work of the body. When finished, I’m covered in dirt and know we’re going to need to check into a hotel so I can properly wash. But I’ve been smarter about spending money lately and the cash we have should still last us a few more weeks.
By the time we return to the car, twilight has arrived and the moon shines through the clouds.
I pull Brianna to me. Even though I’m dirty and my stomach is rumbling like an earthquake, she readily wraps her arms around my neck.
“Have I ever told you that I love you?” I whisper to her.
Her breath catches. She and I damn well know neither of us have spoken those words yet, but when she tilts her chin up to press a kiss to my lips, I see the same love mirrored in her gaze.
“And I love you,” she replies.
∞ ∞ ∞
We bounce from city to city and state to state. Each night is somewhere new. Sometimes we stay in hotels, other times we sleep in the wild, but no matter where we are our appetites for one another only grows.
Despite our sexual chemistry, I worry that Brianna will grow tired of the constant moving, but she never complains.
Still, our arrangements don’t sit well with me. I would take her out of the country if I could, but my contact who can secure fake documents is clear across the country, and I’m not willing to risk a border crossing without a passport since that could put her in jeopardy.
So we stay on the move and keep a low profile. It helps that the beast is no longer killing. After the old rogue, there’s been nothing. And as each day passes without the beast throwing psychotic images at me … well, I start to cling to the hope that maybe he’s changing.
I also take heart in knowing that the longer we go without leaving bodies in our wake, the more the SF will struggle to find us. I don’t fully understand how they track rogue werewolves, but I know murder sprees are one of them, and since the beast isn’t committing homicides anymore, well…
That’s one less thing for them to work with.
I actually start to think that maybe we can do this. Maybe we can spend our life on the run, hiding, and evading them.
But there’s only one problem.
Money.
It’s a constant concern since neither of us have an income coming in. To do that, we would need to stay put somewhere and pick up employment, and I don’t know how we can safely do that without the SF detecting us.
So we live frugally while I try to think of a plan, but by week four, the three thousand I withdrew back in the desert is gone and neither of us have jobs, which means I’ll need to do another ATM withdrawal.
I imagine my family knows about the first withdrawal, and the SF is now monitoring my bank accounts, so when I go to make a second attempt and the money is seized, I’m not surprised.
“Good thing I have a backup plan,” I whisper to myself.
I slip my brother’s ATM card into the machine and withdraw several thousand. It weighs heavily on my mind, though. I don’t want to steal from Pete, and while I think he would understand, I don’t know that for sure. But right now, it’s the only option I have to keep us funded until we figure out what to do.
After pocketing the cash, I hitch the collar of my jacket up and head back outside.
Brianna is waiting in the car. We’re in upstate New York, and the nights are growing cold. We’ll have to head south again to warmer climates, which is where I plan to take us tomorrow.
Brianna’s biting her nails when I slip into the hatchback. I haven’t stolen a new car—more to please my mate than anything—but I have stolen license plates. Every week I change the plates on the hatchback to help avoid detection.
Brianna’s not happy about the continued petty theft, but considering that’s the worst of my crime sprees now, she grumbles but turns a blind eye.
“Did it go okay?” she asks and angles toward me. She’s wearing a sweater and jeans since the weather is so cool up here, and the frosty temperature matches her cool expression.
I know she’s trying to hide her anxiety, but I can smell the fear that surrounds her, so I don’t tell her about my accounts being seized because I don’t want