I rise up over her, capturing her lips with mine once more.The kiss is frenzied and wild, full of the same desperation that drove us into each other’s arms in the first place.I move off the bed swiftly, grab a condom from my dresser drawer, and slide it on.
 
 Then I climb on top of her and thrust inside her heat.
 
 It’s a perfect fit, as if we’re two parts of a whole finally uniting.
 
 “Angie,” I groan, my voice muffled against her throat.
 
 I start moving, slow and deliberate.Each thrust met with a sigh, each retreat with a whimper.
 
 The rhythm builds steadily as I grind into her.Her breath hitches with every thrust, her nails digging into my back.The sound of our bodies coming together fills the room, mixing with our heavy breathing.
 
 The tension coils tight within me, yet I hold back.I want this to last.I want to savor it.She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper inside her and making it near impossible to resist the climax building within me.
 
 “Jason,” she gasps, grabbing my ass.“Don’t stop.”
 
 I drive into her.
 
 “Jason!”she cries out, the sound echoing through the room as her body tightens around me.
 
 It’s mind-altering, the way she comes apart beneath me, and it pushes me over the edge.With a final thrust, I spill inside her and ride out waves of sheer pleasure.
 
 Exhaling, I collapse beside her on the bed, pulling her close against my chest as we both catch our breaths.
 
 Outside the room, reality waits—the harrowing truth about Ralph.
 
 But for now, we’re protected in the cocoon of our love.
 
 “Jason,” Angie murmurs as she traces circles on my bare chest, her head pillowed on my shoulder.“We can’t forget.”
 
 “I know.”
 
 The thrill and satisfaction recede, replaced by the reality of our situation.
 
 Murder.Deceit.
 
 It’s still here, and we still have to deal with all of it.
 
 For a moment, neither of us says anything.
 
 Angie lifts her head from my shoulder and looks at me.Her eyes shimmer with a mix of emotions.
 
 She leans in and kisses my lips.“We’ll figure it out, Jason.”
 
 I nod and pull her closer into my body.Her reassurance feels like a lifeline in the chaos swirling around.I press my lips to her forehead and tighten my arms around her.
 
 Each tick of the clock is an unsettling reminder of what awaits us come dawn.
 
 ChapterForty-One
 
 Angie
 
 The next morning we head back to my place, where I find the notes I picked up from Ralph that day in the hall scrunched in the bottom of my backpack.
 
 Jason has Lindsay’s note and the letter that Ronny Burgundy wrote to his friend Steve Chapman.
 
 I’m no expert, but I do see similarities in the handwriting.
 
 “Jason,” I say, grabbing his attention as he paces around the room.“Take a look at this.”