CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Angela followed Julia into the town house.
“Tell Conor to come in,” said Angela. “You guys can stay the night. After what you’ve been through, you need to rest.”
“No,” said Julia. “We’re leaving. I just need to grab my stuff.”
Julia ran upstairs into Angela’s bedroom. She slipped into a pair of jeans and Chuck Taylor low-tops. She thought about putting on a clean shirt but decided to keep Conor’s shirt on. It smelled too good to take off. She zipped up her suitcase as Angela walked in.
“So that’s it, huh?” said Angela. “You’re leaving with him.”
“I gotta go,” said Julia, pulling her suitcase toward the door.
Angela reached in her purse and pulled out a stack of money.
“Here,” said Angela, holding out the money. “You’re gonna need it.”
Julia ignored the money and tried to step around her, but Angela grabbed her arm.
““I tried to tell you not to go with Billy,” Angela said, shoving the money into Julia’s pocket. She hugged Julia.
Julia stood stiff and frozen.
Angela finished her hug and pulled away, her eyes welling with tears. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“You should be,” said Julia. “I would’ve never done that to you.”
Angela hung her head.
Julia pushed by her and pulled her suitcase down the stairs.
* * *
The trunk of the Camaro closed with a bang. Conor jumped in the driver’s seat. “What about your car?” said Conor. “You just gonna leave it here?”
Julia turned her gaze to the townhouse where Angela watched them from her bedroom window. She reached over and laid her hand on Conor’s leg. “Just get me out of here.”
The cool night air ruffled Julia’s hair as Conor drove down the interstate. She closed her eyes and sat back. Conor held her hand.
“Did James do anything to you?” he asked.
She smiled. “No. But he got what he deserved.”
Conor squeezed her hand. “Yeah. That was kinda... uh, hardcore how you got that crowd all riled up. Not that there was anything wrong with it.”
She pulled Conor’s T-shirt against her face, breathing in his scent. “Whatever they did to him is fine by me. Just wish I could’ve watched. You got there just in time. He’d just got that last cuff on me and could’ve done anything he wanted. I was freaking out.”
“Don’t thank me,” said Conor. “Thank Angela. I would’ve never found you without her.”
“She’s the reason I was in there,” said Julia.
Conor glanced over. “What?”
“Just drive,” said Julia.
They were out of town and on the highway when Julia finally calmed down.
She shouldn’t have been surprised that Angela sold her out.
People always found a way to let her down.
Even Conor. The only difference was that Conor came looking for her.
He did something bad for sure, but he followed that up with something good.
Was he good or was he bad? She watched the wind blow his long hair.
His face was tan. She could see a scar that ran through his eyebrow.
He hadn’t shaved in a few days. Every muscle on his bare torso stood out in the moonlight, his ribs flexing with each breath.
Maybe he was both. And for right now, she had to say that if it was a race, good was in the lead. He glanced over and smiled.
“I can’t believe I found you,” he said.
“Neither can I.”
“Some bikers told me you were dancing at that club. If I got there one minute later—I don’t even want to think what could’ve happened.”
She put her hand on his thigh, sliding her finger through a rip in the knee of his jeans. “Why did you come looking for me? ” She watched him stare straight ahead, driving into the darkness.
He glanced over. “I had to.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, I just kept thinking about you.”
She pointed at a green sign appearing out of the darkness. “Take that exit.”
It was a country road. Nothing for miles. Fields that stretched like oceans bordered the road, painted silver by the moonlight. A towering stand of trees lifted from the horizon. Julia slid her hand over Conor’s bare chest and stomach. She pointed at the trees. “Pull over there.”
Conor pulled onto the shoulder in front of the trees. A dirt road led into the trees. He eased down the road, stopping in a field circled by towering trees. He put the car in Park and cut the ignition. Julia ran her hands over his bare arms. His chest. His stomach. He lifted her onto his lap.
She buried her face in his neck. Smelling him. Kissing him. The leaves in the trees rustled, hushing everything around them.
He pulled her shirt off. Her skin felt hot. He kissed her neck and ran his hands up her back. “Hold on,” he said, reaching under the front of his seat. He slid the seat back and then pushed the back of his seat down until he was flat on his back. He looked up at Julia.
She straddled him and stared into his eyes.
He unbuttoned her jeans. She slid out of them while he pulled his off.
The warm summer air swirled around Julia as she repositioned herself on top of him.
She felt him harden under her. His hands slid up her thighs, up her back, then cupped her breasts.
He licked one nipple, then the other. She reached between her legs and grabbed him.
She spread her legs and rubbed against him.
“I want you,” she said, feeling his mouth on her breast.
She guided him in. She ran her hands over his muscled back and shoulders.
She laid back and pulled him on top of her, feeling him push in deep.
She felt him tightening, every muscle hardening.
Waves rolled through her, lifting her. She lost herself, falling into his rhythm.
She gasped and rocked under him. A primal release exploded through her, covering everything she felt and smelled and saw and tasted and breathed in shimmering gold.
Then it faded, leaving her in its warm glow.
She went slack, breathing hard. Everything seemed brighter. Conor looked down with a smile. The moon framed his head. Her heart swelled as he kissed her.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
He laid next to her. She trailed her fingernails over his chest as she looked at the moon shining through the trees. He played with her hair, circling a finger around her ear.
She laid her head on his shoulder, looking into the sky with him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t show up the other night,” he said. “Somebody chased me. I had to jump off a bridge to get away. Went by your place the next day, but you were gone. But I don’t blame you for leaving. If someone left me hanging like that, I would’ve left too.”
Julia sighed. “I left before you came to pick me up.”
He turned to stare at her.
She laid her head on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I saw you and your friends breaking into Sacred Heart Cathedral.”
“You what?” he said, sitting up.
“I went to drop off my resignation letter at the rectory. I heard someone breaking into the church. I went in and saw you and your friends by the safe. You were trying to steal from the church.”
“That safe was empty,” said Conor, grabbing his jeans off the floorboard. “And these guys jumped us. Sully ended up in a coma. Fitz took off—I don’t even know where he is. And now I have guys looking for me.”
“I don’t know who Fitz and Sully are,” said Julia, sitting up to slip into her G-string. “But I’m guessing that whatever happened to them is karma for trying to steal from a church.”
Conor looked at her. “There was supposed to be gold in that safe. I did it for us.”
“What are you talking about? What gold?”
“Like a chalice and, you know, other Catholic stuff.”
Julia shook her head. “If anything was in that safe, it wasn’t yours to take. You work a job to make money. You don’t steal it from a church.”
“You’re a stripper and I fix cars,” he said, then huffed. “I was doing it for us.”
“Not for me. Stealing is wrong.”
Conor pulled on his jeans. “Really? Everyone with money is doing something wrong. Lying politicians. Crooked businessmen. And these churches aren’t any better. You should know that by now.”
“I do,” said Julia. “But there are limits. You don’t steal from your family. Old people—”
“And churches. I know.”
“Forget about the church thing. You don’t steal from people trying to do the right thing,” said Julia.
His eyes flashed. “I’m tired of doing the right thing and still ending up on the bottom.”
He ducked down to tie his shoes. Julia slid her hand up his back, tangling her fingers in his long hair.
She watched his shoulder muscles flex, then shifted her gaze to the moon and whispered, “A man who’s pure of heart and says his prayers by night may still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright. ”
Conor straightened. “What?”
“Nothing.” She twirled her finger around a lock of his hair. “So, what do we do now?”
He looked at the moon, then lowered his gaze to her.
She smiled. He took a deep breath. “We’re going to stay with a friend of mine.
We have something planned. And it’s not a church.
It’s what they call ‘a victimless crime.’ After I finish and get paid, we’ll start a new life. Find someplace to grow old together.”
“I have a question,” she said, tugging his hair.
“Ow,” he said.
“Who’s your friend?”
“His name’s Angel,” said Conor. “He owns the garage where I work.”
“Why aren’t we staying in your apartment?”
“Don’t you listen? People are looking for me.”
Julia bit her bottom lip and nodded. “So, we’re hiding out?”
“Yeah. Any more questions?”
“There’s always more.”
“Go on.”
“What’s this ‘something’ you have planned?”
Conor took a moment, then said, “I can’t get into it. Maybe later, after I talk to Angel. But for now, you’re gonna have to trust me.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Well, you either trust me, or you don’t. If you don’t, I’ll take you wherever you want, drop you off, and never bother you again.”
Conor stared at her. He could see her thinking it over, struggling with her answer. He knew the answer he wanted, and he stared at her, willing her to say it.
She took a deep breath and said, “Okay. I trust you, but I have one more question before I go with you.”
He smiled, feeling good about his chances.
“After you finish your ‘victimless crime...’”
“Yeah.”
“And get the money...”
“Yeah.”
“Where are we going to grow old together?”
Conor grabbed her face and touched his forehead to hers. “Wherever you want.”
Julia felt his soft kiss, then watched him start the car, drive out of the forest, and pull onto the road. She watched the wind whip his hair. She looked over his scarred face and muscled body. She closed her eyes, leaned back, and smiled.
It was going to be fun watching Conor grow old. He was going to be a good-looking old guy.