The Criminal Soulmate

Chapter Twenty-Six

There was still an outline of their bodies in the hay pile.

But no Leanna.

Dylan found himself standing above the spot, hands clenched in fists. He had known she wouldn't be here. He knew he should be happy that she was gone, glad that he'd got what he wanted. Leanna had left. That's what he wanted.

It would all be perfect. If not for the fact she was walking straight into a trap. Going after her parents would doom her. He wanted to find her, and yell at her for being so stupid. Leanna would just get herself killed.

Each second spent thinking of it only made his anger worse. Their spot seemed to taunt him, reminding him of how much he'd screwed up. Dylan knew telling her wasn't a good idea. Still, a part of him had wanted to believe she had more brains than this. Running off to find her parents wouldn't make her a hero, it would make her dead.

A bucket sat in the corner of the room, turned on its side. Dylan kicked it, sending it flying into the field through the open doors. Pain shot up his leg, but he ignored it. He wanted to break something. Find someone to blame for all of this. Someone who could take the fall, have all the fault put on them. That someone would be him.

Dylan sat down in the hay, fighting the tears of frustration threatening to spill over. He wouldn't cry over this. There was still a chance he could find Leanna. She couldn't have gotten very far, not if she didn't have any help.

Deciding there was no point in stick around any longer, Dylan started to walk to the ladder. He could feel his anger building. Anger toward Morgan, Tom, the person he had been at seventeen. Leanna. While he wanted to find her to make sure she was okay, he also wanted to give her a hard shake. Countless times he'd told her this wasn't a game. There would be consequences for their actions, they weren't superheroes. Someone could end up dead, someone could end up in jail. This wasn't a movie, where a happy ending was guaranteed. Real life just didn't work that way.

The road leading away from the barn felt lonely. Dylan felt alone, like everyone else in the world had disappeared. He walked for an hour, not knowing what he could do. After the hours, Dylan reached the tree he and Leanna had shared their first kiss under. It was enough to break him.

No longer was the grass beneath trampled, marking the spot they'd danced for hours. It was impossible to tell they'd ever been there.

A vehicle rumbled down the dirt road, throwing up dust. Dylan watched, surprised to see signs of other human life for the first time in four hours. He could feel his heart gain speed when the car came to a stop at the side of the road. The passenger door flew open, a head full of honey-blonde hair appearing over the top of it.

Morgan stepped into the field, sauntering over to where Dylan sat. A smirk started to tug at her lips when she got close enough.

"What happened to your girly? Did she leave you?"

"You can't give me even just one goddamn day to grieve?" He kept his eyes on the ground.

Long nails started to trace the scars on his cheek. Dylan shuddered, refusing to give in to her. It was what Morgan wanted. She lived to torture him, to remind him how he'd failed to protect Farida. And now she would do the same thing with Leanna.

"Come on, babe, stop frowning. Did you honestly think she could ever love you? Leanna Bruckner, Farida Nasser, they're the same. Weak. Neither of those girls has what it takes to handle a man like you. Look at what happened to your sweet little Farida. Did you expect things to be any different with Leanna?"