All Chapters of ALMOST PERFECT : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The house was still trembling from the slammed front gate when Grey killed the lights.In the sudden dark Lisa felt, rather than saw, the warmth of his body find hers.No plan, no pursuers, no past—just the two of them breathing the same charged inch of air.He brushed the hair from her cheek with the back of his fingers, a gesture so careful it felt like a question."Tell me something true," he whispered. "Something they didn't write for us."Lisa's answer was to rise on her toes and fit her mouth to his.The kiss started soft—an apology for every minute they'd spent doubting—but when his arms circled her waist it deepened into promise.She tasted coffee, panic, and the faint sweetness of the peppermint he always kept in his pocket for her.Grey made a low sound against her lips, half-soothe, half-plea, and walked her backward until the wall met her shoulder-blades.Plaster dust bloomed around them like ash from extinct stars.He broke away only far enough to rest his forehead agains

The van's rear doors slammed shut with a metallic finality, sealing Grey and Lisa inside a dim cavity that smelled of motor oil and stale takeout. Maya didn't wait for pleasantries; she floored the accelerator, the vehicle lurching over the rutted service road like a beast shaken awake. Through the barred rear window, Grey watched the trestle recede, its rusted beams gnawing at the sky. Lisa slumped against the wheel well, chest heaving, the indigo blanket clutched in mud-caked fists. Her eyes found Grey's in the half-light, still storm-lit but softening at the edges. "That was close," she said, voice hoarse from the run. "Too close."He nodded, shifting to sit beside her, their shoulders pressing together in the swaying confines. "Tessy's not done. That sniper bluff—she's testing boundaries, seeing how far we'll push before we break."Maya's laugh was humorless: "Boundaries? Honey, we're way past those. Tessy's got friends in every colour. Right now you're wearing her least favourit

The highway unspooled before them like a poorly drafted blueprint—endless, unyielding, with cracks hidden just beneath the surface. Grey kept the dirt bike at a steady throttle, weaving through sparse traffic as the sun climbed higher, turning the asphalt into a shimmering mirage. Lisa's arms remained locked around his waist, a mechanical embrace born of survival rather than solace. Every bump in the road jolted her against him, a reminder of the chasm that had opened between them: his bloodline, her trust, both shattered like glass underfoot.She hadn't spoken since the creek bed, her cheek pressed to his back in silence that screamed louder than any accusation. The wind tore at her hair, whipping strands across her face like errant pencil strokes, but it couldn't erase the ache in her chest—a deep, splintering hurt that made every breath feel like inhaling dust from a collapsed structure. Grey Moore. The name echoed in her mind, rewriting every memory: the first sketch in the worksh

With the old map clutched tightly in his hand, Grey pushed open the cabin door and stepped out first, Lisa following closely behind. The sky overhead darkened, clouds rolling in from the west like a slow tide, casting an eerie gloom on the landscape. The distant rumble of thunder echoed, warning of the storm quickly approaching.“Let’s move fast,” Grey urged, glancing over his shoulder as they stepped onto the narrow fishing trail. It wound through the woods, overgrown but still passable, and every rustle of branches made them instinctively glance back, half-expecting Tessy’s men to appear at any moment.“Stay low,” Lisa whispered, her heart racing as they ducked beneath overhanging branches. “If they find us, we won’t have anywhere to run.”Grey nodded, his pulse quickening with every step taken on that isolated path. He could feel the weight of the plan pressing down on him–the stakes of their impending confrontation. The lighthouse stood tall in the distance, a beacon promising bot

The wind hit them like a living thing.Grey’s boots slipped the moment he swung onto the exterior ladder, rain-slick metal biting through the soles as the lighthouse beam swept past, bleaching the world white before plunging it back into darkness. Lisa followed, gripping the rung above his shoulder, her breath coming in sharp, controlled bursts.Below them, the sea thundered—wild, endless, hungry.“Don’t look down,” Grey said, more to himself than to her.“I’m not,” Lisa lied, jaw clenched as the ladder shuddered under a sudden gust.Inside the lighthouse, Tessy’s voice cut through the storm. “Careful, Greyson. One wrong move and gravity does the work for me.”The ladder curved with the tower, bolted into stone that felt centuries old. Rust flaked beneath their hands, and every rung screamed protest as they descended. The rain wasn’t just falling—it was attacking, blinding them, soaking through skin and bone alike.A shot rang out.The bullet sparked against the metal railing above Gr