Chapter 64
Something in his tone made my skin prickle. “Then what?”
“The cat hair on my varsity jacket. The words tumbled out in a rush. I just noticed it when I went back to get it. We haven’t been near Snow all day, which
means…”
My heart stuttered in my chest as the implications hit. There was only one other person who could have left those traces. Someone who’d held me close enough for the evidence to transfer.
“Blake,” I whispered, the name feeling like glass in my throat.
I spun around just in time to see the car’s headlights flare to life, the engine’s purr deepening with intent.
“Thank you,” I breathed into the phone, already moving. The concrete was cold beneath my feet as I broke into a run, each step carrying me closer to the only clue I’d had about Snow’s whereabouts in what felt like forever.
“Wait!” My voice was lost in the sound of the engine. “Blake, wait!”
Blake’s POV
“Sir, Mrs. Parker is running after us.”
I reclined in the seats, eyes closed against the windows. “Keep driving.” I ordered.
After what I’d seen tonight – first that college boy’s protective embrace, then the mark on her neck – looking back wasn’t an option.
Minutes ago, she didn’t even attempt to explain the marks before leaving. Now she wanted to talk? Let her chase, I thought grimly. She made her choice.
Sir… Through my closed lids, I could sense the slight hesitation in the car’s movement. “Mrs. Parker has fallen.”
My eyes snapped open, finding the rearview mirror with practiced efficiency. The distance between us had grown wider than I’d realized. In the mirror’s cold reflection, I caught the image of Audrey struggling to her feet, her silhouette small and vulnerable against the vast emptiness of the street.
“Planning to break the sound barrier?” The words escaped before I could stop them. “Turn back!”
Audrey’s POV
If only Ethan had called sooner. If only I’d found the words to make Blake stay. I thought as I pushed myself up from the ground.
I stood in the darkness with my regrets until bright headlights suddenly lit up behind me, casting may shadow long and dark against the pavement. I raised a hand against the glare, heart stuttering as I recognized Blake’s car reversing smoothly toward me.
The rear window descended slowly, revealing Blake’s face – a masterpiece in studied indifference. “Get on.”
I immediately opened the door and climbed back in. My hands went immediately to my hoodie’s collar, and pressed hard against my skin near the existing marks.
The results were instantaneous – another red blossom of pressure, identical to its companions.
‘Look,” I said, tilting my head to better display the evidence. “They match perfectly.”
His eyes narrowed as they fixed on the mark. “Explain.”
‘Astrid dragged me to this spa,” I explained, the words tumbling out in a rush. “The trainee was… enthusiastic, to put it kindly.”
“Then why were you smiling earlier?”
A slightly awkward laugh escaped me. Because of where the mark is… it’s rather suggestive. When we left the spa, Astrid said you’d definitely mistake it for
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Chapter 64
a love bite.”
He turned to stare out the window, but I caught the slight softening around his eyes. “She needs to grow up.”
Hearing this response, I knew he believed me, and I felt myself relax slightly, letting out a quiet breath of relief.
After a while, he spoke up, “So that’s it?‘ He began rolling up his sleeves, the white fabric stark against his tanned forearms. “You ran after my car, risked falling flat on your face, just to prove your innocence?”
His voice dropped lower, carrying dangerous undercurrents. ‘Or did you want to continue what we started?”
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