Page 63 of The Beyond
“So, you like the beach?” he asked her, and she laughed.
“That trip to Orange Beach our senior year.” She nodded. “This is that place.”
“Yeah. The resort we walked by and snuck into after sunset.” He smiled. “I’m sleeping in the best suite.”
“So, while you’ve been living it up here”—she stopped and turned to him—“Tara and I have been doing some digging.”
“And?”
“We think that when we leave here, we should take you to Hidden Creek, to the silo.”
“Where they fought your parents?” he asked, remembering the place.
Selene nodded. “The rest of them are going to be there. Jess is pretty sure she and the others can bind your father.”
“After he tears me apart?”
“No.” Selene took his hands. “No, they think that it won’t come to that.”
“Think?”
“Ninety-nine percent sure,” she lied with a weak smile. “If things go wrong, you and I return here and spend the rest of eternity living in paradise.” She smiled.
What other choice did he have? Before, he’d felt a call to return to the real world. Now, with Selene here, he didn’t mind where he was. But in truth, he still wanted a normal life. With her.
“Okay,” he said with a nod. “Let’s do this.”
She took a deep breath. “Since I’m not sure how time moves differently, we have to send Lucas and Tara back first. Then Lucas can return to let us know when everyone is in position.”
He nodded again, and they headed back to where her brother and sister were. “You have a family now,” he said as they got closer.
Tara was laughing at something Lucas had said. They looked happy. Excited to finally get to meet.
“Yeah.” Selene lifted their joined hands. “So do you.”
“Sure. I have a dad that wants to rip me apart from the inside so he can doom the entire world,” he joked.
Selene tugged on his hand to stop him. Instead of meeting his eyes, she looked at a spot on his chest.
“I should have told you how I feel,” she said softly.
He nudged her chin up with his fingers until she looked at him. Until he could see deep into those dark chocolate eyes of hers. “Tell me now.”
“I love you. I’ve always loved you,” she said, causing his heart to skip a beat in his chest. Then she was crying, and it almost broke him. “I almost lost you before I had a chance to tell you that.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I’m here,” he said into her hair. “We’ll make it through this, together.”
“When this is all over, I want to move in with you,” she said against his chest. “Wherever you want to live, it doesn’t matter to me.”
He smiled. “You know, Lucas and I have decided to open a new branch of Forge International.”
Selene glanced up at him. “You have?”
He nodded. “I’ll be the branch manager of the new Hidden Creek office.”
Selene smiled. “I think we’d like living there.”
“Let’s find out.” He took her hand. “But first, we have to deal with my father.”
