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EVERYTHING WENT ACCORDING to plan, and the next morning, nothing could wipe the silly smile off my face. We’d outsmarted all our enemies.
Grinning, Jesse spun me around.
“We did it!” I said.
He kissed me deeply. “We sure did. I’ve been asking around, and it seems everyone has fallen for it.”
I just wanted to enjoy the moment, to stare into Jesse’s dazzling blue eyes, and to forget about the rocky road ahead, but Jesse was doing a little forward thinking.
“You know what’s next, right?” Jesse asked.
“What?”
“We leave town. Julie is already packed up.”
I cocked a brow in confusion. “But why? Why do we have to—”
“I know it’s a last-minute decision, but the ruse won’t work for long here. Your mother will expect you to go to school in the daylight.”
“You can compel her, or I can home school.”
“What if you slip up by accident?” he said. “If you walk out one time, if anyone sees you, it will all be for nothing. And what about food? You can’t avoid human food, or your mother will question it, but if you eat it, you might get caught.”
“Elizabeth said she could get a doctor to stop by and say I have some disease, like photosensitivity.”
“What if Drake stops by for an unofficial visit?”
“I can’t do that to my parents,” I said.
“Just till after doomsday,” Jesse assured me. “We’ll come back in February.”
“Okay,” I said softly, “but I hate to put them through this. They’ll worry themselves to death.”
“At least they’ll be safe. Drake will blame himself for not watching you close enough, and he won’t hurt them. Plus, nobody will hunt us down, because they all think you’ve been turned. We’re off the Most Wanted List, Taylor. Becoming a vampire has solved all of your problems.”
“Then why isn’t Fred in the clear?” I asked.
“Because Fred singlehandedly killed one of their friends at your house, when he stayed late to paint. He was trying to protect you, but many members of the coven were seeking revenge on Fred for killing such a loyal comrade and friend. They had to kill the petal, stop him from warning you, and get revenge all at the same time.”
“We can’t just leave him,” I said. “They’re still after him.”
“They don’t even know he’s alive. He’s hiding at the sanctuary, and he’ll be safe there. We can all meet up in February. This is only a temporary situation.”
I nodded. “I know, but even if we get past the date, the witches will be furious, and they’ll want revenge.”
“They think you’re a vampire, and they fear us something fierce.”
“So I just keep pretending to be a vamp?”
“It’s a sketchy plan, but we can work on it as we go and make it a million times better.”
I couldn’t believe so much had been going on around me while Julie and I had been so very oblivious. I hugged Jesse tightly, and he held me for so long. Again, I never ever wanted to let go.
“We’ve gotta get going,” he said gently.
I looked up into his eyes. “Your mom is going to be so mad if you leave.”
“This isn’t just about running,” he said. “This is about finding a way to save the other petals. You want to stop this thing, to save lives, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then this is how we do it,” he said.
“I couldn’t do this without you.”
“Why? Because I’m well dressed and so broody?” he teased. “You know, like your typical vampire.”
“Well, there’s that, but...there’s way more. I’ll tell you all about it on our road trip,” I said, offering him a playful wink. “I hope you have a lot of time, because there’s a lot to it.”
“When it comes to you, I have all the time in the world.”
I lifted up on my toes and kissed his soft lips. I knew Jesse would go to the ends of the Earth for me, and I trusted him with all my heart.
“I can’t imagine a world without you in it, Taylor,” he said in the sweetest voice I’d ever heard, a voice that made it clear that he meant every word.
“You know I feel exactly the same.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” he asked. “Get packing!”
I grinned back at him, grateful that he’d helped me discover a temporary solution to all my problems. I knew what I had to do to save my life, and I was just glad my boyfriend and my best friend could go along for the ride.
Jesse stared at me with those loving eyes, and in that moment, I felt like everything was going to be okay. Julie and I were going to beat that horrible, awful fate that had been handed down to us through our bloodline, no matter what.
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To be continued...
The Crush Saga Book Trailer
Little did I know that I was entering a world of ritual and magic and that my blood needed to be spilled so the witches’ legacy could be complete.
Book 3
