Chapter 83
FUCK!
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
We were officially screwed, all over something as stupid as a Candy Cane Kiss Latte.
I was such a fucking idiot.
All it had taken was for Milo’s eyes to light up with excitement that could have rivaled a small child’s, and I’d completely lost my head.
What had I been thinking letting Mira go off on her own? I knew she wasn’t one hundred percent yet… Why had I done that!?
Because you wanted to be alone in that store with Milo.
I’d wanted to watch his face light up over and over again as he explored, and I hadn’t wanted him to be interrupted or have to worry about his mother accidentally breaking something the whole time.
She’s just gone to get coffee.
How was I supposed to know she was going to manage to single-handedly blow the cover I’d been hoping to leverage for decades in fucking seconds?
I wanted to kill someone.
I’d almost killed that fucking kid before Milo stopped me.
The gunfire that Milo had managed to significantly dim over our many sessions came roaring to the front of my mind as I nearly drifted the Rover back into its parking spot in front of the cabin.
“Maybe he won’t find us…” Milo murmured quietly. He sent me a pleading look through his glasses, as if just saying the words would make them true.
“Of course they’re going to find us, Milo. There’s no way Luke hasn’t been scanning the shit out of the internet since I broke you out of there. He’s probably already on his way.”
“B-but, the pictures will just lead them into the town! Maybe he won’t find the cabin?” Milo asked hopefully, and I gave him a flat look, gesturing toward the massive, expensive cabin that loomed before us.
It was a custom build and outshone any of the other mountain-side homes the locals had built sporadically on the outskirts of town.
It wouldn’t take much to find it now that Luke knew where to look, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that this is where the son of a deceased billionaire tech giant would be hiding out.
Milo chewed on his lip as he stared at the luxury cabin before glancing back at my stone-cold expression. His shoulders slumped as he deflated.
“Yeah. Okay.” He sighed.
“Get her in the lab,” I grit out. “There’s a panic room in the back, code is 4675. Put her in there for now. I need to start locking us down.”
Milo nodded wordlessly and rushed to do what I’d said. Poor Mira was crying now, and I couldn’t help but feel a little shitty for scaring her so badly.
But, me almost murdering a teenager would be the least of our worries if I didn’t figure out how to fix this.
We had two options.
We could run again, though the chances of finding another place to hide out that was this comfortable were slim. We’d be looking at much more rural accommodations, considering I couldn’t buy another place like this with just cash.
The thought of keeping Milo’s mother in some sort of a shack without proper heating through the winter was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach… Which left me with the much less desirable option.
We had to fight.
When Milo and his mother were safely inside, I allowed myself to lose it.
I punched the shit out of the steering wheel, screaming in anguish at the fact that our safe place had been compromised and I was now forced to face everything I’d just wanted to run and hide from.
I’d never wanted to fight.
I hadn’t been lying when I’d told Milo all I wanted to do was stay here and love him forever. But it seemed the universe had other plans.
After I’d beaten my knuckles raw on the steering wheel, I leaned back in my seat, running my hands down my face and forcing myself to breathe through the pain and the rage.
It didn’t matter if I wanted to fight or not.
They were coming.
They were coming, and I’d better be fucking ready, or they would put me back in that damn cage.
Or worse.
They would put Milo in there.
The blood drained from my face, and suddenly, my feelings didn’t matter anymore.
Kicking open the driver’s side door, I stepped out into the crisp mountain air, my hightops crunching on the gravel as I made my way to the cabin.
No one was putting Milo in a fucking cage.
I didn’t care if I needed to torch the entire planet to keep that from happening.
I would do it.
Sliding my hand into my tactical jacket and wrapping my fingers around the comforting butt of my gun, I let out a deadly sigh, allowing myself to free-fall back into all the memories I’d spent the last few weeks trying to bury deep inside me.
I would burn this fucking world to ash if they tried to take him from me again.
And I would laugh while I fucking did it.