Alex:
The patrol car’s engine clicked as it cooled, the night air already condensating on the glass. Luke killed the headlights but didn’t move. For a breathless moment the world was only the soft hiss of the cooling hood and the hammering of my pulse.
He finally stepped out, boots crunching on the driveway gravel. My door opened with a slow creak. “Out,” he said, voice rough enough to scrape. No shout. Just command.
The metal cuffs bit at my wrists as I swung my legs to the ground. Every nerve lit up. I told myself I should be furious. I wasn’t. I was thrumming.
Luke’s hand settled on the small of my back, steady and possessive, as he guided me to the house. The door shut behind us with a solid thunk, the deadbolt sliding home like the final click of a lock inside my chest.
The place
