Page 116 of Killer Kiss

I kissed him one last time.

“Love you, Lia,” he whispered, kissing me back.

“Love you too.”

Walking away from him and this house and back out into the world was maybe the hardest steps I’d ever forced myself to take.

It was only when I got outside that I remembered I’d abandoned my car blocks away a few nights earlier.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself. I could have just turned around and gone back inside but then I’d tumble back into bed with Augie, and I’d still have no clean underwear.

Besides, the morning sun was beautiful and warm, and it felt good to get out of bed, get some air, and move in a way that wasn’t just thrusting my hips in time with Augie’s.

For just a few minutes, I could come out here in the morning sun and enjoy it.

For a few minutes, I could pretend my heart didn’t ache.

Despite my attempts at enjoying the stroll, the closer I got to my car, the shorter my breaths became. And it wasn’t due to exercise.

The car sat on the road where I’d left it. To my surprise, it still had all four wheels, though one of the back windows had been smashed out and the back passenger door was slightly ajar. Clearly someone had gone through it, searching it for anything of value, but they wouldn’t have found anything other than the manual in the glove box. I never left anything in there worth stealing.

I surveyed the damage from the sidewalk, then inspected the car more closely, running my fingers beneath the wheel wells, around the mirrors, and beneath door handles. With the flashlight function on my phone switched on, I shined a beam of light around the inside, not caring too much about the shattered glass that glistened all over the back of the car but checking every nook and cranny for any sort of tracking device Riddick…or my mother…might have put on there.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the car came out clean.

Getting in behind the wheel, I drove through Saint View, across the border and back into Providence. On my street, I parked a way down the road, watching my building for a while, checking every car and person who came and went, searching for Riddick’s face among them.

I couldn’t get the memory of him out of my head. I’d used Augie’s body to keep the fear at bay over the last few days, but now, without him to distract me, it was all I could see.

The plain, dark fury in Riddick’s eyes as he’d tried to run me off the cliffside road.

It was a bluff, I was sure. He was angry because I’d been avoiding him. Or because he’d worked out I hadn’t done my job. I doubted he actually wanted me dead.

And yet, if he knew about me and Augie, I would be.

“Can’t sit here all freaking day, Ophelia. You gonna get yourself up and move?” I shifted off the seat and out of the car. I walked cautiously; my gun tucked into the back of my waistband.

When a young couple stepped out from one corner of the building, I very nearly put a bullet through them, my gut reaction to pull my gun and shoot.

It was only the fact I hesitated at the very last second that stopped me. They smiled, and the young woman waved politely as they passed. I let out a shaky breath.

The last thing I wanted to do was shoot someone.

“Get a fucking grip, Ophelia. It’s the middle of the damn day and too early to be dealing with dead bodies.”

I really hoped nobody was listening.

At the top of the stairs, I checked my door for any signs of forced entry, but there was nothing. It all looked completely normal, and I let out a little sigh of relief. Unless Riddick had come in with a fire ladder, or had somehow developed super Spider-Man wall-scaling abilities, there was no other way in.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside, putting my phone and gun down on the counter. I was suddenly starving, my stomach growling a reminder that while Augie was a sex god, a chef he was not. His refrigerator had been nearly bare by the time I’d left. I was definitely in the mood for some brunch.

I opened the refrigerator and grinned when there was a full carton of eggs there. I took out other ingredients, some ham and cheese, and then on impulse I grabbed a shopping bag and started filling it with as much food as I could fit.

Once I got back to Augie’s place, this would get us through for a few more days. I was planning on packing enough clothes to last me at least a week because, frankly, the less I had to come back here, the better.

I was already itching to get back to him. But he’d be busy for a while, so food needed to happen first.

Fawn had always liked tomato, ham, and cheese omelets.

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