With his muscular arm around her lower back and a hand cupping her jaw, Finn sealed his lips over hers. She couldn’t resist the synergy, the sheer enthralling force of their attraction. She parted her lips, and Finn deepened the kiss, plundering. Her hands found their way to the back of his neck. They were like two magnets no longer able to resist the pull of connection.
The most potent force in the time she had spent with Finn had been the present. They had existed in the moment, embracing it, savoring it. There was no concern for yesterday or tomorrow; they existed independently, free from time and obligation and consequence.
It was a luxury Twitch could no longer afford. After lingering in the kiss longer than she should have allowed, she placed a hand on Finn’s chest. She didn’t push him away; she didn’t think she was capable, but he understood. He withdrew slowly, their lips clinging.
Those entrancing blue eyes met hers. “You’re right. And if you ever trust me with your heart again, I’m going to take care of it.”
He must have sensed her inability to form a reply because, after a moment, he continued. “Tomorrow, we’re going to see what my guys taught you because we need to keep the rest of you safe too.”
“Hmm?”
“Self-defense, Charlotte. First thing in the morning.”
Auggie was giggling behind the book he was pretending to read while Charlotte showed Finn her moves. He was currently on his back, the recipient of a roundhouse kick that had nailed him in the gut and surprisingly did nothing to curb his arousal.
Charlotte dove on top of him with a knee in his chest and a gleam in her denim-blue eyes. In one seamless move, Finn wrapped her up and hauled her to her feet. With her body wriggling in front of him, Finn tightened his grip around her waist, mindful of the baby inside her, and held an imaginary knife to her throat.
She stilled her movements. “Okay, what do I do?”
“There’s no point. This is a worst-case scenario. There’s no way you’re getting out of this alive.”
“Maybe you couldn’t get out of it because you’re big and intimidating, but I’m just a tiny girl. I bet I could catch him off guard,” she insisted.
“Just a tiny girl, huh?” he chuckled.
“That’s right.”
“Okay tiny girl, in that case, I would say bite his arm, elbow him in the gut, and run like hell.”
“Or this.” Charlotte stomped on his instep and, when he loosened his grip, slid down his body onto the grass. She rolled away and popped to her feet victorious.
From the porch, Auggie shouted, “Yes!”
Charlotte shot him a smile then turned back to Finn. “How’d this tiny girl do?”
Milo pulled into the parking lot of an old-timey gas station and general store. His ears had plugged from the change in elevation, and he held his nose and swallowed to pop them. Glancing at the phone screen, he smiled. Charlotte was close. Apparently, she had chosen to hole up in the charming hamlet of Purgatory, West Virginia. No doubt she had some sort of hillbilly lineage drawing her to this dump.
A white panel van Milo had noticed on the highway pulled into the parking lot. The driver wore a ball cap pulled low and flicked a cigarette butt out the window with practiced ease. Milo watched for a moment as the man exited the truck and disappeared into the store, then returned to his own plotting.
Charlotte Devlin could cheat all she wanted, but she wouldn’t cheat death.