My hand slides into her hair and I tilt her head back, deepening it.
She gasps and I swallow the sound. I can't get close enough, can't get deep enough.
The violence is there, humming under my skin, but it's different with her. It's not rage or fear.
It's hunger, it's need, it's the desperate certainty that I'll die if I don't have her.
I pull back and we're both breathing hard. Her lips are swollen and her eyes are dark.
"Come home with me," I say.
"Okay."
"I'm serious—if you come home with me, I'm not going to stop."
"Good."
"Everly—"
"Rush, shut up and take me home."
I kiss her again, hard and fast, then I pull back.
"Follow me."
She gets in her car, and I wait for her to start the engine before I climb on my bike and ride, keeping her car in my mirrors the entire time, my heart pounding the whole way.
This is happening. This is really happening.
And I'm terrified but I'm not stopping it.
Because Everly's right. I've been scared for too long.
I've been letting the past control the present, letting fear make my decisions.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I'm taking what I want and dealing with the consequences later.
The promise I made in juvie is still there—never lose control, never let the violence win.
But maybe control doesn't mean locking everything down.
Maybe it means choosing when to let go.
And right now, with Everly, I'm choosing to let go.
Even if it terrifies me.
Even if I don't know how it ends.
I'm done running.
10
EVERLY
We're halfway back to Rush's flat when my phone rings.