Epic Escape by Emily Evans Page B

the bug and slammed into his body. “Caw .” One of the creature’s bulbous eyes stuck in the window between the thief’s elbow and the frame, trapping them both.
    The car thief screamed, a high-pitched terrified sound. He pulled and jerked, his body thrashing to get away.
    Chase opened the driver door, scooted free, and used both arms to pull Megan away. The thief didn’t try to stop them, too entrenched in his own escape.
    “Caw.” The creature reared backward. The eyeball burst inside the Ferrari and covered the thief in eye pieces along with vitreous liquid. He screamed again. The bug shot out its tongue, wrapped around the thief’s neck silencing the noise. He reeled the thief close.
    Dropping the partially eaten carcass in favor of this new treat, it twittered.
    Megan and Chase ran and ducked into an alley so narrow, they could touch both sides at the same time, breathing in air free of bug, free of fear. Chase ran his hands frantically over her arms.
    Her knees weakened in the shaky aftermath of the adrenaline, but her mood was lifted by a strange happiness. Chase hadn’t left her.
    “I’m okay.”
    Chase grasped her arms, and leaned his forehead against hers. “That was bad.” He pulled back a little. “You’re really okay?”
    She touched his waist. “Yes. You? Two’s a lot of car wrecks for one week.”
    “I’m okay.” Chase let go of her arms and took her hand.
    Megan said nothing, just let herself feel overwhelmed with relief in the shaky aftermath of the adrenalin.
    Chase said, “Sometimes I’d catch you looking over at me and I think…well,--I don’t know what. But you never say anything to me.”
    Megan shook her head.
    “Why?” Chase asked.
    Megan shook her head again.
    “Tell me,” he said gently.
    Megan swallowed, looked around, and grasped his wrists. She raised his hands and folded them in front of his face as if he were reading. “The first time I saw you, you were in the library.” His hands slid down. She lifted them back into place. “I saw your hands first. And I thought, beautiful.” Her fingertips lightly traced the backs of his. “Then below the book I could only see your mouth.” She touched his perfectly shaped lips. Chase’s hands dropped to his sides. “And I thought, mine. Completely unjustified I know.” Megan lowered her own hands and shrugged. “It was ridiculous. So what do you say when you see someone you think of as inexplicably yours, and he’s spread all over every other girl at the school? You--”
    Chase put a warm hand on either side of her face, tilted her head, and kissed her.

Chapter 40

KISS
     
    C hase kissed slowly, as if they weren’t in an alley, as if they weren’t in danger, as if touching his lips to hers was the only thing he ever wanted to do.
    He tasted like bright sunlight wrapped in a dream. Sensation waved through her, from her mouth to her toes. Her knees gave way and she leaned into him, her arms around his neck, her body melting.
    Chase pressed back, and she felt the solid strength of the wall against her back.
    Worry dissolved. Thoughts disappeared. Tingles deepened. Heaven. A perfect moment.
    “You guys okay?”
    Megan heard Veronica ask the question but ignored her.
    Chase didn’t. He stepped back but kept a hand on Megan’s waist. “Yeah, how did you--”
    “We ran after you. Luckily you didn’t drive very far,” Veronica said.
    “Do you ever drive a car you don’t wreck?” Riley asked.
    Just then, a man walked into the alley, turned toward the foursome and opened his raincoat.
    Riley clenched a fist, and Veronica grabbed his arm. When Veronica’s fingers touched him, Riley relaxed. He still seemed alert, but less ready to take the man down.
    Earlier today, Megan would’ve said nothing could calm Riley after he got angry. Things were changing.
    “Shades?” the man in the raincoat asked. Numerous pairs of sunglasses hung from the coat’s lining. “Good deal?”
    “Piss off. We have our own.” Riley