GUARDED FLAMES

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

EVANGELINE

we drove for hours.

no phones. no music. just the sound of tires on wet tar and the silence that felt louder than a scream.

i kept watchin him.

the way his jaw flexed. the way he gripped the wheel like it was the only thing keepin him from fallin apart.

“do you think he’s gonna kill you?” i asked softly.

he didn’t answer.

that was the answer.

“and me?”

he looked at me for half a second. just half.

“he’ll lock you up. send you somewhere quiet. somewhere cold. until you forget me.”

i touched his arm.

“i won’t.”

------

NIKOLAI

i’d killed men for less than what i’d done with her.

hell, i'd tortured men for less.

but i’d never felt this kinda fear before.

not when bullets flew. not when i was thirteen and hiding from the sound of my stepfather's belt. not when i buried my mother alone.

but now?

just the idea of her gettin hurt because of me?

that made my hands shake.

we stopped at a roadside motel. cheap. off-grid. smelled like cigarettes and desperation.

perfect.

she showered while i stood at the window, watchin headlights pass like ghosts.

then i heard her behind me.

"you're not sleepin on the floor tonight."

i turned.

she stood there in nothing but a towel. eyes soft. lips parted. water still drip-drippin down her collarbone.

"Evie..."

"stop pushin me away," she whispered. "i know you're scared. so am i. but this thing between us? it’s not going away."

my breath stuttered.

"i'm not good for you."

"maybe," she said. "but you're the only one who makes me feel alive."

i crossed the room in two steps, grabbed her face like a lifeline, kissed her like she was the last real thing in the world.

we hit the bed hard.

her towel dropped.

my shirt tore.

her fingers dug into my scars. my soul.

she gasped against my mouth.

"show me all of you," she breathed.

so i did.

every broken part.

every dark, ruined corner.

and she took it like it was fkn holy.

-----

ELSEWHERE

Ivanov’s men watched the motel from a black SUV.

“Boss says bring her back,” one of them said, c*****g his gun.

“Alive?”

A pause.

He smirked.

“Preferably.”