Page 8 of Hunted Temptation (Alpha Nights: Unlikely Heroes #4)

Chapter Seven

VAUGHN

Once I have all the video surveillance footage wiped clean for today, I do the same with any cameras they have here at the Airbnb, something that I tapped into the second I arrived.

Together, we leave the house, throwing our shit in my rented car, and drive away, heading straight for North Carolina. I’ll have to switch out cars a few times just to be safe, but otherwise, we’re good.

We don’t speak until we’re out of California and in the Nevada desert. “They’re going to come looking for me,” Elodie says, her voice calling out softly from the passenger seat. I wasn’t sure she was going to say anything. It’s been hours.

“The police?” I ask.

I’ve already thought of that. In fact, that was the first thing I thought of. She is the first thing I thought of. Wrong or not, she is always what has been at the forefront of my mind. Since the moment I laid eyes on her picture, that’s where she’s been.

“Yeah,” she whispers. “The police.”

A moment of silence passes between us before I clear my throat. “They won’t.”

More silence.

“Vaughn,” she calls out. “I think maybe I need more than that. Maybe I deserve more than that.”

She’s right. She does deserve more than that. I’m not going to give her much more, though. But I’ll give her something. Clearing my throat, I continue to move forward. Driving straight ahead.

My lips twitch into a smirk. Gripping the steering wheel, I slide my tongue across my bottom lip as I try to think of something that could possibly assuage her curiosity and yet won’t give away much of anything.

“I’m a professional,” I state. “Whoever does the investigation won’t find you or me.”

“And how am I going to move on with my life?” she asks.

She’s got a hell of a lot of questions. I grin as I think about that. I don’t mind that she has questions. I kind of like it. She may be young, but she’s definitely not stupid.

“I’ll make sure your last name changes along with any other identifying documents you need.”

She’s quiet for a moment. When she doesn’t say anything for a while, I think that maybe the conversation is over, but she speaks after a few dozen miles of silence. Inhaling a deep breath, I exhale slowly.

“And money?”

“You’ll have plenty.”

“Vaughn,” she whispers.

I let out a sigh, then chuckle. My tone and voice grow serious because what I’m going to tell her is very serious, and it involves the things he did to her.

The things he made her do. I don’t know the details, and I don’t need them unless she wants to share them with me.

I can guess them, and for me, that’s enough.

“Before I got here, I drained your father’s accounts. Domestic and offshore. I figured you deserve that much.”

My words are met with more silence.

Miles go by until she speaks again, but she only repeats one word of what I’ve just said.

“Deserve,” she says softly.

She turns her head to look out the window, and I flick my gaze to her for a moment before I direct my attention out the front windshield again. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that to her. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything, but it doesn’t matter now. I’ve said it, and it’s the truth.

The truth… It’s the best thing I can say.

It’s always the best thing that can be said. “Why do I deserve it?” she asks.

“Don’t ask me that.”

“How much do you know?”

I squeeze the steering wheel but don’t say anything. Instead, I pull over to the side of the road, then look at her and take her in. She’s watching me, focused on me, waiting for me to say something, to explain to her what I meant, and to tell her how much I know.

“Enough,” I state.

“Please tell me,” she whispers.

Pressing my lips together, I roll them. I don’t know why I’m so fucking nervous. Why won’t I just tell her? But there’s something about the hope in her eyes, the way she’s looking at me.

Maybe it’s her youthful naivety.

Just because she’s been through things that most people couldn’t imagine, it doesn’t mean she is without naivety. It’s there. She’s only eighteen, and there is an innocence that is just beneath the surface.

Clearing my throat, I shift in my seat, my eyes focused on hers still. I can’t look away from her gray orbs. My hands ache to touch her. My body screams to fuck her. But I hold back, my control holding on by a bare thread.

“The reason I was across the street was because your father was on a list.”

“A list?” she interrupts me.

I don’t mind the disruption. My lips twitch into a smirk. “A list of men who do very bad things to children, which include but are not limited to physical things, but also trafficking to other men who do bad things to them.”

“There are more,” she whispers.

I’m not sure if it’s a question or not. But I dip my chin in a single nod anyway.

“How many more?”

I think about ending the conversation right here and now. But I can’t. “More than you could count, spanning decades.”

“And you’re going after them?”

“I’m going after them,” I confirm.

“You’re a vigilante.”

Instead of confirming or denying her announcement, I shift my attention back to the road, shift the car into Drive , and move forward.

She’s looking at my profile. I can feel her eyes on me, searing into my skin.

I want to pull over again and devour her, but I decide against it.

I move forward, onward and forward… at least for now.

ELODIE

I’m not sure how long we’re in the car, but as the miles drone on, I turn the radio up and let the sounds of Imagine Dragons soothe my soul. Music is about the only thing that I’ve ever had as a constant in my life.

My eyelids grow heavy, and eventually, between the music and the soft rocking of the car, I fall asleep. I’m not sure how long I’m out, but when the car stops, I wake up with a full-body jolt.

Looking around wildly, I realize that I’m alone, inside a parked car, in a parking lot. Before I can even look around to figure out where I am, my mind still very much in a sleepy haze, my door opens.

My body jerks again, my head swinging to the side as I look up to see a man standing in front of me.

It takes me only a moment to realize who it is.

Clearly, I was more out of it than I realized.

Vaughn stands in front of me, his arm outstretched, his palm open and waiting for my fingers to slip inside.

“Vaughn?” I ask

He nods once as I hesitantly place my hand in his.

When his fingers curl around mine, something shifts inside me.

Almost as if all my anxiety and worry from earlier vanish.

He calms me. His touch calms me. I don’t know what that means, but since I’ve never felt calm a day in my life, I don’t question it.

I slide my legs to the side, place my shoes flat on the ground, and stand. He doesn’t release me. His grasp stays firm, even when I’m standing up straight and stable. He keeps holding my hand as he guides me toward a door.

We’re at a hotel.

Or rather, a motel.

I watch as he opens the door and steps inside, his hand still wrapped around mine as he gently pulls me into the room before closing and locking the door behind him. I start to ask him what we’re doing, but before I can say anything, he begins to speak.

“You need some sleep that isn’t in the passenger seat of a car.”

I’m not sure if this man is real. “Does that put us in danger, at risk?” I ask.

He releases his grasp on my hand, and his lips curve up into a smile. “No, Goldie. Trust me when I say that I got this.”

I suppress the shiver of desire I feel when he calls me Goldie. Desire is the absolute last sensation I should be feeling, but I can’t deny that it is exactly how he makes me feel. Biting the inside of my cheek, I dip my chin in a nod.

“Okay,” I exhale.

“Take a shower, then crawl into bed and get some sleep.”

That sounds absolutely amazing. Like, beyond amazing. I’ve still got my hair and makeup done from earlier. I would love to wash it all off my body. I start to ask him if he would like a shower first, but decide against it.

I move past him on my way toward the bathroom, but he reaches out and wraps his fingers around my bicep, effectively stopping me from reaching my destination. Lifting my eyes to meet his, I wait for him to speak.

“You’re safe with me, Elodie. I can’t promise a whole lot about the future, but I can always promise you that. You’re safe.”

As much as I shouldn’t trust him, I can’t deny that I do. He’s a stranger. A sexy one, but that’s not the reason I trust him. It’s the way he makes me feel. The composed man, the protector, everything all mixed together creates this strong calm in the storm of my life.

“I know I am, Vaughn.”

He dips his chin in a single nod, then his fingers release my arm, and I flash him a smile before I dip into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Staring at the lock, I wonder if I should twist it in place or not.

I decide against it. I don’t get those kinds of vibes from him, and I feel like if he needed to come in here for whatever reason, he might just break down the door, so it wouldn’t matter much anyway.

Turning the water all the way to hot, I let the steam fill the room before I step inside.

The hot water hits me, causing my skin to prickle, and for the first time in maybe ever, I feel truly alive.

Not just breathing and surviving, but alive.

I’m not sure how long the sensation will last, but I close my eyes and allow it to consume me.

All-consuming.

The world seems a little brighter tonight. It could be a false sense of security, and if it is, I’m going to just accept it for what it is. If this is leading me to a new version of hell, then I’ll deal with it when I get there. For now, I’m going to enjoy the freedom shower.