Page 55 of Last Breath

The way he’s lying across Joy as he kisses me, leaves her with a lack of oxygen. Tapping my arm insistently, I break the kiss and pull her free. His cock slips out with a smacking noise as she gulps in air. I haven’t left her body. As I thrust along with the driving need of my own release, her body is dragged off the edge of the bed.

“Mal, I won’t just watch,” Salem snarls.

“Then don’t,” I tell him. I continue to fuck Joy to the tempo of her pants, moans, and sighs as I anticipate what he has in mind.

Rising from the bed, Salem moves toward me. Kissing me once more, deeply, I slow my thrusts. “Don’t stop moving, Malachi, please,” Joy begs on a breathless sigh. “Salem, I’m so close.”

Feeling the blunt edges of my need driving toward the finish, I shift Joy. Pulling out of her and flipping her to her stomach, I drive inside of her once more. We deny her nothing and as she pants. I know she’s close to her end as well.

Leaning forward on the bed, I slow to a stop for a moment, allowing Salem the time to seat himself inside of me. Once I feel that overwhelming fullness, he grips my hips. Setting the tempo of our movements, I revel in the satisfaction that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

He’s mine.

I’m his.

She’s ours.

And the baby makes us family.

Chapter 29

Joy

For two days straight, we’ve hidden out in this roadside motel. It’s not that Ican’tgo outside, it’s that Ishouldn’tgo outside.

I’m the buffer. When Salem looks too close to murderous, I’m there to keep him in check. I mean, only yesterday, the cleaning maid barged in. That typically wouldn’t be an issue, but she completely ignored the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door. Salem had been in the bathroom having a shower, so he didn’t handle her intrusion well. I showed up and found him staring at her, attempting whatever language it is she spoke as he searched for his jump bag of knives. Thankfully, I wasn’t far away, as I’d only been grabbing us drinks. Malachi had ran off to fuel up the car, and thanking whatever gods that were listening, Salem’s knives were with Mal.

Calming him was easier than I’d thought. Malachi figured the police wouldn’t be looking for us in this tiny town. He assumed he could swing in to grab fuel and maybe a few supplies if we had to hit the road again. We were hoping to stay here for a while, but there was always a slim chance of us sticking around anywhere for long.

Our last stop had been a bit messy, but Malachi had the foresight to pull the video feed. When Salem started going off the rails and I’d killed the yoga mom, there was a ton of evidence left behind, but no one to tell the tale. Malachi, he’s the worrywart. I’ve learned he’s always concerned about us being exposed in some way.

They’d been on the run for their murderous proclivities for a couple years when they stopped by my house in the wilds of nowhere, Ohio. It seems so long ago. In no way am I the same person.

No, I’m definitely not the same person. I’m now going tohavea person. Touching my stomach and remembering that there’s no exterior change yet, I think about it all. Sometime soon, my stomach will look like a paunch old man’s. Looking in the mirror sideways, my hips are still tiny, my skin is still smooth, and there’s no sign of abeinginside. At some point, there will be a noticeable difference. Just not yet.

Hearing Malachi and the distinct sound of the Impala pulling up, I look out the window. Salem fell asleep in the middle of aMASHmarathon, and I’ve left it on for noise. Even with it, I can hear that car. I don’t want Mal to wake Salem, as I think he’s in dire need of some rest. The woman popping by really set his teeth on edge.

Slowly opening the door, careful not to make noise, I step out into the cool air. It’s still way warmer than Ohio, but I find the air is chilled this morning. Wrapping Malachi’s oversized sweater around me, I close the door and sit on the stoop. Upon seeing me, his smile as he steps out of the car has a way of making me feel revered.

The smile dissipates almost immediately.

“Everything okay?” Shouldering a couple market bags, he closes the door to the car.

Nodding and shaking my head to say yes and no at the same time, I answer. “We had a visitor. Well, actually, Salem had a visitor as I was out grabbing us drinks from the diner.”

As he comes closer, his voice drops in volume. “How bad?”

“Let’s just say the maid will think twice before popping by to clean our room again.”

“She’s not dead?”

“No! Gosh, no. She’ll just take notice of the ‘do not disturb’ sign in the future. She walked in on Salem naked.”

Setting the bags on the step, Mal has the same look as I do. We know we won’t be here long at this rate.

“Any trouble in town?”

“Nah. It was fine. Of course it was all over the radio, and townsfolk were chatting about it in the checkout lines. Beyond eyeing me like they usually do, nothing seemed amiss.” Wrapping his hand in mine, Mal kisses the back of it.

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