The Criminal Soulmate

Chapter Sixteen

I can't fight it anymore, Dylan. I'm falling for you.

Those words had been echoing in his head the past four days. Dylan could feel his pulse race whenever Leanna walked into the room. The one night stay with the Regoli's turned into four. Finally, after starting to get worried they could try to convince him to stay, Dylan told Leanna they had to go.

In the early morning of their fifth day in Texas, the two slipped away, their only evidence of having been there a thank you letter.

Being back in his home area made Dylan feel strange. He walked alongside Leanna, in constant fear they would run into someone he knew. It wasn't until the sun was at its highest peak in the sky that the two stopped to seek cover under a large oak tree. Leanna threw herself on the ground, wet patches on her shirt. Though it had been raining the entire time they stayed in Oklahoma, the weather in Texas made them both sweat. Not that it surprised Dylan. It was mid-April.

"So, where are we headed now?" Leanna asked, shading her eyes from the sun with a hand.

Dylan laid down beside her, gazing at the clouds rolling by high above them. "I have no idea."

He failed to mention that just down the road was a place he'd never thought he'd see again. Over three years had passed since he saw that driveway, the chipped paint along the sides of a large farmhouse.

Laying in the grass beside Leanna, Dylan could almost forget the harsh reality of their situation. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to believe they were just a young couple trekking across the country like he'd told Mr. Regoli. Wind blew through the tall grass surrounding them, whispering incoherently.

If they were to die, this would be the perfect place. Dylan would happily drift away near his home town, the girl he shouldn't care about right beside him. He still questioned his decision to bring Leanna along with him. He also knew he'd never meant to kill her back in Montana. It had all been a ruse, a way to distance himself from the heart he thought he no longer had.

"Will I ever see my parents again?" When Dylan didn't answer, she continued. "That's what I thought. It was stupid to think that'd ever happen."

Three days from now, it would be three weeks of them being together. Dylan had no idea how they'd managed to be on the run for so long. But he was no fool. He knew any second the peace would evaporate. Their false happiness couldn't last forever.

"Would you stay here? If you had the choice to leave your other life behind?" Leanna rolled onto her side, and Dylan could feel her watching him.

He took a deep breath, rolling onto his side as well to face her. "Honestly? Yes. I'd trade everything I own to finally live in peace."

Leanna chewed on her bottom lip a minute before averting her eyes from his. "Am I in this vision of yours?"

"Only if you want to be."

She looked up from the grass to his face, the sunlight streaming through the leaves catching her eyes, turning them from brown to amber. "I do."

Dylan could feel something connecting them. Something beyond his comprehension. Something he couldn't explain.

"Are you sure you'd want to be with some farm boy?"

Leanna moved closer to him. "Farm boy. Criminal. It doesn't matter to me."

His heart was beating so hard it hurt. "I don't think your parents would approve of you being with a criminal."