“You wouldn’t hurt me,” she says with a shake of her head.
I choke back a laugh. “I could. And I almost did, more times than you know. I’ve been willing to kill you since the day I took you.”
“I don’t believe that, Lex.” The shake of her head intensifies, as if reasoning with herself more than me.
“I pushed you away so you could be with someonebetter. I wanted you to have better than the small life I could ever give you. This? This rundown cabin? It’s what I can give you.” I inhale a sharp breath. It’s not good enough for her, I know that. She knows that. We both do. “People describe love as not being able to be away from that person, that it’s such a horrible thing to be apart, but it didn’t feel like I loved you when I selfishly wanted to keep you for myself. I may not know what love feels like, but I knew enough to know that loving you meant letting you go.” I fight back the heat behind my eyes, which I don’t remember ever feeling in my entire life. “Old me would have kept you, fucked you, and killed you when I was done with you. New me, the one you drew out, wanted you to forget me and live the life you deserved.”
“Even now, you want me to leave,” she whispers, her voice wavering with the tremble of her body.
“Because you look so fucking unhappy,” I say as I cut my gaze.
“I’m unhappy because you make me feel unwanted.”
I sit back and pull her onto my lap. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you in that car. I’ve never not wanted you.”
She drops her head to my shoulder, and I hear the breathy sounds of her trying not to cry as I hold her.
“If I wasn’t in this situation, bunny, I would never let you go or push you away.”
She flashes her eyes up at me. “I’m a killer, too, Lex.”
I shake my head. “You wouldn’t be if it weren’t for me.”
“This isn’t justyoursituation anymore. It’sours.Stop thinking of me as the girl you dragged to hell and realize that maybe I’ve already been there.”
“Fuck, bunny.” I grip the back of her neck and kiss her. “If you want this, I’ll give you everything I can in this little world of ours.” I pull away and touch her cheek with a warm palm.
ChapterTwenty
Selena
We’ve been living our new life for a few nights now, and it quickly became clear we’d need more money, even while living off-grid. Much like the guy who lived in this cabin before us, Lex has been doing odd jobs for others who have moved off the grid themselves, but it’s not enough to keep food on our table. Lex keeps promising to teach me how to hunt, and I need to hold him to that one of these days.
Prey can hunt prey.
“Rabbit,” Lex says as he walks in. The screen door slams behind him.
I finish drying the dish in my hand and turn to face him. “What?”
“I have an idea, but I’m not sure I can let you go with me.”
“I’m going where you go.”
He smirks. “I thought you’d say that. I’m going to do a little robbery. Get some quick cash.”
I shake my head. “Wh-what?”
“Don’t worry, rabbit, I’ve done jobs like this in my sleep.” He walks over and brushes a dirt-covered hand across my cheek.
“You ended up in prison, Lex!”
“I was in prison for murder, not robberies.”
“Who are you thinking about robbing?” I ask. We need money but committing a robbery seems like an unnecessary risk. We’ve committed enough felonies since the night I met Lex. On the other hand, what’s one more?
“There’s a small gas station down the road. No cameras. Nothing. I know they won’t have much, but they’ll have more than we do.”
“How do you plan on doing this?”