“Trust me,” I said as I patted his back, “she doesn’t think you guys have abandoned her. She gets that you have a kid to chase after.”
“Take care of her, okay?”
I nodded. “You have my word.”
After Frost made his way down the hallway, he turned the corner into the living room and I found myself alone. I looked around before jogging back down the hallway, and the second Chloe slipped out of her bedroom, I took her hand. I led her down through the corridors, weaving in and out of back hallways that practically dead ended into nothingness.
And when we found ourselves at the side exit, I paused to make sure no one was outside smoking or whatever.
“What now?” Chloe asked with a whisper.
I cracked the door open and peeked outside. “Follow me.”
With her hand still in mine, I resisted the urge to lace our fingers together. I tried to keep a slow pace, what with Chloe already panting for air due to her rib. I eased the door closed behind us with a soft thud, hoping and praying that no one had heard us. Then, we made a mad dash toward the stash of bikes in the shade of the trees off in the distance.
“I’ve got a spare helmet,” I said as I quickly dug it out of the back compartment, “here.”
She took it from me, still panting for air. “Thank you for this. Seriously.”
I slid my helmet on and turned on the Bluetooth speaker. “Here, hold steady.”
I reached into the helmet and pressed the button before I heard a beeping sound in my ear. That meant our headsets were connected in case she needed to speak with me. I talked her through how to get onto the back of the bike. I threw my leg over and offered my hand, which she took without a second thought. And after I helped her onto the back of it, she wiggled her way down into the seat until her hips sat against my back.
“Now what?” she asked.
Her voice came alive in my ear and I resisted the urge to smile until it hurt. “Wrap your arms around me anywhere you’re comfortable. Get a good grip so you don’t slip. We’ll take it slow so you can get a feel for things first.”
I knew I was risking everything doing this for her: a reprimand from Stone. A possible sighting from the cartel. But I wasn’t an idiot. I knew how to keep my eyes peeled for those fuckers while on a short bike ride. Chloe’s arms snaking around my waist pulled me out of my mind. I had a tendency to do that. I get lost in my own thoughts. But feeling her warmth wrapped around me ripped me back to a reality that I didn’t hate.
Easy does it; you’re already getting out of control.
“There, now what?” she asked.
I kicked up the kickstand and walked the bike toward the gravel road. “Just hang on until I get a safe enough distance away to turn over the engine.”
“Can you fucking believe it?” Stone hissed.
“Shit,” I whispered. “Hold on.”
I quickly walked the bike into the deep, dark shadows of the overhanging trees as Stone and Texas came out the front exit.
“Actually, I can,” Texas said as he pulled out a lighter.
Stone pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “She’ll kill me if she knows I’m smoking again, so don’t say a damn word.”
“About what?” Texas asked with a grin.
I watched as Stone chain-smoked three fucking cigarettes. The two of them were bitching about our current circumstances. About how the cartel always seemed to know shit we needed to know, yet we still couldn’t get our hands on the information. I’d never seen Stone so worked up before or Texas so nonchalant about everything. It made me wonder if we’d ever get out of this situation. If we’d ever go home.
But the second they made their way back inside, I moved as quickly as I could out of the shadows before cresting the hill of the gravel road.
“Wow, that was close,” Chloe whispered.
Beads of sweat dripped down my face as the gravel road dead-ended into the dirt road. “All right, you ready?”
She sighed with relief. “Jesus fucking Christ, yes.”
I cranked up the engine and the vibrations between my legs sent me on a head high unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Every day, before this bullshit kicked off, I went on a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to my favorite coffee shop. I’d sit there with my laptop and piddle around, hacking into people’s phones that were connected to the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi just to keep my skills groomed and up to date. It seemed like those days were an entire lifetime ago, but here I was, about to take this beautiful woman up the coast with me before we dipped into that little coffee shop that hadn’t seen me in damn near…
