“You’re safe now,” I grind out, my forehead tipped to hers again as we catch our breath, sweat-slicked and spent. “You’re never going back there. You understand?”
Seraphina nods, sagging into me. We stay there like that until our skin grows cold, until the light starts to dim outside, and then we finally untangle ourselves from each other. No way in hell did I expect this to happen, but it feels right, even though I said it was wrong. We dress, I slide Seraphina’s severed braid into a bag, and then we’re leaving, moving forward to the next hiding place. She stops on the threshold, gasping, her hands to her mouth as she takes in the sky. It’s sunset, and the world is awash with dusky pink and purple, slashes of yellow and orange in between. “What is this?” she asks, her eyes wide with wonder. My throat burns. We did it. She’s in the light, no matter how fast the sun might be fading.
“That’s a sunset, sweetheart,” I say, smiling so wide it almost hurts. “I’m going to make sure you see that every single night from now on.”
She smiles back at me, tucking her hand into mine. We get into the car. We drive all night. Every mile that we press north is like another weight off, like another length of chain cast into the desert, forgotten.
I get a text from my brother on my burner phone, just as we’re entering San Francisco and the safe haven of people I trust. Ignacio survived. I was kind of expecting this news, but it still punches me in the gut. I don’t tell Seraphina, not yet. She looks too relaxed for me to ruin her life all over again with the knowledge that her captor is alive and most likely looking for her right now.
Seraphina will never go near that fucking tower again, if I have to spend my whole life running with her.
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But tonight, we are just two people, driving on the interstate, heading toward refuge.
And the knot in my stomach is finally gone.
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Thank you for reading Knot! I hope you enjoyed getting to know Xavier and Seraphina. You can read more of their story in their upcoming series, slated to release at the end on 2017.
Lili St. Germain is the USA Today bestselling author of the Gypsy Brothers series and the Cartel trilogy.
Her next series is called CALIFORNIA BLOOD, a trilogy set in the criminal underbelly of San Francisco, which follows two warring families who are ruled by blood, power and twisted desire.
Verona Blood is the first book in the series, and will be released mid-2007. Please read on for a short description of the series and links!
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