Chapter 62
RUE
The world shrinks until it is nothing but the glint of the moon on the barrel of Elias’s revolver. The air is thick with desert dust and the scent of death, which I’m almost positive is just in my head.
Noah is a wall of tension in front of me, his hand hovering near his own waist, but I can see the math playing out in his head. He’s too far away. Elias is already cocked. One twitch and Noah’s blood will soak into the thirsty Arizona dirt.
“Step away from him, Rue,” Elias sneers, his eyes darting to me with a sickening, possessive greed. “Come get in the van. Walk away, and you get to live. He stays here. Where he belongs.”
“Rue, don’t move,” Noah growls at me.
But I’m already moving.
For months, I’ve carried the weight of every life we’ve touched like stones in my pockets. I’ve shuddered at the sight of blood and made a mess anyway. I’ve fought the darkness and tried to make up for all my wrongs.
But I’m done with that.
My hand dives into the pocket of Noah’s oversized hoodie. My fingers find the grip of the Colt .45. It’s heavy—so much heavier than it looks—and the metal is ice-cold against my palm.
I don’t hesitate. I don’t overthink the morality of it. I don’t think about the girl I used to be. I only think about the man in front of me and the fact that I will not let him die for my sins.
I pull the gun.
And I level it with a steady, terrifying calm that surprises even me. The click of the hammer as I pull it back is the loudest fucking sound in the desert.
“Drop it,” I say, my voice as cold as my heart.
Elias freezes. The sneer falters, replaced by a flicker of genuine shock. He looks at me—and must realize he isn’t staring at a victim anymore.
It’s me. I’m the fucking predator.
“Rue, easy,” Noah breathes, his eyes wide as he looks at me over his shoulder.
“Drop the gun, Elias,” I repeat, taking a step forward.
I put myself in the light, the barrel of the Colt aimed directly at the center of the coyote’s chest. “I’ve already lost everything.
You think I’m afraid to add you to the list?
Put it on the ground, or I swear to God, I’ll take that reward money off the table myself. ”
Elias hesitates, his finger twitching on the trigger. “You’re fucking up.” He slowly lowers the revolver, kneeling to place it in the dirt. However, he peers up at me, a wicked grin pulling at his lips. “Stupid girl,” he spats up at me, just as the van door swings open.
A man with a shotgun emerges.
Fuck you.
I fire two rounds, mercilessly, and the man with the gun falls. Noah rushes him, sweeping up the little revolver and firing another round into the gunman’s forehead.
I keep the barrel of mine at Elias. “Anyone else?”
He narrows his eyes at me, and as his lips part, I hear another gunshot from the little revolver. “Not anymore, I presume.”
“Good, let’s go then.” I wave the barrel of the gun at him, and Elias scrambles to his feet.
“Netty told me Noah would be easy. I guess I was wrong.”
“Everyone is wrong about us,” I tell him, forcing him into the van’s passenger seat. Noah thuds a dead body out of the van, blood smeared on his face.
I tilt my head at him. “Are we toxic?”
“No way, baby. Toxic means we might kill each other.” He leans in, wiping dirt or blood from my face. “You and me? We’re just gonna be the death of everyone else. Whoever gets in our way.”
I stand on my tiptoes and place a kiss on his lips. “I love you.”
“And I love you.” He slaps my ass and then climbs into the driver’s seat, while I get into the back, holding Elias at gunpoint. Noah leaves the shotgun across his lap.
“Here we go,” I breathe out, turning to Elias. “Are you ready to get us across the border?”
Elias glances at me. “I have to say, I have a new respect for the two you. I will help you and cut the price in half—as long as you don’t fucking kill me.
” He nods to a beaten down, sandy trail.
“Follow that. We don’t have a lot of time.
The Marshals are eating this place alive looking for you two.
Once we get to the drop off, it’ll be home free. ”
Noah slams the van into gear, the tires spraying sand as he accelerates. “Well, we’re going to fucking make it. Thanks to you.” He reaches out an pats Elias on the shoulder, then shoots me a wink.
I let out a laugh. I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel sick. I just feel the weight of the steel in my lap and the heat of the engine beneath us. I reach out and place my hand on Noah’s shoulder.
“It’s you and me, Noah.”
He peers back at me. “It’s you and me, Rue.”
“And Elias,” Elias grumbles, resting his head against the window. “Don’t forget me.”
“Don’t worry,” Noah says. “You’ll get your money, and one hell of a story to tell all your buddies, too.”
We drive in silence for another ten minutes, the distance between us and the rest of the world growing with every revolution of the tires. The sirens are gone. The smoke from the motel is a memory.
And Elias directs us across the desert.
“Right here,” Elias brings us to a stop at a thicket of brush. “Park the van behind, and then we’ve got a ten-mile trek. It’s easy, really. We make it sound hard to keep the pussies out. We’ll be across before daylight. We’ll just be two men short. But it’s okay.”
We pull into the brush, and the engine dies to the turn of the key.
“Noah,” I breathe out, the name catching on a sob I didn’t know was coming. “Noah, look at me.”
“What?” He turns in the seat, his eyes searching mine. The moonlight catches the glint of tears he’s trying to hold back.
“We gonna make it,” I whisper. “We’re actually going to make it across the line.”
The sob finally breaks free, and then I’m lunging across the console, my arms wrapping around his neck. He pulls me into his lap, his hands tangling in my hair, pulling me flush against him as if he’s trying to merge our heartbeats.
When he kisses me, it isn’t laced with secrets. It tastes like relief. It tastes like the salt of my tears and the soot on his skin. It’s a slow, bruising claim—the realization that we didn’t just fucking survive…
We chose each other over everything else.
I pull back just enough to rest my forehead against his. I can feel the warmth of his breath, the steady thrum of his pulse against my collarbone.
“Now,” Elias breaks the moment, a grin on his face, “Let’s disappear.”
We climb out of the van, still toting our weapons. There is no map for where we’re going. There are no names for the people we’re about to become.
We are fugitives, we are ruins, and we are finally, terrifyingly free.