Page 68 of Our Lips Are Sealed
“Yes, sir.” She planted another kiss on him, the rough stubble catching her off guard again. Curious, she ran her tongue over the edge of his lips. “Interesting.”
Samuel looped an arm around her waist, holding her tight against him as he arched down to rub his chin along the bend of her neck. “Like that?”
“Maybe,” she squealed, lying. She most definitely liked it.
“You’re going to like it a lot more if we get to sleep in our bed tonight.” The sharp nip of his teeth replaced his chin, making her body hum. “I think your inner thigh needs a new mark.”
The butterflies in her stomach scattered around drunkenly, and she giggled. “Oh, yeah.”
“Are you okay?”
Evie straightened with a nod, internally chastising herself. With everything happening, she had no right to be this happy. “I’m just really looking forward to moving in with you.”
Samuel pressed his forehead to hers. “Remember, you promised me naked chess tournaments every night.”
“As long as you let me cheat.”
“Always.”
He kissed her one last time before leaving. “I love you,” he said, jogging down the steps. “Don’t forget to set the alarm.”
With a final wave, Evie hurried inside to bolt the door. Once it was secure, she leaned back on it, overwhelmed by the possibility that an uncomplicated life lay ahead of them.
“And they lived happily ever after.”
Well, not totally uncomplicated. She didn’t think she and Samuel were going to ride off into the sunset where everything would always be easy. They were both too stubborn for that.
But being together without fear of hurting the people they loved would take a heavy burden off their shoulders, allowing them to focus on the future and what was important.
Each other.
Next to her, the library door remained closed, with Jamison nowhere in sight. Evie would wager her sister was in there “helping” Cohen, and pressed her ear to the door, thinking a little payback was due.
However, hearing nothing, she figured she was wrong. The silence on the other side probably meant Cohen was crouched over his phone, typing away. Or maybe Jamison was in there but keeping the federal agent’s mouth occupied in an entirely different way.
Returning to the front door, she entered the activation code on the security system’s control panel, switching it to the highest setting which would secure all entry points, including the windows.
As always, the console mocked her. It flashed red and green, refusing to accept her codes.
“Great.”
With a sigh, she headed down the hall to the kitchen, where Annabeth was busy preparing dinner. None of them knew how things would go as night approached, or how many mouths they would need to feed. Annabeth had wanted to get a head start on preparations and began coming up with a menu the second they arrived at the house.
“Annabeth, I forgot the code again,” Evie yelled with a yawn. “I don’t think I’m getting the right emails, like everyone else.”
Passing the media room, she heard two newscasters relaying the fire details to the public at a deafening level.
“Yeesh, Abe. Turn it down.”
The newscaster’s voice continued to blare, and she rolled her eyes, moving on. “Annabeth, did you hear me? My codes aren’t wor—“
Upon entering the kitchen, Evie stopped dead in her tracks, paralyzed by the scene before her.
The back door stood open, allowing the setting sun’s light to stream through the screen, its glow illuminating Annabeth’s tear-stained face. Raising a trembling finger to her lips, Annabeth signaled for Evie to remain quiet.
On the floor was Jamison, scrambling to stand but unable to. The hand buried in her hair wouldn’t allow for it. Its fingers dug into her sister’s scalp, pressing her to the ground while she thrashed against its hold, her long legs sliding to the side while she fought for control.
Above Jamison, smiling wildly at Evie, was Toby. He waved, the gun in his hand catching the afternoon light.
