I twined my fingers behind his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “I feel safer in your arms always.”

“Gag,” Junior said, ruining the moment.

Any lingering feelings of familial warmth I felt toward him vanished.

Despite Josh’s reassurances that he was fine, getting to the SUV was still a slog. He moved carefully, either because of his injuries or his fear of tripping and toppling us back into the snow. We had to pause several times on our way through the woods, once because Junior thought he saw something and twice more because we thought we heard something. Those moments passed excruciatingly slowly while Josh and I held our breath and strained our ears.

I was so relieved when we finally reached the SUV that I nearly started sobbing, and I could tell from the shaky breath Josh released that he was equally grateful we’d made it.

The driver, an aging man named Jimmy who’d helped locate Brad’s car in my neighborhood, had a few blankets in the rear of the vehicle that he used to cover his seats when he had his dogs with him. He explained this in a low, raspy voice as he opened the rear door for us, apologizing for the wet dog smell, but I was so grateful that I couldn’t give a shit that they reeked, and I thanked him profusely for letting us use them.

Josh and I took our shoes and socks off and wrapped our feet in the blankets while Jimmy pulled out of the trees and back onto the road. There were heaters beneath the front seats, and I told Josh not to get too close to his at first because we needed to raise our skin temperature slowly. Next, we lost our sodden jackets and dried the rest of ourselves as best we could while filling my cousin in on everything that happened after his team bailed on the mission.

Junior wasn’t happy about us setting off the alarm, not even after Josh explained why he’d done it. To Junior, it was better that Brad’s family dispose of evidence than for any heat to be brought onto the power company or his dad.

Josh sent me a disgruntled look as my cousin reamed us out over our behavior, and I tilted my head toward him and dropped my voice as I said, “I told you they weren’t good people.”

By the time we made it onto the highway, my worry over the fate of our feet started to abate. Josh’s toes hadn’t gone fully numb, just tingly, so he was in the clear. Mine had been pale enough for concern, but now that an uncomfortable pins and needles feeling was creeping into them, I knew I’d gotten off lucky for how long they’d been cold and wet.

Junior’s cell rang as we neared the exit for the warehouse district. He held up a finger to everyone in the car and brought the phone to his ear. “What?” A crease appeared between his brows as he listened to whatever the person on the other end of the line said. “And they’re cooperating?” Several moments passed before he nodded and spoke again. “Got it.”

He pulled the phone down and turned to look between Josh and me. “The cops found the bodies.”

My breath whooshed out in a rush of relief. “Oh, thank god.”

“Brad’s mom fainted when they told her,” Junior continued. “His dad gave the cops free rein of the house. Apparently, they didn’t realize what a sadistic little shit their son truly was.”

Josh nodded beside me. “I figured that when they didn’t recognize the smell of the bodies. They thought the housekeeper had forgotten to take the trash out.”

Junior’s gaze sharpened on him. “And how did you recognize it?”

Josh opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “None of your business. And what do you mean, his parents didn’t know? They were in that house going after Brad’s computer.”

Reluctantly, Junior pulled his eyes from my boyfriend and resettled them on me. “They claimed they were trying to find him. Their assumption is that he left the area after the arrest warrant was approved.”

I leaned back in my seat. “That’s good for us, right?”

Junior nodded. “We might not have found his phone, but one of our guys snagged his wallet. We’re going to have someone about his height and build use his debit card up north near the border to make it look like he fled into Canada. That should keep the cops and his family busy for a while.”

Josh and I shared a relieved look. This felt like a best-case scenario. Brad’s crimes were about to come to light. His family didn’t seem likely to impede an investigation into them. The cops were going to think that he’d fled the country, which meant they wouldn’t have any reason to look for a body.

Holy shit. Were we actually going to get away with what we’d done? It felt like we might, but I didn’t want to jinx myself by thinking about it too much.

Instead, I sidled closer to Josh while my cousin turned back around in his seat and continued his phone call. Josh wrapped an arm around my shoulders and resettled his blanket so we were both covered by it. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose into my hair just above my ear. I closed my eyes and was starting to relax when he spoke, low enough so only I would hear his words.

“That’s twice now that you’ve broken a promise to me, Aly. I hope you can handle the consequences.”

My eyes flashed wide. Shit. I’d told him I’d stay behind and failed to keep my word. Again. But in my defense, there were extenuating circumstances in both situations. He had to realize that, right?

I wanted to mention it, plead my case, but this wasn’t the time. Josh was a rational guy – for the most part. Maybe I could convince him to see reason once I got him alone. Anyone in my place would have done the same. Most importantly, he would have, but I could already hear his counterpoint of, “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have promised to stay put in the first place.”

You think I would have learned after the first breach of trust, but nooo, I just had to do it a second time. Honestly, I couldn’t even blame Josh for being angry about that. Trust was the foundation of any good relationship, and I’d drilled holes in ours right after it had been laid. Maybe I could find some way to make it better by apologizing. By telling him I wouldn’t do it again.

But, god help me, a large part of me was too excited by the idea of him punishing me to say anything. Unlike me, he’d done nothing to break my trust so far, and I had a feeling that anything he doled out would be as pleasurable as it was torturous.

The next twenty minutes passed in a blur as I dreamt up all the sinful ways my boyfriend could correct my bad behavior. I had visions of whips and chains, hand necklaces and nipple clamps. Before Josh, my sex life had been the epitome of vanilla, but between social media, the salacious books I’d read, and the kink-specific porn I’d watched, it was easy to imagine all the delicious punishments in my future, and thinking about them was much better than thinking of the night we’d just had.

I must not have been the only one lost to their thoughts because the drive back to the warehouse passed in near silence. As soon as we pulled up to the rear of the building where we’d started the night, Josh told me to stay put and then slipped out of the SUV to preheat his car so I wouldn’t get cold again. On the surface, the gesture was sweet as hell, but there was a wolfish gleam in his eyes when he looked at me that made me feel like I was being hunted.

“Hey,” Junior said.

I turned from watching Josh’s shadowy form stride through the night and looked at my cousin. Judging by Junior’s expression, he’d been trying to get my attention for a while. “Yeah?”

“You remember what to do if the cops ever show up asking questions?”

“Tell them I don’t know anything,” I said.

“And if they keep asking?”

“Demand to speak to a lawyer.”

Junior nodded. “Good. I’ll have our guy call you tomorrow so you know who’s representing you.”

“Thank you for everything,” I said. After all, if not for my family’s help, Josh and I probably would have gotten caught. When I thought about it that way, having dinner with them once a month felt like a small price to pay.