Page 71 of Their Stolen Obsession (Phantoms and Obsession Duet #2)

Their Universe

Liv

I ran as fast as my legs could go. The two-minute head start counted down, and I was already thirty seconds into my race against time.

As I continued counting in my head, sticks poked at my feet and pain shot up my legs.

Eventually my skin went numb, but I hit a rocky area going uphill while I climbed, and I clawed at the ground.

One minute had passed me by in the blink of an eye. Only sixty seconds left till my predators came sniffing my trail. They’d search for any clues in my attempted escape from them.

Once I got to the top of the hill, I snapped some branches on trees, and I proceeded backward in the direction I had run. I veered off the path I had created and hoped this could be a distraction. I needed to lead Sin and Saint away.

“Shit,” I mumbled under my breath.

I entered a muddy area mixed with the earth and my feet kept getting stuck in the muck.

This slowed down my pace, and my footprints would surely leave a lasting mark until it rained.

There wasn’t a rumble of thunder in the night and not one flash of lightning lighting up the dark sky.

The moon shone down through the brush and displayed clear skies. Lucky me.

Two minutes were up.

Crap.

Past the sludgy forest, was a man-made hiking trail, and I followed it. I ran as quickly as I could to make up for lost time. My hair was in my face and uneven puffs of air made strands get trapped in the corner of my mouth. I brushed them away with my fingers and heard a sound that made me stop.

My ears perked at a scraping noise that heightened my senses. The sound followed behind me. I panicked.

I darted to my left, off the path, as I hopped over some overgrowth covering the ground.

I realized quickly the mistake I had made, but I had to flee somewhere because the trail was no longer safe.

Maybe the sound was an animal or a light breeze rustling in the tree, but I couldn’t take a chance.

I had two hot-headed hunters on my ass .

Unexpectedly, a root sticking up out of the soil caught my foot, and I fell into the brush.

My hands went straight into the dirt and pin needles tickled my face.

The fallen foliage was in my messy hair, but I shot back up because this wasn’t a fucking beauty pageant. This was a chase. A hunt to catch me.

After the tumble, pain coursed through me, and I had scratches on my knees.

I ignored the agony and dashed for the thicker greenery because I was too exposed where I was.

While I sprinted, I remembered Sin and Saint in their disguises, those masks that haunted me to this day after we shared an unforgettable memory.

The time where my phantoms had broken into the condo and wanted to kill Sebastian.

Instead, I distracted them, and they had their way with me.

The recollection made my tummy ache as a coil sprang back tightly and excited me.

I couldn’t hear the rumble of the motorcycle engines since the sound of them had long faded away.

This meant I was deep in the woods, and I had covered a lot of ground.

I couldn’t have this chase end like it did the last time they hunted me through the park, but the thrill of them pursuing me felt the same.

A desirable urge shot down my body and fed me to keep moving on.

I couldn’t let these menacing men catch me.

I had to win the hunt while proving my love for them in the most fucked-up way possible, but this search wasn’t wrong.

The hot pursuit of predators after me made my body, mind, and soul experience life.

Plus, I was almost nude, and the stimulation of the cool air mixing with my sweat made me tingle all over.

Suddenly, I hit a cliff’s edge as my feet scurried backward to stop me from falling, and my ass hit the dirt. A dust cloud formed as rocks fell over the side and into the water below. Christ! That was close.

I peered over to the right, and there was a waterfall. My thoughts consumed me, and I didn’t hear the water crashing into the lake, but the sound was loud enough to drown out any noise I made. This was the perfect hiding place.

A huge tree trunk was near the side of the cliff, far enough away from the edge and directly near the pressure of the river leading toward the falls. My backside hit the bark as I collapsed to the ground and kept low. Hidden.

The view was beautiful.

A cool mist that had risen from the water crashing down into the lake sprinkled my face.

The moonlight twinkled in the haze, creating a never-ending, mesmerizing glow in the nighttime, and I crawled to peek behind me in the direction I had come.

There was a dense fog, but no predators searched for their prey. The coast was clear .

I breathed a sigh of relief as I got back behind the trunk and stood up to stretch my legs. No one would find me. The noise surrounding me made an excellent diversion, a barrier of protection, and I was safe in my bubble.

I could relax.

“Boo,” Sin said.

I screamed.

Saint pinned his body flush up against mine, and the skin of my backside dug into the tree bark.

“You made that too goddamn easy, Liv,” Saint gushed with excitement.

Sin grinned. “It’s almost like you wanted us to catch you.”

“I did not!” I shouted at him.

Sin licked up the side of my face. “Did too.”

Saint ran his wet tongue up my face, too.

I wrinkled my face and turned my head away. “Ew, gross, you’re getting spit all over me.”

“That won’t be the only fluid you’re going to be covered in tonight, sweetheart,” Sin hissed against my ear. “The fun starts now .”