Page 63 of The Predator
He’s right, and I know it, but I don’t want to tell him the truth. As quickly as my panic set in, guilt washes through me.If he wasn't trying to make me happy by taking me back to school then we wouldn't even have been here for Tanya to ambush.I’m so stupid. This is all my fault.All of this, and if we stay, it's only going to get worse. "You're right, we should just go home. It's probably safer there."
"Safer?" he echoes. "What do you mean, safer?"
I shake my head. "I don’t mean it like that. Let's just go. Why don't you show me what that fancy sports car can do?"
He flashes me a smile. "You think that car is safer than being here? Than going to animal surgery classes or whatever?"
I stand and hug the jacket tighter around me. "Yes. Anywhere you are is safest for me. We can think about transitioning back into classes a little slower.”
He nods and tosses his still half-filled coffee into the trash. "Whatever you want.”
He leads me to the parking lot by the lecture hall and helps me inside the car again. I buckle up and relax. No one can hurt him here; no one can get to him when it's just us like this. We speed off campus out to the forest roads at the edge of town, and he opens up the speed on the car. And holy hell, it goes fast. By the time he slows, I'm gripping the door and his arm so tight my nails ache.
He laughs as he pulls off to the shoulder and parks. "How was that?"
"Better than animal surgery or whatever," I mock.
When he smiles at me, like I’m his reason for breathing, my heart aches. All it takes is one look, and I’m consumed with desire and need. I want him, and it terrifies me as much as it excites me.
"Keep looking at me like that, Little Prey, and we won’t make it back to the house for me to properly fuck you.” He pulls onto the road again back toward town, and I can't help but stare at the beautiful trees flying past.
This feels good; it feels nice again. Like it did before. Slowly, I relax, until we make it to the driveway and crawl up toward the house.
He helps me out of the car. "Wait here a second, I'm going to put the car away. With the minimal staff I've got to move the vehicles myself."
I nod and as he pulls toward the garage my phone vibrates in my pocket. I grin as I tug it out of my pocket, thinking maybe he’s acting like a weirdo and texting me from three feet away, but it’s not him. That warm safe feeling I'd been harboring pops like a balloon.
Unknown Number:Tick tock.
My throat tightens, and the dread intensifies. I open the phone and type out a response.
Me:I know. Meet me tomorrow night at the edge of the property.
I stuff the phone back into my pocket and prepare myself for the hard part. I don’t want to leave him, what we share, or the feelings developing between us, but I have to protect this. I have to protect him from more of my mistakes.
CHAPTER 19
ELYSE
Before Sebastian even returns from the garage I'm hauling ass into the house and heading straight to the bedroom. He tends to be a creature of habit, and knowing him, he will likely go into the study to check emails and handle business, giving me the time I need to pack a few things and get the money ready while he's distracted.
When I step into ourroom, a wave of anguish slams into me, and I close my eyes against the pain developing there.God this hurts.Thinking about leaving him hurts. Being away from him hurts. I've been fighting him over and over this whole time because of what he's done, and yet, here I am, lying to him.
I know I’m not a good person. I've hurt people. Killed a man. And even now I’m about to steal Sebastian's money and betray him to his enemy. If the roles were reversed, though, I’m sure he would do the same. Right? My emotions are all over the place, and I scrub my hands up my face and groan in frustration. This is my opportunity to fix things. If I go to my father, he'll leave Sebastian alone for good and maybe, if I'm lucky, I can have him take Tanya out of the equation, too. Or...if I have to, I'll do it myself. My father won't lock me up, not when he can sell mybody for his own benefit. It might be the one and only perk of being the sheriff's daughter.
A humorless laugh escapes me, and I start walking again, heading straight for the closet.
There is no other option, no other way to undo what I’ve done. It’s this or nothing.Turning the light on, I search the closet for a suitcase.
There are some stacked in the corner, along with a duffle bag or two at the back, but they all have fancy designer names on them, and I don't want to add insult to injury here. At the very bottom of the duffle bags I spot an old gym bag.
It smells a little sweaty, but my father can fucking deal with it. I drop to my knees and tuck my feet beneath me. Then I drag the fancy bag of money out of its hiding place. It takes a minute, but I transfer one hundred thousand dollars over to the sweaty gym bag. Then I turn my attention to the clothing and start rifling through the items, grabbing the cheapest things I can find. Why doesn't this man learn to shop at a big box store like normal people?
I end up shoving a couple of overpriced jeans into the bag on top of the money, along with some underwear and a few sweaters. My father will take whatever he wants and sell it for cash, then give me the scraps, but I'll take it in hopes he won't be as much of an asshole as he usually is.
With everything neatly packed away, I turn off the light and step out of the closet and into the bedroom. I listen carefully for any sounds of Sebastian’s presence.
The seconds tick by, but all I hear is my own breathing and silence.