Dark Desire

Chapter Twenty-nine

MARIANA

I heard the sirens before I saw Wolff barged in the room, hauling me out of the cabin and into the car. The sirens were coming our way, I'm sure of it. Beneath the loud pounding of my heart, I could hear the devil's voice calling after Wolff, screaming his name over and over until it faded as we drove away.

"Why are the cops headed to the cabin?" I asked after finally gathering enough energy to speak.

Wolff drove faster, his grip tight on the steering wheel. His knuckles were busted really really bad. "Axel called the cops," he rasped. "Or my mom did. Fuck, I don't know. They must've—they must've—"

"Wolff, slow down." I placed a calming hand on his rigid arm. "Pull over for a second."

"I can't. If I stop, the cops will get to me. I beat the hell out of Axel who's technically still my employee," he heaved. "Plus, he could be selling me out right now and the police would dig up dirt from the previous contracts I made. He's got hold of every single thing in my life, Mariana."

"Merda." I cursed under my breath.

"He's working with Victoria," he said, jaw clenching as his eyes darkened in rage. "With her connections and all the shit he got on me, they could either send me in a psych ward or prison. There's no in between."

"They can't do that! All those girls signed those contracts willingly."

Wolff shook his head, driving faster. "Doesn't matter. Axel could turn anything around and make it look like I raped all those girls."

My heart sank to the ground. I was literally shaking, even as I settled my hands on my lap and clasped them together. "W-what are we going to do? Where are we going?"

One of Wolff's bloodied hands rested on top of mine. With his eyes focused on the road, he intertwined our fingers. "Don't worry, I got it. I know a place."

***

Wolff had gone stone-cold and focused on getting us to safety. We're all alone. He couldn't call anyone. Every contact he has have a link to Axel. And technically, if Axel was working with Victoria all this time apart from their sexual encounters, she also has a hold of every penny Wolff has ever earned from his career.

Wolff paced in the middle of the small, abandoned house in the border of the woods, stepping over the shards of a torn-up old Victorian carpet. "Mariana, you have to go home. If the cops are after me, you can't be involved. I'm not dragging you into this mess."

I stood in front of him, pulling the hem of his shirt so he could stop moving for a second. "I'm not leaving you. Not right now, not ever. Besides, where would I even go?"

"Back to your country. You have your passport. I'll help you buy a ticket—"

"No." I said more firmly.

Wolff exhaled in frustration. His eyes were tired and yet they still held a glint of desperation—that same emotion radiating in the way his warm hands held my face. "Mariana, listen to me. If the cops get me, Axel knows how much I care about you. He'll use you against me to get whatever messed up plan he and Victoria have," his sigh was nothing short of hopeless and I could feel my heart breaking underneath my chest. "Baby, I don't have contacts with any trustable lawyers right now. I—I won't be able to protect you. Please, listen to me. Go home."

I closed the space between us, dropping my head over his shoulder as I breathe him in. "No," I whispered against his neck. "I can't."

He gripped my hips with a groan. "Yes, you can. Use the money I put in your account and forget the contract. Forget everything that happened—"

"You might have overestimated me, Wolff Finnegan." I wiped the tear that fell from my eyes and down to his shirt and smiled sadly against his chest, savoring his warmth, wishing I could get closer than this. "I'm not that strong. I can't just forget everything so easily."

His fingers started playing with the ends of my hair, tracing the curls and running his hands through them as if he's memorizing what they look and feel like. "Let me be selfless for once," he murmured against my temple. "Let me do something good for once in my life. Let me let you go."

I pressed my cheek against the crook of his neck, sniffing back my tears. "You're touching me like you're already saying good bye. You're talking like a bad farewell speech."

He chuckled and I pulled back, wanting to see his smile. I've seen so few of them. I wanted to memorize what it looks like. But when I saw his face—the hurt and regret in his eyes, it made me feel like I could either crumble to pieces or take an axe and murder Axel and Victoria in cold blood.

Wolff's thumbs caressed my cheeks, going gently over the bruised one. His eyes darkened just by looking at it. "I'm not going to let you get hurt again."

"That wasn't your fault." I said, placing my hands on top of his. "Look at me," I demanded lightly, waiting for his gaze to find mine. "I'm staying."

He pressed our foreheads together, eyes closing as if he would utter a prayer. "Mariana, I adore your stubborn nature. I do, I really do. But this, baby, this is being stupid. You have a way out of here. Take it. You have no reason to stay."

I inched closer, letting my lips brush over his own so slowly we might as well close the distance and kiss. But we didn't. Instead, I hovered and whispered, "I have every reason to stay."

I could feel Wolff's pounding heart beneath my palms against his chest. He could feel mine underneath his fingertips at the crook of my neck. They seem to be beating just the same.

"Must be a pretty stupid reason then," he spoke against my mouth, licking his lips so closely he might as well dampen mine.

"Yeah," I swallowed. "Really, really stupid." I intentionally grazed my lower lip against his and he groaned in response.

Wolff parted his mouth, gaze hot on my lips. "Really fucking stupid, Mariana."

"I couldn't agree more—"

My words were muffled against his mouth, crashed in the softness of his lips that I missed too much. He kissed me until all my thoughts disappeared from my head. Everything went quiet. The worry, the panic, the hurt...they all went away. As long as he's touching me, I felt safe.

So then I kissed Wolff Finnegan with the fervor of the words I didn't say, with the feelings I didn't confess...

With the real reason I was choosing to stay.