Page 166 of Moth to a Flame

Freedom from the constant gripping, crippling fear…That was something else entirely.

Killing Lester was a gift I never knew I needed. Landon showed me rather than told me how strong I was.

It’s real, this power I have in my hands. In my muscles. In my heart.

I’m strong.

“Make it believable.” A truck drives past us as Landon slows the car. “You have all the time in the world.”

“You’re asking me to repeat what we told the cops on the side of the road?”

He brings my hand to his mouth, pressing his lips to my knuckles. “Exactly what we told them.”

To the police, who had no idea the cabin existed and never will.

Before we went to alert the police that I was alive and well, Landon had called Beverly to dig into Lester’s finances.

Apparently, he had an old uncle in Alaska. His only living relative until three years ago, when he died of cancer. Same uncle had bought the property and built the cabin there a year before his death, according to his receipts and bank statements.

He left it to his nephew.

Who hadn’t visited him for at least ten years.

The cabin and the Lester were pretty much nonexistent. I’m guessing that was why he took me there in the first place.

That made everything simple for us.

We buried Lester next to the cabin. Drove over to a nearby town, got us some new clothes while I’ve remained in the old ones Landon wouldn’t let me wear after the shower.

After that, we set fire to the damn place, left it behind us, and walked over to another town.

While we were there, Vince placed an anonymous call to the authorities. We couldn’t let the fire spread in the forest.

The police over there didn’t suspect anything.

Sure, it was a strange coincidence that a kidnapped girl and her boyfriend appeared out of nowhere just when a massive fire broke not ten miles away from them.

It was alsothe truth.

“You found me and Lester on a deserted road while he stopped to relieve himself.”

“He squatted, remember that part.” A wicked expression takes over his handsome face.

Out of all the organs he’s chopped off people, Lester’s penis is the one that amuses him the most. For obvious reasons. Even though he wasn’t the one to do the deed, he’s satisfied that it was he who made it happen. That he did it for me.

“Of course I remember.” With my free hand, I reach out to caress his dark stubble that has turned into a beard over the last few days.

Between shopping for clothes, driving, fucking, and sleeping, he didn’t have much time to take care of that.

I’m not sure that I want him to.

The nerve endings on my exposed nails light up at the soft touch. The bandages aren’t the best barrier. I don’t hate it. In fact, the pain turns me on.

“This should be interesting.” Landon’s lips tip to the side, smirking at the sounds I’m making. “You moaning there the first time I meet your parents.”

“Oh, shut up.” I laugh and slap him lightly before returning my hand to my lap. Now that the thought is planted in my head, I’m dying a little on the inside. “Anyway…”

At my whisper, Landon starts laughing. Really laughing. It’s so rare that I stare at him, filing away the sound in my head. How his shoulders shake as his lips stretch.

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