If we were anywhere but here, I’d have walked away. Maybe that’s why he brought me miles away from the mansion. He knew I’d have walked away too.
When I say nothing, he lifts his head.
Light-gray eyes dart to me, then away again. “If it weren’t for Vonn and Nash, I’d still be back there.” He peers over his shoulder. “Or I’d be dead in some back bar fight where I used to fight to earn my way. It’s how I could afford to buy my bike. That’s why I thought I needed to protect them from you.”
“Does your bike go faster?” I ask.
“Yeah, why?”
I take the helmet from him and stuff it onto my head. “I want you to go faster this time.”
The smile that stretches across his face is so beautiful I have to look away. “Yes, ma’am.” He follows it up with a salute that nearly makes me laugh.
We ride for an hour.
We fly down roads with twisting bends, whipping up and then down them. That feeling of weightlessness lifts me from myself, and I could easily become addicted to it.
Back at the mansion, he pulls the bike to a stop inside the garage, and I get off and hand the helmet back to him.
When I turn to leave, he snags my wrist, stopping me.
“Does that mean I’m forgiven?” Hesitancy softens his voice.
“I nearly died because of you,” I tell him, looking him in the eye.
“I know.” He swallows hard and holds my gaze when I know he wants to look away. “You want to talk about what happened?”
I take a step back, and his hand on my wrist falls away. “No.”
“Fair enough.” He cocks his head at me. “Anything I can do to change your mind?”
I shake my head and walk away.
“You looked good on my bike,” he calls after me, and I turn around. “Come back, and we’ll go again, K?”
I nod and walk away, but I’m not sure I will or if I should.
In my room, my lamp is on the wrong side of my bed.
It makes me uneasy. Seeing it reminds me of the necklace someone stole and put in my bag. When I dig through my bag, my money is still inside, and there’s no sign of a necklace, stolen or otherwise.
“Nance?” I call out, wanting to be sure this isn’t a sign of more trouble to come. “Were you in my room?”
“Yes,” she calls back. “I just tidied up a bit. Is something wrong?”
My shoulders relax. “No, nothing.”
Chapter 15
Vonn
With a grunt, I set the weight back on the bench and sit up.
Nash is leaning against the wall beside the door. He wasn’t there before I started lifting, so he must have come back from jail halfway through my rep.
“When did you get back? I would have picked you up.”
“No need. Otto gave me a lift.”
