Beautiful Villain

“I’m going now,” I whisper, and I run up the stairs to get my phone.

Chapter Fourteen

Neil

The police are gone and we’re alone, standing in front of Finley’s house. She’s got Echo in a cat carrier in the car along with a chance of clothing. The police are keeping her house as a crime scene for a few days, and then she’ll have to arrange for cleaners to come in and tidy up the place before Finley is able to move back in.

“Are you sure you want to go back?” I ask her.

“Yes.”

“It’s…you’re never going to be able to un-see what happened,” I warn her. I know firsthand just horrifying PTSD can be, and something like this is definitely going to leave its mark on Finley’s mental health.

“It doesn’t matter if I move or stay in the same place,” she says. “This is where it happened. This is where everything finally ended, and it’s where you came to me. In my mind, it’s where you got your fresh start, Neil. I’m not going anywhere.”

She reaches for my hand and squeezes, and I don’t know how I was so lucky to end up with a sweetheart like her.

“Thanks, cupcake,” I whisper.

“Come on,” she says. “I called the motel, and they have one room available.”

“Sounds like heaven,” I say.

We get in her car and as we drive, I can’t help but think that everything that’s happened up to now has been insane. A few days ago, I was released from prison and my only goal was finding out what happened.

Well, now I know.

I know exactly what happened to my friend that night, and I finally have answers to the questions that have been haunting me this entire time. I never really expected things to be cleaned up nice and tidy with a little bow on top, and they aren’t. Finley and I will both have to testify in court and give witness statements to a jury. We’ll have to say exactly what happened, and we’ll have to disclose the nature of our relationship.

I’m okay with that.

I like Finley more than I ever thought possible. In the years she’s been writing to me, I’ve slowly fallen in love with everything about her: her kindness, her bravery, her sweetness. Now I have the chance to show her just how good I can be to her, and I don’t intend to waste a single second.

“I’m ready,” I tell her, but I don’t just mean for tonight.

I mean for everything.

With Finley, I’m not going to be happy with just one night or just one weekend or just one month.

With her, I want everything.

It’s now and forever for me and Finley.

Now and forever.

Epilogue

Finley

Falling in love with a villain isn’t how I expected to spend my life, but here I am. Years of writing to Neil while he was locked away meant that when he came home, I was ready for him. I was ready for the adventure that falling in love with him brings, and I was ready to help him fight.

Our relationship didn’t exactly have an easy start.

Finding a killer?

That’s some real Nancy Drew stuff right there, and that’s not really something I ever saw myself doing. Yet somehow, between the two of us, we managed to find justice not only for Neil, but for Sammy.

I like to think that Sammy is resting peacefully now, and I like to think that he somehow knows what happened. Whether people believe in an afterlife or not, I like the idea that our loved ones who pass still have an idea of what’s going on around here.