Chapter 19 #2
"The cover is good," Roxy says, still pacing.
"The IDs are solid and our story is consistent.
We've been here for months, building a life, establishing ourselves. We don’t even have friends that could be suspicious or cause problems. James Brennan is a contractor.
Roxy Brennan is a photographer. We're normal and boring.
Exactly the kind of people no one looks at twice. "
"Until you're in a gallery," I say. "What if your face is in an art magazine and your work is being reviewed and people are paying attention?"
"So we use that." She stops pacing, turns to face me. "We use the visibility as armor."
"How?"
"Think about it. Detective Chen is looking for a couple from months ago. A couple who vanished into thin air, most likely dead with no trail of what happened to them."
"I’m still not following."
"We're not that couple anymore. We're James and Roxy Brennan. We have jobs. An apartment. A life. We're living our lives in the open, paying our taxes and existing in the system."
I'm starting to see where she's going. "So if she's looking for people who disappeared…"
"She won't find us, because we didn't disappear. We're right here, living and working like everyone else. Building careers."
"It's a risk."
"Everything's a risk." She comes over to me, and puts her hands on my shoulders. "But running is a bigger risk. Running means we lose everything we've built, and it could raise suspicions from people you work with as it’ll be out of character for you."
I nod, agreeing with what she is saying.
"We need to trust the cover we made for ourselves. Doing legal work and not hiding. I don’t think anyone would think to connect us to a cold case from so long ago in another state."
I look up at her, this woman who's always been braver than me, always been willing to face problems head-on instead of running from it.
"You really think it'll work?"
"I think the best way to hide is to be seen."
It's counterintuitive, but exactly the kind of bold move that could either save us or destroy us.
"Okay," I say.
"Okay?"
"We stay and see how it plays out."
She exhales, relief and determination emanating from her body.
"And if Detective Chen comes looking?" she asks.
"Then we're James and Roxy Brennan. People with alibis, documentation and a life that has nothing to do with Gary Hollis or Arizona or anything that happened before we moved to San Diego."
"What if she doesn't believe us?"
"Then we deal with it. There are always options, baby. "
She nods, and I can see the hint of fear underneath the determination. She's worried and so am I.
But fear is just another kind of fuel.
"Come here," I say.
She climbs into my lap, straddling me in the kitchen chair. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close, feeling her heartbeat against my chest.
"We're going to be okay," I say into her hair.
"Promise?"
"I promise. I'll kill anyone who tries to take this away from us."
She laughs, breathless and a little wild. "I know you will."
I kiss her with every ounce of myself, claiming her mouth the way I've claimed every part of her. She responds immediately, her hands tangling in my hair, her body pressing against mine.
I stand up, lifting her with me. She wraps her legs around my waist as I carry her to the bedroom, our mouths never breaking contact.
When we get to our room, I drop her on the bed and she bounces once, her eyes bright with hunger and lust. I strip her clothes off with haste. She helps, kicking off her jeans, pulling her t-shirt over her head. Within seconds she's naked beneath me, her skin flushed and her breathing ragged.
I don't bother undressing completely as I’m too wound up. I only unzip my jeans and free my cock, positioning myself between her legs.
"We're not leaving," I say, looking down at her.
"No."
"We're staying. We're fighting."
"Yes."
"Say it."
"We're staying. We're fighting. We're…fuck!"
I push into her in one hard thrust and she cries out, her back lifting off the bed.
She's soaked, ready for me, her body welcoming mine like it always does. I fuck her hard and fast, driven by overwhelming desire to rebalance us, to bring us back to the core, that we’re together in this on our own and always will be.
She meets me thrust for thrust, her nails digging into my ass as her legs wrap tight around my waist. Her pussy clenches hard around my cock and I growl against her neck.
"You’re my good girl, aren’t you baby?”
"Yesss, so good," she groans, writhing underneath me, creeping onto the verge of her orgasm. She's so close already, her body tensing, her breathing coming in short gasps.
"Cum for me," I demand. "Show me you're not afraid."
"I'm not afraid. Oh god…"
She cums with a cry, her body stiffening around me, her nails breaking skin on my ass. The pain and pleasure mixed together fuel my own orgasm, and I follow her over the edge with a groan.
I look down at her dopey face and she laughs. "Fuck."
"We’re crazy, you know that, right? This shit shouldn’t turn us on."
"But it does and I wouldn’t change it." She looks up at me, her eyes searching mine. "You're scared."
"Terrified."
"Me too."
"Maybe it’s for the best as fear keeps us sharp."
"And if it doesn't work we’ll deal with this together."
I brush her hair back from her face, my thumb tracing her lower lip. "Together. But we don't run unless we have to."
"Okay."
"Okay."
I pull out and collapse beside her as she curls into my side, her head on my chest and her hand over my heart. I tighten my arm around her and we lie there in the afternoon light, two people who've killed and run and built a new life from the ashes of the old one.
Detective Lily Chen is out there, looking for us.
But she's looking for ghosts, and we're not ghosts anymore.
We're James and Roxy Brennan.
And we're not running.
The next two weeks are tense. I monitor the news obsessively. Every article about the Gary Hollis case and updates from Detective Chen. Every mention of witness descriptions or new leads.
The investigation is active but not accelerating. Chen is interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence, but she doesn't have anything concrete. No new leads. No breakthrough. Just a cold case that's slightly less cold.
Roxy keeps working. She's in the darkroom every day, developing prints, creating new pieces, she's doing exactly what she said, building the cover, trusting the work, becoming so visible and so legitimate that no one would ever connect her to a murder from three months ago.
On day sixteen after the article, I'm at another job site when my phone buzzes.
Not a news alert this time.
A text from Roxy.
R: They responded.
My heart stops.
M: Who?
R: Void Gallery. Sarah Vance. She wants to talk about a solo exhibition.
I stare at the text for a long moment. Wow, this is a huge deal as Roxy's about to step into the public eye. And Detective Lily Chen is still out there, looking for a couple who disappeared three months ago.
M: When?
R: She wants to call tomorrow to discuss details.
M: Good. Do it.
R: You sure?
I think about everything we've built and all that we've risked. Everything we stand to lose if we run now.
M: I'm sure. We’re fighting this, remember.
R: Okay.
M: I love you.
R: I love you too.
I pocket my phone and get back to work. Tomorrow, Roxy talks to the gallery and in maybe six or eight weeks she'll have her first solo exhibition.
I hope it all fucking works out.