Page 107
Chapter Twenty-Six
Carly
Opening my eyes, I yawn and stretch my arms over my head, squinting at the sunlight flooding into the room from the windows. How do I always forget to close those damn blinds?
“Don’t move,” Chance grumbles, tightening his arms around my body and I peek over my shoulder at him.
“Why not?”
He peels one eye open to glare at me. “I’m comfy.”
“Well, I’m hungry,” I say, rolling over to face him as my stomach growls. He scowls but the smile in his eyes gives him away. Before he can say anything else, his phone starts ringing and he groans, rolling over to grab it off the bedside table.
“What’s up?” he asks as soon as he answers it. After listening for a second, he sits up and runs a hand through his hair. When he glances over at me, I know it’s time. I’ve been waiting for the past four days to hear what Streak was able to dig up on Julian and each day that passed only made me more anxious. “Yeah, we’ll be there.”
He hangs up and turns to me. “Everyone’s meeting at the clubhouse to go over your sister’s case.”
“Okay.” I nod and jump up, flinging the covers behind me as I rush into the bathroom and throw my hair up into a bun. After Chance took me to the animal shelter, I was able to relax a little bit but worry over Ivy has always been at the edge of my mind and I’m more than ready for answers.
“Baby, we got a little time if you want to slow down and maybe eat some breakfast,” Chance says from the doorway as I brush my teeth and I shake my head. I spit in the sink before turning back to him.
“I can’t. I just want to go to the clubhouse.”
He sighs and nods. I know he’s concerned that I’m worrying too much but with the imminent onslaught of information, my stomach is rolling and I’m not sure I could keep anything down. Besides, food seems so trivial now that we’re finally going to start talking about how to help Ivy.
“I’ll get dressed then. But after the meeting, we’re getting you some food, deal?” he asks and I nod.
“Promise, babe.” I give him a quick kiss before going back to brushing my teeth and he turns back into the bedroom to get dressed. When I’m done, I go to the closet and pull a pair of jeans and white t-shirt out of the dresser, quickly throwing them on and slipping on black leather booties.
Chance’s eyebrows shoot up as I walk back into the bedroom and he fights back a smirk. “You look hot as hell, Princess.”
“Thanks,” I reply, glancing down at my simple outfit and grinning. He stands up from the bed and stalks toward me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Wanna take my bike today?”
My heart rate spikes and I stare at him for a moment before nodding. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before, but the thought thrills me as much as it scares me. He leans in, claiming my lips in a quick but passionate kiss, before leading me out of the bedroom. In the kitchen, he grabs his keys off the island where he tossed them last night when he came over with movies to watch and I grab my bag off the entry table. I hand him my keys as he closes the door behind us in the hallway and he locks up as I glance down at the elevator and I bite my lip.
I have no idea what Streak is going to tell us about Julian Henshaw, so I have no way to know if I’m prepared for it at all. I think I am. I hope I am but there’s just so much, so many awful things that he could be doing to my sister and I know I’m not prepared to deal with it. In the darkest corners of my mind, I’ve wondered if she’s going through the same thing I did but I can only handle a few seconds of that before I’m on the verge of sobbing. It’s a miracle I haven’t fallen apart yet and the only reason for that is the man standing next to me.
The elevator doors open, snapping me out of my thoughts and I suck in a breath as we step on. Chance squeezes my hand and I look up at him.
“It’s gonna be okay, baby.”
I shake my head. “You don’t know that, Chance, but I appreciate you saying it.”
He doesn’t say anything else and I know that he’s just as worried about how I’m going to handle all this as I am about Ivy, but neither can be helped. Until my sister is safe, out of harm’s way, I won’t be able to relax. When the elevator doors slide open on the first floor, we step out and he leads me outside to his bike.
“You ever ride before?” he asks and I shake my head. “It’s pretty simple. Just lean with the bike when I turn, don’t put your feet down if we stop, and hang on to my waist, okay?”
My gaze roams over the bike before I nod and sling the strap of my bag across my body. “Okay.”
Chance hands me a helmet and puts his on before climbing on and holding out his hand to help me climb on behind him. Once I’m comfortable, I wrap my arms around his waist and grip his shirt, my heart pounding in my ears. He fires it up and the deep rumble of the bike seems to reach right into my chest. As he slowly pulls out of the parking spot, I bury my head in his back and close my eyes, not brave enough to glance up yet.
Oh, God, what the hell was I thinking?
Chance makes a couple of turns before speeding up and I guess that we must be on the interstate now. He rubs one of my hands with the death grip on his shirt and I glance up, my eyes widening. We’re flying down the road, weaving in and out of the few other cars on the road this early on a Saturday morning and I feel free. It takes my breath away and a wide smile stretches across my face.
The rest of the drive to the clubhouse goes way too quickly and I pout a little as he pulls into the lot and parks the bike. He pushes the kickstand down and climbs off before helping me down and I grin up at him as I take my helmet off.
