Page 58 of Vicious Deception
“Always,” I whisper.
“Then trust me on this.” Elliot kisses me tenderly. “Nothing is going to happen to us. We’re making it out alive.”
“But—but what if—”
“Hey. Just focus on us, O.” Rhett adjusts us so I have my back to his chest. He’s leaning against the wall of the van with both his arms wrapped around me.
Elliot crawls in between our legs and takes my hands in his. I’m vaguely aware that both Benny and Andrew are staring at me, but my focus is tunneling, only aimed at one thing.
What if we don’t make it?
“You know what we’re gonna do when we get home?” Elliot asks me. His thumbs are rubbing against the backs of my hands, and he’s leaning down so I have to look at him.
“W-what?”
He smiles, and my gaze locks onto it. I’ve missed that smile—the warmth in his eyes, the care that always shines in them. Ilovethat smile.
“We’ll buy as much ice cream as you want, and we’re gonna have a night in. You can pick the movie. We can even switch who we’re cuddling with halfway through like you always want.”
Tears well up in my eyes. How many times did I wish for one more night with them? One last evening where we could all relax and cuddle and laugh at some stupid movie?
“And since it’s getting warmer, we can take Wren to the lookout you love so much.” Elliot is peppering my face with kisses now, doing his best to keep my mind occupied. “And maybe we can all go dancing. We haven’t done that in a while, have we?”
“Not since the ball,” I croak out. And that doesn’t fully count since we were really only there to make sure Maria wasn’t dating some asshole.
“And that pianist you like is coming to town soon,” Rhett says, nuzzling his face against my neck. “We don’t want to miss that.”
“I want—I want to do all those things.”
“We will,” Elliot tells me. “I promise, O.”
It doesn’t take long before Axel is pulling into a parking lot of a restaurant that closed down last year. He drives around back, to where there’s a dark gray sedan parked out of sight. Two women climb out as Axel parks next to it, and I recognize them immediately.
When Axel opens the door to the back of the van, I hop out. Seeing Sparrow makes sense, but Aubrey? She’s supposed to be in California.
“What’re you doing here?” I ask her as everyone else gets out.
“There’s no time to explain,” Axel says impatiently. “Benny, Andrew, these two are taking you someplace safe. The rest of us have to go.Now.”
“No!” Benny grabs onto Rhett. “You promised me we’d be a family.”
“We will be. Weare.You’re going with Sparrow and Aubrey now, but I’ll join you both soon, okay?”
“But—”
“Ben,” Andrew says impatiently. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Hey. Listen to me.” Rhett crouches in front of Benny, placing his hands on his younger brother’s shoulders. “Remember all those moves I taught you? How long we practiced them?”
Benny nods, eyes wide.
“I need you to stay alert until we get back. You might have to use them. Protect these two with everything you’ve got, okay?”
Sparrow stifles a smile as she shares an amused glance with Aubrey. If it comes down to it,she’llbe the one doing the protecting, not Benny. I’m sure she thinks this is nothing short of adorable.
“Got it,” Benny says, rolling back his shoulders.
“Thank you. I’ll see you soon.” With that, Rhett backs away and climbs into the van. He waves to Benny as Axel slams the door shut.