MAKE ME YOUR DEMON

The Escape

Selena's POV

The words engraved on the metal hit me harder than a gun pointed to my face.

The bastard was a detective and we'd just let him walk straight into our hideout.

Our eyes met one final time. This time there was no pretending. No disguises. No lies, only the hunter and the prey.

Then I turned and ran.

Suddenly he took chase. I darted toward the rear exit, boots thundered behind me, shouts echoed from every direction.

The alley outside was empty. Cold rain struck my face. I ran even harder.

In moments like this, it's either freedom or death.

A turn. Another turn.

Then suddenly, I skidded to a halt. A dead end.

A badge glinted beneath the streetlight, a gun rested in his hand, pointed directly at me.

For one long moment neither of us moved. The rain seemed so slow, just like everything else. You could even hear faint raindrops.

Rain dripped from my hair. His jaw tightened. I should have been terrified. Instead, I couldn't stop staring.

His eyes weren't triumphant. They weren't cruel. If anything, they looked conflicted.

"Selena Sal." The way he said my name felt strangely intimate. Dangerously intimate.

I swallowed hard. "Detective," I answered with a very low protesting sound, almost seemingly as though I was being caressed.

A step forward and I took one back. My escape route was already gone. All I knew was that this was the time.

An arrest. My mind echoed to itself. The end.

His finger tightened around the trigger guard. Then something changed. A flicker, a hesitation or a choice, which could it be?

Behind him, officers shouted. "They went this way!"

Detective Rogers never looked away from me. Neither did I. My heart hammered against my ribs.

He stepped aside. Just enough, just enough for me to see the narrow opening behind him.

My mind needed no time to process, I already knew what it was, although it felt more like a dream. Freedom.

I turned back looking at him standing alone being all drenched in the rain, not even moving and he seemed alone. He stared back.

“Go.” He never said another word, he obviously didn't need to.

I ran. I disappeared into the rain.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that I hadn't escaped Detective Marcus Rogers. I'd only escaped tonight.

Marcus watched until my silhouette vanished into the storm.

"She got away?" his partner asked, rushing into the alley.

Marcus slowly holstered his weapon. He never looked away from the darkness where I'd disappeared.

"No," he said quietly. "I let her."