by Nikki Wild
His warm eyes narrowed and this time I didn't think he was drinking in the details of my body. He was almost looking through me, trying to decide if he could believe me or not. "Don’t forget that you did hit your head in the crash. I know it's not the same as bouncing off the window or steering wheel, but those airbags aren't exactly soft…"
I nodded, mostly to humor him. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
It was time to go. This guy had done enough. Whatever problems I had now were my own. It was my job now just to get out of the tow truck without falling flat on my face. After that, I'd work it out.
Dane looked at me as suspiciously as I'd probably looked at him a couple of minutes before and then gave up, pointing at the storage area behind us. "I put your luggage here," he told me. "Don't forget it."
I nodded and reached back for it. My skirt probably rode up again, and I could feel for a moment the cold rush of air across my breasts as at least one of the buttons on my blouse gave way under the stress of the angle that I'd twisted myself into.
So be it. For once I was bold and confident enough to hold my position and let his eyes roam wherever they may. I wasn't exactly putting on a show, but I sure wasn't closing the curtain on one either. It was thrilling… and scary. A small rush of exhilaration was pushing through my veins like a drug. Dane was looking me over hard enough to try to memorize my curves…
It was something I wasn't used to. Even if it happened every day to a million other women, I never really thought it would happen to me. And certainly not from a guy like this. Men like Dane probably took what they wanted, and I felt a flush creep down from my face to my cleavage as I realized that he might want what he was seeing.
"Tomorrow," I said, hauling my luggage into my lap and then carefully climbing down to the pavement.
I didn't know what I expected him to say, but he just watched me. I thought those eyes were warm before, but when I glanced back in the cab to give him one last, long look before I went into the motel, I saw exactly how hungry they were.
And I shivered with desire.
Chapter 9
Dane
I watched her go, fighting the urge to adjust my cock again. I was rock hard, the steel shaft of my erection uncomfortably stiff against my thigh.
Did Kara know what she was doing to me? I wasn't sure. I couldn't for the life of me imagine that a girl like that, no, a woman like that didn't have some idea of her effect on a guy. Her body was everything that it had to be and more. Even as she was walking away, her ass was doing this sexy little back-and-forth wiggle that made me want to hop out of the truck and see if she’d invite me to her room.
I sighed, trying to talk myself out of wanting her so bad. She was on her way to Florida, and that tight little ass was going to walk right out of my life the instant I finished with her car.
I should go. Even now, sitting here in the idling truck, I was taking a risk. I was a little worried that once I'd stopped watching her walk into the motel I'd have to deal with reality, and so for that reason and a few others I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
I could've driven away. I should have. I convinced myself that waiting a few minutes was the gentlemanly thing to do. After all, if an absolute miracle happened and this dive somehow didn't have a vacancy, I couldn't just leave her. I mean, her only mode of transportation was stuck on the back of my tow truck.
And what a mode of transportation it was. Sure, she was worried, but I still didn’t think that she had any real idea exactly how much trouble she was in… Maybe women like her didn’t bat an eye at driving cars worth a quarter million dollars, but I sure as hell did.
I knew she was worried about the repairs, which didn’t make much sense. Sure, she’d rented it, but just to be able to rent something like that meant she had to be loaded. I couldn't imagine even coming within a hundred yards of a place that would hand me the keys to a Bentley, let alone casually letting some random tow truck driver haul it on to the back of his truck in the middle of the night.
There were a lot of things about Kara that didn't add up. The car… the stuff she'd said to me when she been out and coming to… She wasn’t telling me the whole story, but it didn’t matter.
Kara was too good for this place.
But I sure wasn't… I deserved everything bad that happened to me here. Everything and more.
It was well past time to go. I watched through the window as Vince, still running the motel and signing in customers even though he was pushing eighty-five, put her name in the guest book. There was no way she'd have gotten her dainty hands on that book unless she was already cleared for a deposit. Kara was fine. She didn't need me looking after her any more than I already had, at least not tonight.
Although, in the future, it was probably very true that her fate was in my hands…
I needed to go. For her safety, I needed to move on. If the Reapers worked out where she was…
I was sitting in front of the only motel in town. It was well lit, and just off the road. It wasn't busy, but there were certainly cars driving past. Here I was with the Bentley gleaming on the back of my truck, an advertisement to anyone curious or suspicious enough to wonder where the hell it came from. People would notice. They’d be talking about it in the morning, and then…
I didn't let that train of thought go down its inevitable path. Instead, I did exactly the opposite of what I should've done and turned off the tow truck’s engine and hopped out of the cab.
The first sound I heard was a motorcycle engine, and I glanced in the direction of the road. It wasn't a Reaper. It wasn't even a Harley, but that didn't necessarily matter. I was getting more and more worried about how much time I'd spent here, and what should have been a curt thirty-second drop-off had already turned into a five or six minute stare-at-her-breasts-and-hope-she'd-invite-me-in session, however foolish that was.
I took three quick strides towards the door and almost ran into Kara as she hurried out of it.
"Dane?" she asked, clearly confused. "Did I forget something?"
“No,” I said, with a shake of my head. “I did, though. Listen, there probably isn't time for a lot of conversation, but I want you to get back in the tow truck with me. I'll find somewhere else for you to stay.”
“Why?”
“I don't think it's safe for you here."
I felt my jaw tighten as I watched her mentally dig her heels in. Kara didn't exactly like being told what to do. "Why? What's wrong? You said this is the only motel in town."
I sighed. This was exactly what I didn't want to get into right here, but she had every right to ask. She'd been crazy to come with me in the first place instead of doing the sensible thing and calling the cops, and here I was telling her not to trust the motel I’d just brought her to? If she was suspicious before, this would have alarm bells ringing loud enough to make her deaf.
"I know it seems insane," I said. "And it is. But I promise I'll explain everything. Just not here, okay? I'll go back in there and tell Vince that you’ve changed your mind, if you want me to. Or you can do it. It doesn't matter. He'll give your deposit back. He's a good guy, and I'll vouch for you if he starts with the nonrefundable bullshit."
I practically flinched when Kara ran her eyes up and down me and gave me a look. "Oh really? You're going to vouch for me now?"
She had a point. Kara certainly looked like a far more upstanding citizen than I did. But she didn’t seem to understand that I had some pull in this town. She may be dressed to the nines, but she’d been here for the blink of an eye.
She didn’t own this town.
I did.
I was getting frustrated, and when I took an angry step toward the door to go past her and do the work myself, I felt her step away from me. Whatever energy I was projecting, she wasn't used to it.
"Just wait a second, okay?" she said. I could see her take stock of the situation, and I did my best to shut up and let her. If I was a bully about this, there was no way I’d be able to sway her. I’
d have to leave her behind and bring the Bentley back to the garage before deciding to either spend the night guarding it or sneaking back and guarding her. Either way, it was going to be a pain in the ass.
I watched Kara as she decided. She looked at me, at the Bentley, and then at Vince. He was an old, nosy coot. Our conversation out here hadn't gone unnoticed by him, either. He had no love for the Reapers, but he had a big mouth. The shiny car on the back of my tow truck was already a magnet for rumors. There was no doubt that people would be talking soon enough, and his voice would be plenty loud.
"Just tell me one thing," Kara said. "And I think I'll know if you're lying. You’re part of what happened to me, aren’t you? You work with them. That's why you were on the scene so quickly. You know what happened before I even told you! Those biker pricks are your friends…"
I felt my hands go into fists and I swallowed hard. She didn’t know my story, and the fact that she thought she had me pegged made me see red. “They're not my friends,” I growled, though I got myself under control after a second. “But I am working with them. At least, I was.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I reached for her, and to my surprise she didn’t back away from me when my hand drifted to her shoulder. “I don’t do this shit by choice… And besides, this isn’t how it’s supposed to work. The Reapers usually scare people into abandoning their car. I’ve never seen them take a shot at someone. Seeing you in that car slumped over the airbag… You weren't just some nobody, not to me. They’ll come looking for you and if they find you here…” I took a breath and wondered exactly how much I should say, and then realized that anything I left unsaid now would probably never see the light of day.
If I didn't convince her to come with me, I may as well chuck her Bentley in the river. She’d never get it back. The Reapers would figure out where she was, and they’d know exactly what to do with a girl like this…
“I’m the only one who can keep you safe tonight.”
Kara interrupted me before I could tell her I was interested in more than just her body. Although I certainly had plenty of uses for that too…
"All right," she said. "I think I trust you. Let me just go in and tell Vince?"
I nodded. "Don’t tell him why you’re leaving."
Kara nodded. "I may be new here, but I wasn't born yesterday. If I can't charm the pants off that old man and get my deposit returned, he’s free to keep it."
I turned around and went back to the tow truck, and no less than thirty seconds later Kara climbed up into the cab and sat down beside me. I started it up, and we were off.
There was only one place left to go. One place I was sure I could keep her safe for the night.
My place…
Chapter 10
Kara
Everything was rapidly spinning out of control. I didn’t even bother to ask him where he was taking me.
I sighed, letting out the air in my lungs in a low, slow exhale. It had been what, fifteen hours since the flight had been canceled? Sixteen? That damn tornado couldn’t have done more damage to my life if it had landed smack on my head. I felt like Dorothy, plucked up from one spot and plunked down in another. When would I meet the munchkins? When would the dreary dark world give way to the technicolor dream?
Probably never, I told myself. This is the real world, not some old book, remember? You're making these choices, and you're making them badly.
But part of me didn't really agree with that. I’d done what I had to do to keep my life moving forward.
Of course, the world had other plans for me…
I guess the next couple of days would be the real test, though. If I made it to Orlando in time, it would all be worth it. Whatever I had to do here to make that happen, I was bound and determined to do. If the only guy who could fix the car was concerned about the motel he'd taken me to in the first place, then I wouldn't stay in it. If he told the sky was green, I'd look up into its wide blue reaches and I'd agree with him. Whatever it took. I didn’t need any more run-ins with bikers. I just needed four wheels and a tank of gas.
Dane seemed to be calming down as we drove. I was certainly getting the vibe that I'd be in danger if I stayed at the motel. It was strange. I didn't exactly know I was embroiled in, but it had obviously hurt him to tell me the truth about it. I was a fool for getting back into his truck. If he was working with these bikers, did that make him a criminal as well? Probably. He’d have reasons for what he’d done, but all criminals did.
For a brief second, I wondered why I’d climbed back into his truck… but I knew the truth.
There had been something in his voice. I believed them. He told me that he looked at things differently once he saw me in the car. He said I was in danger. He said he would keep me safe. I wanted to believe him.
I needed to.
But there was another reason I’d went with him… It seemed so silly that I had to hide my smile behind my hand and turn towards the window so that Dane wouldn't see it. Who was I kidding? I knew what Dane wanted from me…
You only live one, after all.
"So," I said, once I got that foolish smile off my face and regained a bit of composure, "are you going to tell me where you're taking me, or am I a hostage now?"
He didn't know whether I was serious or not about the kidnapping thing, and I could tell by the way he was sitting, constantly checking his mirrors, that we were in a little deeper than I'd first given the situation credit for. "You're not going to like it," he said.
I shrugged. "Does it matter? After the day I’ve had nothing would surprise me."
Dane nodded. "I'd really like to be wrong about all of this, but I don't think I am. This car is too valuable, and that means the driver is pretty valuable too. They won’t just let you go."
"So where are you going to hide me then?"
Dane looked at me, and there was a twinkle in his eye. "Hide you? Sweetheart, didn't you ever sing that song when you were in church? I'm not going to hide your light under a bushel. You're gorgeous. I'm going to have you on my arm as long as I can, until I can get that damn car fixed. It's the Bentley that I'm going to stash out of sight."
There was a lot to digest. Firstly, this guy was being far too forward. He was joking about a relationship we didn't have, hell, one that we wouldn't even have time to have if things went well. But I liked it anyway. That casual familiarity… the playful, almost jovial sexuality of him telling me how attracted he was to me like it was an everyday thing…
I didn’t mind the game. If anything, it would pass the time a little faster.
But hiding the Bentley, that was new. "I assume you really do have a garage,” I said. “And I’m sure those bikers know exactly where it is."
Dane snapped his fingers. "Very true. But, since I'm still driving you somewhere to hide your car, I'm either crazy, or…"
I frowned. "Or… Or you're going to just drive me and the tow truck and the Bentley to Orlando right now?" It wasn't a bad idea, not really. Of course, the top speed of this clunker would mean that it would take us a couple of weeks to arrive, if either one of us could afford the gas bill that it would take to haul the big Bentley down to Florida.
“We wouldn’t get far. This town has one road in and one road out. The Reapers are going to be watching it.”
“If we’re not leaving tonight, where are we going?”
Dane shook his head. "I have two garages. My dad and I, we used to race cars together. He's gone now, but his garage isn't. The Reapers haven’t been in town long enough to know about it. Nobody will find either you or the car there. Even if they do, bikers aren’t well-loved around here and I’ve got plenty of friends. My family sure as hell won't let any Reapers on the property, I can assure you of that."
I nodded, though there was something wrong with that logic. "If your family is so just and your friends aren’t so bad, why’d you get in bed with the bad guys?"
"That's a good question."
I noticed
that he didn't answer it. As we drove through the night we got farther and farther from the tiny strip of buildings you might call the main part of town. Before too long the truck started to wind into the foothills of somewhere else and I saw his stance and body language change. He seemed to relax, and I started to think maybe I wasn’t so crazy for coming with him.
Chapter 11
The property, when we finally arrived, was a lot more than I expected to be. The picture I'd been building in my mind had been a sprawling one with dilapidated sheds and abandoned cars; a junkyard crossed with some type of hillbilly Appalachian moonshine production facility.
That wasn't what we drove into. The road was gravel, but it was straight as an arrow. There were tall, stately trees on either side of it that led to an elegant, well-built house that didn't look like it had seen better days. It may have been old, but it was loved and cared for.
Dean didn't even slow down. I looked back at it, and through the dust that the tow truck was kicking up I saw that there was a single light on in one of the upper rooms. That was it. That big place and just the one light.
"Where's your family?" I asked.
"They're all still here," Dean said, without glancing over.
I shut up. It wasn't any of my business, anyway. If he wanted to be mysterious, so be it. If I was staying here, even if only for the night, I may find out the truth of it.
I could be patient. After all, I'd spent my whole life chasing the same damn thing. If that didn't show off how much perseverance I had, I don't know what did.
We continued up the road, and once we got close enough to a big, metal shed at the end of it he hit a button on a remote control was tucked into his visor. The door rolled open, and Dane swung the tow truck around with expert skill and backed into it.