The Endless Road

**Six Months Later.**

The garage was small, tucked away in a coastal town in Oregon where the rain smelled like pine, not acid.

Leo slid out from under a vintage Mustang. He wiped his hands on a rag.

"Hey," a voice called from the office. "Customer says the carburetor is acting up again."

Sofia leaned against the doorframe. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, her hair tied back. She held a clipboard. She looked tired, happy, and free.

"I'll take a look," Leo said.

He walked over to her. He took the clipboard, his fingers brushing hers. He saw the star-shaped scar on his hand, and he saw the ring on her finger—a cheap silver band bought at a pawn shop.

"We made rent," Sofia said, smiling.

"We're rich," Leo joked.

They weren't rich. They were scraping by. The Castano and Vane families had torn each other apart in the wake of the wedding. The empires had crumbled.

But Leo and Sofia weren't part of that world anymore. They were ghosts.

Leo took her hand. He kissed her knuckles.

"We made it," he whispered.

"We did," she said. "We ran away."

Leo looked out at the ocean, grey and vast. He didn't need the adrenaline anymore. He didn't need the speed. He had found his sanctuary.

"Lunch?" he asked.

"Tacos," she decided.

They walked out of the garage together, locking the door behind them, two rebels who had stolen the only thing that mattered—a future.