Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Rory makes an odd noise and Diesel slides her over into the middle seat in back so he can put his arm around her. “How far to the airport so we can get our bikes?”
I pull out onto the main road, picking a direction at random. “Someone pull up a map. We can’t be that far, but it might take a few hours.”
“You’re going to the original airport?” Rory sounds so fucking lost back there. I don't blame her. That was some wild shit, even for us. “I can… I suppose I can get somewhere from there.”
“We’ll keep you with us until we know you're safe,” Bull declares. “Jesus Christ, we're no saints, but we're not assholes either.”
Diesel has his phone out. “Look for signs for the highway. It should be coming up. Head west for a couple hours and we’ll be good.”
“Not too bad. We can ditch the car there and someone will report it fast enough to whoever we borrowed it from.” Bull taps his fingers on the dash. “I bet when the cops get a look at everyone who was on that plane, they aren’t going to care about one fucking car.”
I flash the blinker and turn down the ramp onto the highway. “Let's go home.”
7
RORY
Everyone is quiet on the way to the airport. Nothing feels quite real. Did I really have sex with Bull less than an hour ago? And I was about to—I shove the memory down. Not because I’m ashamed, but because I can’t focus on that when there’s so much else to worry about. I lean my head against the window and watch the world fly by.
The next thing I know, Diesel is stroking my arm gently and I’m blinking my eyes open.
“Hey, beautiful. We’re here.”
I yawn. The sun is well on its way down and the car smells a little like we’ve been camping. “Did I miss anything?”
“Not really,” Diesel murmurs. “There’ve been some reports about the crash, but no details are public yet.”
Shrapnel pulls into one of the long term parking lots, well away from anything. He drives all the way to a back corner where there are several massive trucks parked across multiple rows. Between two of them is a gray tarp covering something more car sized but the shape is wrong. The guys get out first, then signal for me to join them. Bull peels off the tarp, revealing three motorcycles.
“I can’t ride,” I blurt out, feeling a little dumb for being shocked that literal bikers have motorcycles waiting.
Shrapnel wheels one of the bikes back. “You’ll be fine. Feet on the pegs, hold on tight and try to follow what feels natural for balance.”
“No, I mean. I can’t ride.” I gesture down at the skirt that hugs my legs and falls nearly to my knees.
Diesel pulls a switchblade out from inside his jacket and flicks it open. “Easy enough to fix.”
“Hey! I have a change of clothes in my bag just—” I motion with my finger for them to turn around.
“It’s a little late to convince us you’re shy,” Bull teases. “We’ve seen the goods, angel.”
“This is different! Sort of. Please?”
They glance at each other. Diesel rolls his eyes, but they line up at the end of the spot with their backs to me. I rip open my backpack and pull out my clothes. It’s nothing fancy, just some lightweight black travel pants, a gray t-shirt and some slip-on shoes, but getting out of that stupid uniform makes me feel more like myself.
My phone is still in airplane mode. I chew on my lip as I stare at it sitting in my hand. The temptation to connect to the network and see if anyone has tried to call or text is hard to resist. Dad and I might not have the most normal relationship, but I don’t want him dead.
No.
Can’t check yet. I power it off completely and shove it back into my bag along with my balled up uniform. This isn’t how I planned to run, but maybe it’s fate.
“Done.” I shiver. It’s summer, but the breeze is cool tonight. I move to get my uniform jacket back out of my bag, but Shrapnel is faster.
He shrugs off his leather vest and holds it up for me to slip into. “Here. It'll block the worst of the wind. Did you want us to drop you off somewhere or do you want to come back with us for the night? The clubhouse is downtown so we've got a little ride to go before we can relax.”
The vest is huge on me, but it’s already warm from his body heat, and the scent of him surrounding me makes my heart beat faster. “Um, sure. I can crash with you if that’s okay.” I’m actually relieved by the offer because it’ll give me a night to figure out what I want to do.