Free Salvation by Alexa Land Page A

Skye. I kicked my shoes off and tucked myself in. Then I remembered something
and pulled my new phone from my pocket, setting it on the floor beside me. I’d
put slips of paper with my new number beside every phone at the restaurant. If
Melody called back, all my coworkers knew to give her that information.
    Even though I was tired, I didn’t fall
asleep right away. Instead, I tucked my hand behind my head and stared at the
ceiling. Despite spending most of the day worrying about my cousin, my thoughts
now drifted to Vincent.
    I had to stay away from him, I knew that
for a fact. So what if he was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, and so what
if we had great chemistry? I could have been killed last night during that
high-speed chase, and who knows what would have happened if those men had
caught us? Plus, Vincent readily admitted that he was a criminal. I had no idea
what he was involved in, but it was obviously pretty hardcore. Why else would
thugs be chasing him?
    The rest didn’t matter. It didn’t matter
that I kept thinking about his beautiful dark eyes and the way his hand felt in
mine, or that I kept remembering the way he held me securely and rubbed my back
soothingly while we were hiding in that storage closet. It didn’t matter that
I’d always wanted to be held like that, and before last night, I never had
been. It also didn’t matter than when we kissed, it felt like the first day of
spring after a bleak, miserable winter.
    It didn’t even matter that I wanted him
with every part of me.
    Spending time with him was obviously
dangerous, maybe even deadly, and I had more than just myself to think about.
What would happen to Melody and the baby if I got myself killed because I
couldn’t stay away from Vincent? Mel needed me. She didn’t have anyone to look
after her, certainly not that random guy she’d run off with after knowing him a
week.
    I rolled onto my side and wrapped my
arms around myself, feeling really alone right then. It was something I was
used to. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the city outside my
building. There was constant noise in this neighborhood, a cacophony of traffic
and car horns and people, the rattle of big trucks and buses, the
not-infrequent wail of a siren. Oddly, all of that felt reassuring somehow,
keeping me company until I finally drifted off to sleep.

 
    Chapter
Five
     
    It was dark when I awoke so I located my
camping lantern, another thrift shop find. It was so bright that it illuminated
the entire apartment. I took it to the bathroom with me, where I used the
facilities and brushed my teeth, then dragged a comb through my hair. Since I’d
slept in my clothes, same as always, I was ready to go once I slipped my feet
into my sneakers. I grabbed my phone and left the apartment, double checking
that the door was locked behind me, and as I jogged down the five flights of
stairs I patted my pockets to confirm that I had my bus pass and a few dollars
with me.
    I wasn’t paying much attention to where
I was going, so when I burst through the front door of my building, I almost
collided with someone on their way in. “Well, that was easy,” a familiar voice
said. I looked up at Vincent, who was smiling at me. “I thought I’d have to go
apartment-to-apartment to find you, but here you are.”
    “Oh! Hi. Did your cousin Carla tell you
where I live?”
    “Yes. She didn’t know the apartment
number though, so this was lucky.”
    “What are you doing here?” I asked. God
he looked good. Vincent was wearing a form-fitting black cashmere sweater and
dark indigo jeans. I stuck my hands in my pockets, fighting the urge to run my
palms over his broad chest.
    “I wanted to see if you’d come and have
a drink with me. I would have called first, but I didn’t have your number.”
    I hesitated for a long moment before
saying quietly, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
    “I see.” After another pause, during
which I looked at anything but him,