Page 188 of Volatile Obsessions

? Die For You - The Weeknd ?

Vic’s location steadily showed as somewhere in the countryside—for hours.

Literally hours.

Suki and I didn’t think that was right, but we decided to look into it anyway. A quick Google search revealed a massive estate on a large plot of land, entirely secluded and surrounded by trees.

No neighbors in the near vicinity.

Away from prying eyes and vigilant ears.

My gut told me this was it, but it also screamed danger, especially with Suki and I unarmed.

We drove out there regardless, though. I mean, what other choice did we really have? It was our only lead after declining Liza’s offer for an exchange, which I was seriously regretting now.

By the time we made it out there, night had fallen upon us. The sky was clear, littered with dozens of stars from the lack of streetlights on the winding roads. Suki suggested we use the darkness to our advantage, but I shot that down before she could even finish uttering her reasoning.

Stealth was great, but we weren’t familiar with the grounds. And again, being unarmed put us at a huge disadvantage.

We needed daylight desperately if there was any hope we’d be able to get to Rome and make it out alive.

All of us.

The one thing we did have at our advantage was the thicket of trees across the street from the estate. I was able to reverse the rental car a ways in, enough that the greenery shielded us from plain sight.

From there, we could do nothing but play the waiting game.

We used the time to get a better feel of the land with Google maps and tried to devise some sort of concrete plan. The night seemed to go on forever, though, and eventually, Suki passed out in the passenger seat with the heater hitting her at full blast.

I knew I should get some rest, too, knew I needed to recharge before what laid ahead of us the following day—whatever that may be—but I couldn’t sleep. I was too nervous, too anxious, far too fucking worried about Rome to even think about resting.

And that’s when the floodgates opened.

As hard as I tried not to cry, as hard as I tried to keep it together and remain strong, I couldn’t hold them back any longer. I’d been tamping them down since we got on the plane at Miami International, but no more.

I couldn’t anymore.

I wept quietly behind the steering wheel, expelled every white-hot tear that came until there was nothing left to cry.

Until I was bone-dry and hollow.

Until the early sun began streaming through the tops of the trees.

“Suk,” I hissed, shaking her awake.

She jolted upright, disoriented, her platinum blonde locks a wild mess. “What happened?”

I laughed weakly at her disheveled appearance, motioning around us with a whirl of my finger. “Daylight, that’s what.”

“Oh, right.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched out to the best of her ability with a boisterous yawn. “I need coffee.”

“We don’t have any,” I pointed out.

Suki groaned. “I can’t function without coffee, L.”

“Gonna have to, baby girl.” I shut off the car and peered over her way, reaching for my coat in the backseat. “It’s show time.”

Our trek out of the thicket and across the street onto the estate’s property was made in complete silence. All that could be heard were our footsteps crunching through the grass and an odd bird here or there, chirping it’s early morning song. The sky was as clear as it was the night before, only now, it was painted in splashes of pink and gold, the temperatures equally as chilly, if not more so with the sun not yet having reached its peak.

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