Page 51 of Finn
“It’s not going to be easy,” he murmured, his gaze never leaving mine. “They won’t stop looking for us. You know that, right?”
I nodded, my fingers still tracing along his jaw. “I know. But it’s worth it. You’re worth it, Gabriel,” I told him.
A flash of emotion crossed his face, something between relief and disbelief.
He leaned in closer, until our foreheads touched, his hands cradling my face as if I were something precious, something breakable.
It made my chest ache.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “For sticking with me. For believing in us.”
I closed my eyes, letting myself feel the warmth of him, the steadiness of his touch.
“I’ll always stay,” I whispered back. “No matter what.”
For a moment, everything felt right.
The danger and the fear, it all faded, replaced by a quiet certainty that we’d made the right choice, no matter what came next.
Eventually, he pulled back, his hands lingering on my shoulders before slipping away.
The air between us felt charged, electric, but neither of us moved, savoring the quiet intimacy of the moment.
I could still feel the ghost of his touch, the warmth of his breath against my skin.
Gabriel’s gaze softened, and he gave me a small, genuine smile.
“Let’s stretch our legs for a little bit,” Gabriel suggested.
“That would be good,” I told him.
We climbed out of the truck, stretching our legs in the quiet of the gas station’s shadowed lot.
The cool night air was refreshing, and I took a deep breath, feeling a strange sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in years.
For once, the world felt like it was ours, open and wide.
For just a moment, I let myself imagine a future where we could live like this, together and free.
But I knew better than to hope too much.
We still had a long road ahead, and the shadow of the Guild and of Gael, still lingered behind us, waiting for a chance to pull us back.
“We should get moving. Before Gael catches our scent again,” Gabriel said after a while.
“Yeah,” I agreed, returning to the truck.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
GABRIEL
When I opened my eyes,the first thing I noticed was the dim glow of daylight filtering through the black-out curtains around me.
I was in the car. The rumble of the engine and the steady vibration of the road beneath me was a soothing reminder that we were still on the run.
I glanced over, and there he was: Finn, at the wheel, fighting to keep his eyes open, his grip tight as he pushed through fatigue.
Most vampires would panic waking up in a moving vehicle, but for me, it was almost peaceful.
