Page 2 of One Forbidden Moment
He braked hard enough that the girl jolted, gripping his arms harder.Looking straight ahead, he kept his gaze off her.If he looked, he might see fear.He didn't want to see that.Fear made him remember things he'd buried.
He turned off the motorcycle, lifted her off the bike where she teetered on the gas tank, and set her on the ground.Grabbing her wrist, he tugged her forward.
She stumbled after him, small and silent, her steps uneven on the gravel.He knocked on the front door out of habit.One quick rap, more for show than anything else.There was no movement inside.No curtains parting.No dog barking.
He leaned close to the window beside the door, cupping his hand to block the glare.Empty living room.Dark.The familiar prickle of opportunity slid through him.
He pulled her toward the side of the house.The walk-in garage door had a simple handle that turned easily.The people here really believed they were safe.
Inside, the smell of oil and dust hit him.He scanned the shelves and spotted the red gas can right away.It was half full.
He lifted the canister and carried it back to his bike.The girl hovered near the garage entrance, arms wrapped around herself, eyes wide and darting like a trapped animal.
He crouched beside the tank, theglug-glugof gasoline filling the silence.The night air brushed his hair off his forehead.The engine ticked as it cooled.Everything was too calm, too easy.
Then he heard it—the scrape of shoes on gravel.
He jerked his head up.
The woman ran at full sprint toward the road.
For a split second, he froze.Not because she was getting away, but because a surge of adrenaline grabbed him.He could catch her.He always caught what he chased.But she ran stiff and stumbling.Fear and desperation weighed her down.
She was using every bit of strength she possessed as if she'd waited her whole life for a chance to bolt.
His pulse kicked hard.He dropped the gas can, sloshing fuel onto his boot, and pushed off the ground.
She wasn't getting far.Not from him.He needed her to get back to Everstill.
Gravel scattered under his boots as he sprinted after her, the cold air slicing into his lungs.She was faster than he expected for someone who'd been stiff with fear minutes ago.
She hit the ditch at a reckless angle, sliding down the slope before scrambling back to her feet.Her breath came in sharp, panicked bursts he could hear even over the pounding in his ears.
He pushed harder.She wasn't getting away.Not when she was right here for him to use.
She veered toward the tree line, her small frame swallowed by the dark.He saw the pale flicker of her shirt, then nothing but shadows.
His pulse kicked.If she made it into the woods, she'd be harder to track.Not impossible, but it would take up valuable time.And he wanted to get back to Everstill before the cops found him.
He plunged into the trees after her, branches clawing at his jacket, the smell of pine thick and damp around him.
A twig snapped ahead.
He pivoted toward the sound, muscles coiled.A flash of movement ducked behind a fallen log.He lunged forward.
She shrieked when he grabbed her, a raw, terrified sound that cut straight through him.She twisted hard, nails scraping across his knuckles as she fought.
He hauled her against him, arms locking around her small frame."Stop," he growled, breath hot against her hair."You're gonna hurt yourself."
She didn't stop.Her heel slammed into his shin, pain shooting up his leg.He gritted his teeth, tightening his grip.Damn it.She was all instinct and terror.No sense.No plan.Just pure, wild desperation.
She sagged suddenly, breath hitching, her fight burning out as fast as it had flared.Her shoulders trembled under his hands.
"Let me go," she whispered, voice cracking."Please."
Please.He hadn't heard that word in years.
He swallowed hard, jaw clenching.He couldn't let her go.Not yet.
