Page 86 of After the Chase

Ivan appears behind Tyler, his hand resting on Tyler's shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Chase. And tell Noah I said goodbye and I’m already looking forward to your return. Has he told Marcus or the brothers yet?"

“No, he said he is emailing them.”

A loud bark of a laugh leaves Ivan. “Fuck me, I need to be there when D opens that email. I’ll keep my mouth shut then.”

When I step outside and get into my car, I text Noah.

Me: On my way.

N: I've been waiting.

I smile, slipping the phone back into my pocket.

Home. To Noah. To the man who owns me completely.

To the life I've chosen.

CHAPTER THIRTY

NOAH

We're leaving New York.

I've made the decision as the city has served its purpose, for now. I've established my reputation and built connections giving me access to perks, but also providing a financial investment that will make decent returns for the foreseeable future.

Chase is packing his clothes and essentials in the bedroom. I’ve already got a house lined up in LA, it’s a rental for now as I want to find somewhere permanent when out there.

I'm in the study, looking through the photo album on my phone at all of my kills. Such a variety in style and type of person. It makes me proud of the beauty I have created over the years. I wonder if Chase would mind if I had some of these pictures printed and framed for the house?

Dima wasn't pleased when I informed him by email that we were leaving. But he understood in the end, as I'm not his employee. I never was. They just got used to having access to me. Marcus was more chill, probably too scared to challenge me. But as long as the money rolls in, I doubt he cares.

Chase enters the study, his expression thoughtful. "Everything's packed."

"You know, we don’t need to take much with us. We can buy new shit when we are there, so we don’t have to travel with luggage."

"Oh, I never thought of that. The perks of being with a millionaire," he says, grinning at me.

I look at him and think of everything we have shared and how far he has come since we met. All of the travel, dangerous situations, murders, and he stayed. Not that he ever had a choice. I enjoy how he still watches me like I’m his world, the most precious thing in his life.

“Are you ready for a new adventure?”

"I'm ready for anything, baby."

I cannot wait to be on our own again. I need him, and not in the way normal people need their partners. I need him the way an alpha needs territory, the way a parasite needs a host. Except that's not quite right either.

Because when I look at Chase, I feel something that approximates what other people might call love. It's not the same and I know that. I've read enough literature, observed enough couples, analyzed enough data to understand that what I feel is fundamentally different.

But it's real to me. It's the only real thing I've ever felt.

"Noah?" Chase's voice pulls me back. "Where did you go?"

"Nowhere, I’m just thinking about you," I say, because he is all I think about.

His pupils dilate slightly. After all this time I can read every micro-expression, every physiological response. He's aroused by my attention and craves it daily.

"What about me?" he asks.

"How you've changed, how we’ve evolved."