Page 43 of Escape

“Baby, you are perfect. I would still love you no matter how you looked.”

I smiled to myself, the stab in my gut slowly fading into a comforting warmth. “Is your job how you met all these…connections?”

“Hmm…partly. My client that I mentioned, Ez, you’ll probably meet her one day. We became pretty close and she connected me with her connections. Kind of a group where we all have a…mutual understanding. Common interests.”

“Well, we have time…tell me more.” I propped my elbow on the window and let my head fall into my hand as I waited for her to elaborate.

“Okay, well, there’s Nik and Remy. Big in tech. They helped with the social media pages and group, surveillance, intercom stuff. Then there’s Quinn. I'm not even sure of everything she does, but she owns a lot of properties…she secured the high school for us, which had been abandoned for a few years already after a new building was built across town.”

The realization about the high school clicked into place. I never even thought to look it up before coming back to town.

“Lastly, Nova… she has underground connections. Clean-ups, cover-ups…helped with…you know.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I still don’t want to, though.”

“Right. Well, we all look out for each other. I kept the details of our night pretty discreet, but…let’s just say we all have sort of similar stories.”

“Oh, so you all have chased women around in scary masks until they loved you?”

The silence was deafening.

“Wait, really?” I sat up, pulling my foot from Kel’s grasp.

“I mean…”

“Oh my god,” I swiped a hand over my face, muffling a laugh. “Where did you guys even meet, Spirit Halloween?”

“Ha ha…” She mocked as she grasped my ankle, pulling my legs back to their spot. “Anyway, our little group might benefit you, too. Ez and Nessa are filmmakers. Have you ever seen that weird little indie film Little Lamb?”

“No fucking way…” I gasped. It was one of my favorites as a teen.

“Yep.” Kel nodded in excitement. “They’re always looking for fresh talent. Maybe they’ll make a lil movie out of our story.”

I rolled my eyes, playfully kicking her chest again, but the thought sparked some hope inside me. For the first time in years, I felt excited. Loved. Capable. Maybe I could actually do something with my life, something I’d always wanted.

The light caught one of Kel’s horn piercings, drawing my gaze to her forehead where my name was blasted just over her eyebrow. Every time I saw it, my stomach curled with desire. Something about the love of my life marking me on her body made me feral. My lips twitched with an idea as I hooked my fingers over the chest hem of my tank.

“So, I was thinking…I want to get a tattoo. Would you do one for me?” I asked, biting my lip as Kel turned to me. Her eyes flashed between my eyes, lips and fingers teasing my tank down.

“I’ll be the only one to do it. What do you want to get, babydoll?”

“Right here,” I pulled my tank down, the top of my breast spilling out. “I want ‘Kel’.”

Her fingers clutched the steering wheel as she shifted in her seat.

“Is that right?” Her voice was husky as she flashed me a glance before returning her gaze to the road.

“Mhmm. Or maybe here…” I lifted the hem of my shorts, exposing the top of my thigh.

“Both,” Kel smirked as she reached over. “In fact, I want another one here.” Her fingers moved to unbutton my shorts and pull them down enough to show the skin just under the roll of my belly.

I pushed my hips up to meet her hand and without warning, the truck jerked to the side, skidding to a stop as Kel threw it into park and pulled the keys from the ignition. In seconds, she was leaning over me, her eyes dark with desire.

She grasped my hips and flipped me over, pulling my shorts down around my thighs. I was thanking the gods that the front was all one seat without a center console.

“And here…” She kissed softly over both cheeks and up to the small of my back. “And here.”

Her hands traveled up my skin and neck before twisting into my hair. She tugged my head back and pressed her lips to the back of my neck.