My lungs lock as the space between us disappears and his gaze fixes on mine. I can’t speak. Can’t fucking breathe.
For a second, everything else drops away, the garage, the tools, the open door, until there’s nothing left but him looming above me.
Then he steps back. The space opens again, but the pressure doesn’t ease.
“Lock up when you’re done,” he says, turning toward the door. “Wouldn’t want anything happening to this place.”
They leave as calmly as they arrived. Their footsteps fade across the gravel before their engines turn over again and the sound disappears into the distance.
For several seconds, I don’t move.
Air finally fills my lungs again, uneven at first, as the silence settles back into place. The garage looks exactly the same, but my sense of safety is gone.
I’m not safe here and neither is Aurora.
That thought cuts through everything else.
I don’t bother locking up. If the Iron Vultures want inside, they’ll get in one way or another.
My keys are already in hand by the time the office door swings shut behind me. Cool air brushes against my skin as I step outside. The car door opens and closes in quick succession, the engine turning over as the tires crunch against gravel.
The garage where I’ve worked for years disappears behind me without a second look as I speed towards Maple Street.
Aurora opens the door on the second knock.
“Sloane?” Surprise flickers across her face. “What’s going on?”
“You need to leave,” I tell her.
Confusion tightens her expression.
“What?”
“Tonight,” I say. “Take your daughter and go somewhere safe.”
Fear replaces confusion in a matter of seconds. I don’t give her time to ask more questions.
“Some of the Iron Vultures were talking outside the shop,” I explain. “About coming here tomorrow night and taking your daughter. They think you’ll be alone.”
The color drains from her face.
“I called 911 after they left but they came back. The cops are in on it,” I rush to add. “Pack what you can and leave. I’m sending you to a friend I can trust.”
She nods quickly and turns, already moving deeper into the house as I text Delilah. I worked on her daddy’s truck when no one else would touch it, and we’ve stayed friends over the years despite the distance between her family ranch in Texas and my small hometown in Louisiana.
She’ll be safe with Delilah’s family and it’ll be harder for the bikers to track us if we spilt up. I just have to figure out where I should go because home isn’t an option. There’s nothing there worth the risk.
I give Aurora directions to theDouble H,before I leave and by the time the edge of town passes, my grip on the steering wheel has eased.
The road stretches ahead, dark, and empty, and the distance between me and Hollow Creek begins to grow.
That distance is the only thing that matters now.
Carter
Four hours into our shift at the lumberyard and Casanova is finally awake. He comes to work sleepy and hungover most days with an energy drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
A total zombie until lunch, he comes alive every afternoon regaling us with all the details of his bar hopping and hookups. Today is different though. He pulls out his phone and shows me a profile he’s created. Only it doesn’t have his face.
