Page 68 of Every Sunset
CHAPTER 25
ANNA
I woke up late the next morning feeling like a new person compared to the walking zombie I seemed to have been for so many weeks. Of course my fears were there, and still very real when the reality was that Callum was likely still very closeby somewhere and waiting for his chance to get to me and Max, but they were somewhat muffled inside of my head as I showered and got ready.
Maybe waking up beside Logan had helped. We’d slept in each other’s arms all night and I’d slept so much better being close to him like that. I hadn’t want ed to wake him when the sun shining in through the gaps in the blinds had woken me, so I snuck from the bed and left him to sleep.
When I looked at myself in the mirror before I stepped into the shower I had laughed at my crazed sex hair that stuck up in all directions, but I also had some color in my cheeks and I was smiling. Even when I tried to tame that smile, I found I couldn’t. Madd and Logan loved me. They wanted not just me in their lives, but my son too, and that was like a fairytale ending for me. One I had never dared even dream of for myself, and there it was coming true.
My positivity hadn’t dulled at all as I gotten ready for the day, and I’d even dressed up a little in a short floral sundress. Iwanted to look good for the guys for a change, so I’d picked the dress, despite the weather being a little too cool for it now. I’d also put on a little mascara and lipstick, and taken the time to blow dry my hair into some sense of smooth waves.
Maybe it was crazy to feel happy when all around me was so much chaos, but the FBI were looking for Callum now. They had his image and they knew he was close. I was pretty sure it was only a matter of time until he was caught. I’d do whatever I could to help them achieve that, and I would get justice for what that monster had done to me, and for all of those young woman he had killed, but at the same time I knew I had to be grateful for the fact that I escaped. A serial killer drugged and tortured me as he did six other women at least. I should be dead and I knew it, but Max had saved me. I had a future and it was shaping up to be a wonderful one. I wasn’t going to take any of that for granted anymore.
“Neil, I swear to you, man. Anna is safe. She’s here with my brother and me. We have her covered, and the FBI will be turning up in an hour or two,” Maddox was saying as I walked into the kitchen and found him on his cell phone, sitting at the counter.
He turned on the stool to face me the second I walked in. I didn’t miss the way he looked me up and down, and I very much appreciated the smile that spread across his face as he took me in.
“I have to go. Just call me if you hear anything, okay?” Madd went on. “Thanks, Neil. Appreciate it.” With that he ended the call and set his cell down on the counter.
“Morning,” I greeted. Madd didn’t say anything in reply as he stood from the tall stool and started to slowly stalk towards me. I stood frozen as I tried to work out what he was doing, then hislips landed over mine and I caught on eventually. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed up onto my tiptoes so I could kiss him just as thoroughly as he was kissing me.
“Morning,” he told me with a smile as he pulled back after an intense kiss. He had his arms wrapped around me, holding me against his body, and I could feel his erection pressed between us.
“What was that for?” I asked him innocently.
“That is what I want to do every single time you walk into a room, baby, but this morning you look fucking amazing and I couldn’t hold myself back,” he explained.
“Well I liked it, so you don’t have to hold yourself back anytime for me,” I told him playfully.
“I’m holding you to that,” he told me as he leaned in to kiss me again, then released one arm from around me, and led me into the kitchen with the other around my back. “Did you sleep?”
“Yeah, really well actually. Where’s Max? He didn’t go to school did he?” I worried.
“No. I explained to him last night that he’d need to stay home until this was all cleared up. He went to take a swim. I warned him not to leave the house,” Maddox assured me.
“Thank you,” I sighed gratefully. “Neil called you?”
“Yeah. The whole town is flooded with FBI agents and when they went to talk to Neil about what happened last week, he was worried about you. He just wanted to check in,” Madd explained. He led me to the seat he had vacated, then moved to the kitchen and started pouring coffee he’d obviously made in the machine before.
“They’re looking for Callum then?”
“I guess so,” he shrugged.
“Let’s just hope they find the fucker,” I added.
“I’m pretty confident they will, and if they don’t, it’ll be because the coward knows he’s fucked, and has already taken off to get far away from here. Either way you guys should be safe very soon.”
“I don’t want him getting away, Madd. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life checking over my shoulder for him,” I sighed.
“It’ll all work out. You’ll see,” Maddox assured me. “You want coffee?” I nodded and he passed me the mug he had just poured, along with some creamer.
“You said the FBI will be here again this morning?” I questioned.
“They want to ask you some more questions, but I have no problem turning them away of you’re not up to it,” he assured me as he grabbed his own coffee and came to sit in the seat right at my side.
“I should just get it over with,” I groaned. “I just…I felt good when I woke up this morning, but reality’s just kicked back in.”
“Then allow me to kick it firmly back out again,” he said as he set down his coffee, then lifted me clear off of my seat and into his lap. I squealed in surprise, but I was laughing as he set me down so I was straddling his thighs on the narrow seat.
