Page 118 of Treacherous

"You could go to prison for this, Noah," I cried. I felt like my heart was shattering into a bazillion pieces. "This is murder. Logan's gone to get the cops. You know that means…"

"I know," he husked, backing away from me. "And I know what needs to happen next," he added, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "You need to get out of here, Thorn – away from me… I understand you won't be able to love me after this…after what I've done…"

"If I didn’t love you I wouldn’t be here," I screamed, kicking the dirt, dust and whatever the hell else that was on the ground by my feet. Stalking towards him I grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged his face down to meet mine. "I'm in love withyou." I pressed a kiss to his lips. It was rough, hard and everything I was feeling in that moment. He had blood on his hands… He was a killer. A killer."Let's go," I heard myself saying.

"Go." Noah shook his head in confusion. "Teagan, I'm going…"

"With me," I snapped, grabbing his hand. "You're going with me."

"Teagan," he husked, clutching my face between his hands. "You can't get involved in this, baby. It's too big. You need to get out of here." Pressing a hard kiss to my lips, Noah broke free from my grasp and turned back towards the warehouse.

"Don’t do this, Noah." I begged him as I watched him walk towards George and the gang of men who had formed a crowd outside the warehouse – watching our spectacle no doubt.

"Get out of here, Teagan," Noah hissed as he continued to walk to them – to the dark side.

"No." Running after Noah, I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards me. "Please, don’t do this." I hated begging, it wasn’t in my nature, but I'd beg on my knees if it meant I could save him. "If you love me, even a little bit, then leave with me now. Forget about this."

"Messina," George roared and I felt the muscles in Noah's arm bunch tight with tension. "Get your ass back here, boy, you're not done for the night."

"Let me save you," I rambled, holding onto his arm for dear life. "Turn away from them and come with me. Please, Noah. Please…"

Noah stood frozen for what felt like an age as he stared into the eyes of his step-father. "You can't still love me," he whispered. "Not after what I've done…"

"I can'tnotlove you," I told him and it was the truth. I was quite possibly signing myself a first-class ticket to hell, but I didn’t care. I wanted him and I would do anything to keep him safe.

"I'm your thorn," I added with a sob.

"I'm out," Noah called out as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and walked me towards his car and the weight of his hand in mine felt like the hugest gust of air filling my lungs.

"Thank you," I whispered in relief.

"I'll make this right," he told me softly before tucking me into his side, protecting me. "I'll fix this."

"You're out?" George roared as he stalked towards us. "I don’t think you understand the way this works, Messina. There's no way out. We had an agreement – what about your mother?"

"Watch my back as I walk away from you, George – fromallof you," Noah spat as he opened the passenger door and helped me in before rounding the car and climbing in alongside me. "Hold on tight," Noah instructed me as he cranked the engine and tore off.

****

"Do you have the tickets?" Noah asked as he shifted into fourth gear to take a sharp corner.

I nodded. "And our passports," I added as I watched out the back window. "They're in my boots."

The lone headlamp on what I presumed was a car behind us was blinding and catching up quickly. "Do you think that's them?" I asked nervously. "Do you think they'll follow us?"

"I wouldn’t put anything past George," Noah growled as he took a glance in the rearview mirror and cursed loudly. "Shit…it's JD," Noah told me. "He's on his bike."

"Is that bad?" I demanded in a high pitched tone.

"Well, it's not good, baby," Noah growled, speeding up quickly. "Shit, he's gaining on us."

"Go faster," I hissed, watching in horror as JD tailed us. "Hurry up, Noah," I screamed. "Fucking floor it."

"I am, Teagan, I am," Noah roared. "Fuck, you're a pain in my ass, woman."

"Well take an aspirin," I shot back, paling when JD's bike swerved right and out of sight of the back window.

"Oh god, Noah," I screamed as JD suddenly came into sight in my car door window. The black gun he was pointing against my window caused me to temporarily lose my mind. "Get down!"

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