass every which way to Sunday, especially when it involved the girl he loved more than anyone, including himself.
Their reunion was nothing short of over-the-top, and I hadn’t expected anything less from the extravagant Chase Winters. He did nothing small or without flare, but was it really necessary to literally rip my car door off the hinges? I mean, my poor SUV had already been through hell and back.
I swore in outrage, but it was overruled by the warmth that bloomed in my chest at seeing the half-demon practically brought to his knees. Who would have thought that a gamer geek like Angel would be the pig-headed Chase’s downfall? Certainly not me. I think that she had even blindsided him and that was the beauty of it. Maybe I shed a small tear for the two lovebirds. They were a striking couple, and the love they felt for each other crackled in the air like static.
It was evident, by the way he held her, that Chase was never going to let her go, never going to let her out of his sight. I could hardly blame him. They were two halves perfectly fit together.
Wow. I was becoming such a sap.
Now I just prayed that he was so consumed with Angel that he would forget I was even present. And my prayer was answered. Chase wasted no time swooping her off her feet and out of my sight. It all happened so fast it was hard to believe it was real. I blinked a second time just to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.
Then the tension in my body left as the aftershock of what I’d done came crashing through me. It very well could have not had a happy ending. The risk, the danger, and the recklessness of my actions besieged me.
Travis was at my side as soon as my foot hit the ground, and I was more than willing to lean on him. Exhausted, beyond exhausted really, I slumped onto the couch with Travis following right behind me. He hooked his leg over mine and brushed the loose hair off my face. I was crashing hard from the adrenaline that had been pumping through me during the escape. It was still impossible to believe that it had gone without a hiccup. Either I was just that damn good or the facility had let us go.
Travis hovered over me with worry lines ceasing his forehead. “I’m so glad you’re here, but if you ever pull a ridiculous stunt like that again, I’ll be forced to tie you up.” Affection accompanied the concern in his voice.
I grinned, looping my arms around his waist, and rested my head on his chest. “You’d like that.” All teasing aside, my grin slipped. “I did what had to be done, and I was the logical person for the job.”
If he argued, I couldn’t be held accountable for my actions.
His chest rumbled under my head as he spoke, and my eyes drifted shut, listening to the gentle timber and his evening breathing. “That might be, but I don’t have to like it. What happened to us going together?”
And risk him being caught? The facility would have loved that. I was too tired to get into the whole no-guy-is-going-to-tell-me-what-to-do speech. Another day perhaps. “You’re lucky I can’t keep my eyes open and that my body feels like pudding.”
“I love pudding.”
I tried not to crack a smile. I really did. “Do you take anything seriously?”
He entangled our fingers. “Just how I feel about you.” Lifting my hand, he pressed his lips to the middle of my palm, and my eyes shot open.