Page 59 of Forbidden Sins

“Your fever broke about an hour ago,” he continues. “I've been keeping you hydrated, cleaning your wound, trying to bring the fever down."

I look around the cabin, noticing for the first time the evidence of his care—the bowl of water by the bed, the open first-aid kit, the empty packets of painkillers.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“You wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for me,” he says grimly.

“But,” he adds, before I can protest, “I know that’s neither here nor there now, princess.

We made our choices, like you said. And you’re right.

All the luxuries in the world can’t make up for a life with a man like Vito. I know that.”

There's something different in his gaze now, something open and unguarded that wasn't there before. I remember fragments of what he said during the night, when he thought I might not hear him.

"Did I dream it?" I ask softly. "Or did I hear you tell me that you’ve always loved me? That you can’t stand to lose me?"

Sebastian leans in, pressing a kiss to my sweat-drenched temple.

“You know that already, I think,” he says softly.

“But yes. I think I’ve loved you for longer than I could admit to myself, Estella.

I think I’ve loved you from the moment I met you.

Maybe if I hadn’t fought it for so long, things would be different.

Or maybe not.” He turns my face gently, kissing my lips so delicately that the touch feels like the softest brush of his skin.

“Maybe things have turned out exactly the way they should, and they’ll stay that way.

Maybe we’ll be free before long, and everything will be fine. ”

“I love you too,” I whisper, reaching up to pull his face back to mine, kissing him more deeply this time. “I think I loved you for longer than I wanted to admit, too.”

He breathes in, slowly, his hand caressing my hair as we kiss each other slowly, without any real intent other than to be close to one another.

“I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything,” Sebastian murmurs against my lips. “I don’t think I knew what love could be before I met you. And it terrifies me, because I don't know if I can be what you deserve."

"All I want is you," I whisper, my eyes filling with tears. "Just you, Sebastian. Not what you can give me, not what you can do for me. Just you."

We stay like that for several long minutes, until we reluctantly finally pull apart. “We need to get moving,” Sebastian says, regret coloring his tone. “I’ll help you get cleaned up, but we can’t stay much longer.”

There’s no bathroom in the cabin, just an outhouse outside.

Sebastian follows me out, keeping guard while I go inside, and then we swap, before he helps me back into the cabin.

He hands me bottles of water, and a cloth, and soap that he took from one of the motels, and I strip naked, doing my best to wash up while he makes us instant oatmeal from packets in one of the cupboards.

It’s beyond rustic, but I honestly don’t care.

I’m sure the novelty would wear off if we had to live like this for very long, but right now, all that matters to me is that I’m still alive, and we’re still together.

When I’m as clean as I’m going to get, I dry off with a towel that Sebastian took and change into clean clothes.

We eat the plain oatmeal as quickly as we can, and then Sebastian packs up, handing me my gun and taking his before we make our way carefully out to the waiting car.

There’s no sign of Vito or his men right now, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be surprised at any moment.

We stop at another pharmacy in the next town.

I go in with Sebastian this time, and I watch him make up a story about camping and a nasty knife cut while cleaning fish when the middle-aged woman behind the counter gets a little too curious about why we’re buying so many painkillers, bandages, and antiseptic creams.

“You’re quite the actor,” I tell him teasingly as we leave. “I think she totally bought your story.”

Sebastian chuckles as we get back into the car. “Well, maybe I’ll consider that for my next line of work.”

“Have you thought about what that might be?” I ask curiously. “What kind of job could you do across the border?”

Sebastian shrugs, putting the car in gear and pulling back out onto the road. “We’re set for a good long time, princess,” he assures me. “But eventually I might want to work again. Maybe I’ll do more protection work. Or security consulting.”

“Do you think I could open my art gallery somewhere?” I ask curiously. “Eventually?”

Sebastian looks over at me, smiling. “I think if we manage to get out of this and start a new life somewhere, we can manage anything.”

We drive for hours, stopping only for gas and food. I take as many painkillers as I can stomach, insisting that Sebastian take them too, even though he worries we might run out. “We have money,” I point out. “We can get painkillers like this anywhere.”

“As long as we’re not so on the run that we can’t stop,” Sebastian argues. But I can tell his shoulder is hurting him, and he eventually relents.

Late at night, we cross into another state, putting even more distance between us and Vito's men. Sebastian finds us a small motel off the highway, paying cash as usual. The room is basic but clean, with a queen-sized bed and a bathroom that actually has decent water pressure.

“We can make it to California in a week, I think,” Sebastian says as we settle in for the night. "Maybe a little less, if we press hard, and aren’t held up by Vito and his men catching up to us. Then we’ll head to Mexico after I get us new papers from a contact I have, and we’ll go from there."

I curl against his side, my head on his chest. "I don't care where we go, as long as we're together."

He presses a kiss to the top of my head. "We will be. I promise."

The next few days pass in a blur of highways and motels, each one indistinguishable from the last. Our wounds begin to heal, and we end up tangled together naked in bed every night, cautious of all the ways we’re both hurt, but unable to keep our hands off each other.

I see Sebastian relaxing slightly as we put more miles between us and New York, although he’s still constantly on guard.

We’re both on edge, but there are moments of lightness too—Sebastian singing along to the radio, terribly off-key; stopping to watch a sunset that turns the sky into a canvas of orange and pink; coming up with names for a dog that we might own one day.

We’ve nearly made it to Colorado when it all falls apart.

We’re at a gas station when a black SUV peels into the parking lot.

I hear the squeal of tires and look up just in time to see Sebastian drop the gas nozzle, cursing aloud as he runs for the driver’s side.

A patter of bullets hits the pavement, and Sebastian curses again as he flings himself inside, screams erupting from the other customers.

“Are they trying to blow the whole goddamn place up?” he snarls, slamming his foot on the gas as he starts the car. A bullet hits the back windshield, and I scream, dropping down in the seat as Sebastian peels out onto the road.

“I don’t think he cares,” I gasp. “As long as he gets me back.”

He’s never going to stop. My heart is pounding against my ribs, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. I didn’t realize just how much I’d started to believe that we were home free until Vito caught up to us again, and now I feel a sense of hopelessness threatening to wash over me.

“How did they find us?” I crouch down, tense as I wait for the sound of bullets hitting the car.

"Doesn't matter now." Sebastian's knuckles are white on the steering wheel. "We need to lose them."

He makes a series of quick turns through a residential neighborhood, the SUV staying with us at every corner. Sebastian's face is a mask of concentration, his eyes constantly checking the mirrors.

"Hold on," he warns, before suddenly accelerating through a yellow light. The SUV blows through the red after us, narrowly missing a crossing car that honks angrily.

“We’re not going to be able to outrun them,” I whisper. “We can’t. They’re just going to keep coming…”

As if on cue, the SUV accelerates, ramming into our back bumper. The impact jolts us forward, and I cry out as my seatbelt cuts into my still-healing side.

"Fuck!" Sebastian swerves, trying to maintain control. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I lie, tasting blood where I've bitten my lip. "Just drive."

The SUV rams us again, harder this time. Our car fishtails, and Sebastian fights to keep us on the road. We're on a less populated stretch now, trees lining both sides of the two-lane highway.

“Get your gun,” Sebastian barks, his voice calmer than I would have expected, given the circumstances. “You might need it.”

The SUV pulls up alongside us, and I see the passenger window rolling down. "Get down!" Sebastian yells, just as the first shots ring out.

Glass shatters around us as bullets tear through the windows. I duck down, clutching the gun to my chest, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps.

Sebastian swerves hard, trying to shake them off, but the SUV stays with us, the gunman continuing to fire. I feel a sharp sting across my cheek and realize a piece of glass has cut me.

"Estella, I need you to shoot back," Sebastian says, his voice tight with strain. "Just to keep them at bay. Can you do that?"

I nod, though he can't see me hunched down in my seat. My hands are trembling so badly that I’m terrified I’m going to drop the gun. I raise myself just enough to aim out my shattered window, squeezing the trigger before I can think too much about it.

The recoil surprises me, the gun jumping in my hands. I have no idea if I hit anything, but the SUV backs off slightly.

"Good," Sebastian encourages. "Keep going."

I fire again, and again, each shot making me flinch. The SUV drops back further, and for a moment, I think we might have a chance.

Then I hear Sebastian swear, and the car lurches. "They hit a tire!"

Our car begins to wobble, the steering becoming erratic. Sebastian fights to maintain control, but we're slowing down, the damaged tire making a rhythmic thumping sound against the pavement.

"We can't outrun them like this," he says, scanning the road ahead. "We need to make a stand."

He veers off the highway onto a dirt road that cuts through the trees. The car bounces violently over the uneven terrain, the flat tire making it nearly impossible to steer properly. After about half a mile, Sebastian pulls to a stop in a small clearing.

"Get out," he orders, already reaching for his own gun tucked into his waistband. "Into the trees. Now."

We abandon the car, running for the cover of the trees. Behind us, I hear the SUV approaching, its engine growling as it navigates the rough road.

"This way," Sebastian pulls me deeper into the woods, moving as quickly and quietly as possible. My side aches where my wounds are still healing, but adrenaline pushes me forward.

We find position behind a fallen tree, both of us breathing hard. Sebastian checks his gun, then looks at mine.

"How many shots did you fire?"

I try to remember. "Four? Maybe five?"

He curses. “You have one or two left, then. Make them count if you need to.”

The SUV has stopped where our car is. I can hear car doors slamming, men's voices calling out orders. They're spreading out, searching for us.

"There are at least four of them," Sebastian whispers. "Maybe more."

My mouth is dry with fear. "What do we do?"

"We wait. Let them come to us. We have the advantage here—they don't know exactly where we are."

I nod, trying to control my breathing, to be as silent as possible. Sebastian's hand finds mine, squeezing once before letting go to grip his gun with both hands.

The first man appears about thirty yards away, moving cautiously between the trees. He hasn't seen us yet, but he's heading in our direction. Sebastian raises his finger to his lips, signaling me to wait.

A second man appears to our right, and then a third to our left. They're surrounding us, closing in like wolves on prey.

And then Vito steps out from the trees.

“You’ve led us on quite a chase, Estella,” he calls out. “Come out now, and I’ll kill your lover quickly. It’s the best chance you both have.”

“Don’t move,” Sebastian breathes. “Don’t even think about it?—”

It’s as if he could feel me tense, feel that moment when all I could do is think that maybe this is hopeless. That maybe if I went to Vito now, Sebastian would have time to run.

Except I know he never would. He’ll never leave me, even if he dies for it.

“This entire game has been rather touching, really,” Vito continues.

“The mafia princess and her champion, in love, running away from the villain. Making their last stand, ready to die for love. Except I won’t kill you, Estella.

I’ll kill him, and I’ll make it long and torturous, unless you give yourself up.

And the longer you make me wait, the longer I have to think of all the ways I can punish you for running from me.

The same as I’m thinking up so many ways to punish him, for stealing what’s mine. ”

Those last words crack something open inside of me. I straighten, and before Sebastian can grab me, I step forward, out of the trees. I see Vito’s eyes go wide, and I know he didn’t expect me to actually come out.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” My voice is more even than I expected it to be. I raise the gun, leveling it at his chest. “I was never yours, Vito.”

And then I pull the trigger.