9. Lilah #3
"I liked Natalia."
"I figured you would."
"And Ruin." I laugh softly. "I was half expecting someone called Ruin to be terrifying."
"He made sure your plate was full."
"He did."
"He does that."
I shake my head.
"They're all..." I search for the word. "...nice."
He glances at me. "Don't tell them that."
I laugh. "Your secret's safe."
Tempest doesn't take the turn toward the apartment and I frown. "We've missed it."
"We're not going home yet."
I look at him, but his eyes never leave the road. One hand rests loosely on the steering wheel, the other against the gear stick. He’s calm and steady, like nothing's changed. Only... something definitely has. He passes another junction, and keeps on driving.
I glance at him again. "What is it?"
"Nothing."
I don't believe him, not anymore. We've spent enough time together now that I've started noticing the little things. His eyes keep flicking to the rear-view mirror. He isn't lost, but he’s checking something. I turn slightly in my seat and look through the back window to see a black SUV, it’s far enough back that it could be nothing, but I know better.
Tempest changes lanes and so does the SUV. My stomach tightens. Tempest takes the next left, then a right, and then circles an entire block before joining the main road again. The SUV stays with us for two more turns and then it keeps going.
Tempest watches it disappear in the mirror before letting out a slow breath.
"What was that?" I ask quietly.
"I don't know."
"But you thought they were following us."
"I thought it was worth finding out."
I look at him. "You don't think it was nothing."
His grip tightens on the steering wheel for a fraction of a second. "I don't know what it was."
I don't believe him, but I let it go, for now.
We don't speak again until we're back inside my apartment. The deadbolt clicks into place behind us and Tempest checks the hallway camera before slipping his phone back into his pocket.
I watch him, and when he’s finished, I ask the question I’ve been dying to since the car journey. "The SUV."
He looks at me. "What about it?"
"You don't think it was a coincidence."
He's quiet for a second. "No."
My stomach tightens. "What aren't you telling me?"
He studies me for a long moment and then he exhales. "Rogue found something this morning. He found a storage unit."
I frown. "What storage unit?"
"Rented under the Matthew Cole name."
My heart sinks.
"He'd been using it," Tempest tells me.
"For what?"
"Maps and photographs."
I feel the blood drain from my face. "What kind of photographs?"
“Everything about you, where you go, what you do, everything.”
"My route to work?" I ask and he nods. "The florist?" My voice is getting shriller with every word I say. Tempest just gives me another nod. "The coffee shop?"
"Yeah."
I grip the back of the chair. "My apartment?" His silence is all the answer I need. I stare at the floor. "He knew where I lived."
"He did."
"He knew where I worked."
"Yeah."
I swallow around the lump in my throat. "The park?"
"Sorry, but yeah."
I let out a shaky breath. "I thought..." I laugh once, bitterly. "I thought I was finally getting my life back." Tempest doesn't interrupt me, letting me get it all out. "I kept telling myself I was imagining things."
"You weren't," his voice is firm.
"I thought Boston was safe."
"It was."
I look up. "What?"
His eyes don't leave mine. "You got out." My chest tightens at his words. "He followed you, Lilah."
The words hit harder than I expect, because they're true. I sink down into the nearest chair and for a long moment neither of us speaks. "I'm so tired," I whisper.
"I know."
"Tired of checking every lock." I look down at my hands. "Tired of wondering who's behind me every time I leave the apartment."
He crosses the room, slowly, giving me every chance to tell him to stop. He stops in front of me. "You don't have to do it alone anymore."
Something inside me cracks, and I look up at him and see that he's already looking at me.
His hand comes up slowly, and he brushes a loose strand of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear.
His fingertips linger for the briefest second against my cheek, not moving any closer; he just waits.
Like the decision has always been mine. I search his face for doubt or expectation, but I don't find either, only patience.
I lean forward first; it's barely any distance at all.
Our mouths meet softly, the kiss is gentle and careful, it’s like neither of us wants to frighten the other away.
His thumb brushes my cheek and I close my eyes. For the first time in what feels like forever, I don't feel afraid.
When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine for the briefest second, I don't move and neither does he.
Then something changes. I watch as his body goes still, completely still.
I frown. "Tempest?"
His eyes aren't on me anymore; they're fixed on something beyond my shoulder. Slowly, he steps around me and I turn.
Across the street is a black SUV, sitting at the curb with its engine off.