I smile so wide it almost hurts.
Seth watches me, then his mouth twitches. “Let’s not die before our honeymoon, okay?”
I laugh once.
Then I floor it.
The tires bite and the Barracuda surges forward, and for a second I forget to breathe.
The parking lot lights streak past. The property falls away behind us. I keep both hands on the wheel. My grip is tight. My smile spreads across my face.
Seth braces one hand on the dash as we hit the road. “Jesus.”
“You know you love it when I scare you,” I remind him.
He looks over at me, and his eyes soften in a way that still catches me off guard.
The engine growls when I push it. The car responds instantly. The road opens into a long stretch with trees on both sides and nothing in front of us. Headlights carve through the dark and the world feels simple for the first time in a long time.
We take the curve and the Barracuda grips the road like it was built for nights like this. The window is cracked just enough to let the cold air slide in.
Seth’s hand lands on my thigh. His thumb presses once.
Then he reaches for the stereo.
The cabin fills with the first notes of “Sextape” by Deftones. He turns it up and finally looks at me. Not a quick glance. He holds my gaze for a beat, eyes dark and warm, like he is reminding himself we made it, together.
I keep my eyes on the road, but my throat tightens anyway. “You okay over there?”
Seth watches me for a second longer than necessary. “You look good driving this, Mrs. Sinclair.”
A laugh slips out of me. “I love my wedding gift, Mr. Sinclair.”
The name sits in my mouth and it doesn’t feel borrowed. It feels right.
We didn’t take his last name. Seth would never carry that name into a new life with me. Not after everything his father did.
His father killed my parents. His father built nightmares and called them lessons. Seth carried that name like a scar for most of his life.
So we left it behind. We took mine instead.
Sinclair was a choice. It meant a clean line between what came before and what comes next. It meant we don't have to drag the past forward with us.
We are finally free from our past.
Whatever we were before this doesn’t matter now. What matters is this. His hand in mine. Our vows in the air between us.
Everything we survived led us here, exactly where we belong. Living a dream we never knew could exist.
Seth the killer, my stalker, my lover, is finally my husband.
And I’m his wife.
Two lost souls who found each other in this lifetime.
And if there’s another one after this, we’ll find each other again.
Epilogue Two
