Thrill Ride

by Lane Hart

  Son of a bitch.

  Why doesn’t she sound surprised or even upset about the fact that she knows the truth about me? It only sounds like she’s…worried I’ll get caught. If Van hadn’t seen her getting rid of the cop, I wouldn’t have believed her in a thousand years.

  “You’re right,” I say. “We do need to get the hell out of here.”

  Spinning her around, I toss her over my shoulder and then jog toward the meeting spot we decided on, where Van will come and pick me up. Sawyer should be out by now, or will be soon, and as soon as he is, they’ll come for me at the intersection we planned for if any of us had to make a run for it. There’s a wooded area that makes for a great hiding spot until we can rendezvous and can get the fuck out of here.

  “Wait!” Libby calls out. I expect her to demand I put her down and leave her here, which isn’t going to happen. Instead, though, she says, “Carter’s car is still here!”

  So, she’s worried about the vehicle more than the fact that I’m taking her with us?

  “We’re leaving it,” I tell her. “The police will find it when the bank reports the robbery tomorrow.”

  Right now, the most important thing for us to do is disappear with the cash. And then, I can finally try to get some answers out of her.

  Libby

  “What the fuck is she doing here?” Sawyer exclaims after Hendrix lowers me inside of a black van.

  “That’s what I want to know too.” I recognize Van’s voice as the man in the driver seat, a black ski mask still covering his face.

  “Drive,” Hendrix orders, taking a seat beside me on the floor of the empty cargo compartment and pulling his ski mask and headlamp off. But Van doesn’t move the vehicle. His neck is still turned, waiting for Hendrix to provide an explanation for why I showed up to the bank they were robbing at the time they were robbing it.

  “She saved our asses, okay? Now drive!” Hendrix yells.

  Grumbling what sounds like a curse under his breath, Van finally turns around. The van lurches forward down the dark street a moment later.

  “Where are we going?” I ask Hendrix.

  “You’ll see when we get there,” he mutters.

  “She shouldn’t fucking be here,” Sawyer huffs from his seat across from us.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Hendrix says.

  “Well, I am worried, and you should be too!” he shouts back at him. “What if she turns us in?” He sends a glare in my direction that I catch, thanks to the passing street lights.

  “I won’t turn you in,” I say.

  “She won’t turn us in,” Hendrix responds to get through to his friend. “I’ll make damn sure of it.”

  “You’ve lost your shit, man,” Sawyer grumbles and Hendrix doesn’t respond.

  A half an hour or so later, we slow down and then stop in the driveway of what looks like a suburban, two-story house just long enough for the garage door to lift. It’s not Hendrix’s house so I have no clue who lives here.

  “Where are we?” I ask Hendrix when he opens the van door after the garage door goes down again.

  “A place no one will look for us,” he answers as he throws a backpack over his shoulder and takes my hand to help me down, and then leads me into the dark house.

  “Any lights in this place?” I ask, as I start to stumble up a set of stairs after him.

  “No.”

  Okay then.

  Inside one of the rooms on the second floor, Hendrix shuts the door behind me, and I hear a click as he locks it. There’s a thumping sound, like he dropped his backpack in the empty room, then he says, “Give me your phone.”

  “Ah, I don’t have it. I left it back in the car,” I tell him.

  Instead of taking my word for it, Hendrix’s palms slap down on my front jeans pockets, feeling around them before checking both back pockets over my ass to make sure.

  “My phone is in the car,” I reiterate, a little angry he doesn’t believe me. “And why did you turn your phone off? I tried to call you! If you had answered, then I wouldn’t have shown up!”

  Reaching one big hand up to wrap it around the side of my neck, he leans in and says through clenched teeth, “You still haven’t told me how the fuck you knew where I would be and when. Start talking, Libby.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I tell him as I place my hands on his shoulders and press my lips to his throat. “I know what and who you are, Hendrix Blake, and I don’t care.”

  “How?” he asks, his deep voice sounding a little less angry. I can even feel some of the tension leaving his body. Still, I could almost swear that I hear his heart pounding. Maybe that’s mine because if Hendrix knew that it’s all been a lie, he would never forgive me. And what may have started as a job for me turned into something more.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I repeat, as my hands start gathering and bunching up the material of his black long-sleeve tee before I lift it over his head.

  “Libby?” Hendrix grumbles in warning, but he still raises his arms for me to pull his shirt all the way off.

  “Yes?” I ask, splaying my palms over his warm chest, placing one right on top of his racing heart.

  “Talk to me,” he says, his voice deepening.

  “I don’t want to talk,” I whisper as I slide my palms down his abs, stopping at his pants. Once the button is popped, I lower his zipper and then push his pants and underwear down his muscular thighs. Dropping to my knees, I tug them lower to his calves.

  “Libby!” Hendrix says again. This time, his tone is thunderous when he reaches down and grabs a fistful of the back of my hair, holding my head in place like he’s trying to decide if he should jerk me up to my feet by it or not while I keep working on removing his shoes and finish undressing him.

  Finally naked, Hendrix looks like a god towering over me. His face is hidden by the darkness, but all the lines of his muscular body are illuminated by the moonlight spilling through the window. I can’t help but drink him in, taking in every inch of his stunning body, from his broad, strong shoulders down to the deep V of his hips and his hard cock jutting up towards his ripped abs.

  Desire apparently wins the war inside of him because he pushes my face into his pelvis instead of pulling me up. His hard cock presses into my cheek so I open wide to take his sac into my mouth, rolling one of his balls around with my tongue.

  “Jesus, woman,” Hendrix grunts from above me, now thoroughly distracted as I lick and suck my way up to his shaft before taking his length as deep into my throat as I possibly can. Hendrix releases my hair to cup the back of my head, guiding me up and down his cock until I start to taste his salty flavor.

  Pulling back, I look up at his face that I can barely make out in the darkness, and tell him, “I want you inside me, Hendrix.”

  “Fuck,” he groans, and then he’s on his knees in front of me, hands searching for my face to kiss me. Once our mouths are connected, he goes to work removing my top and then undoing my jeans. A second later, he’s picking me up and laying me on my back to finish the job, removing my shoes and then my bottoms while his lips leave trails up and down the insides of my thighs. As soon as I’m naked, his face is between my legs, the tip of his tongue teasing my flesh. He devours me like a starving man, licking and nipping and teasing me until I'm nothing more than a quivering mess beneath him.

  Unable to wait another second, my fingers spear through his thick hair, pulling him closer, demanding more even though I know I should be pushing him away.

  “Hendrix, please,” I beg, as I try to pull him up my body because I need him, all of him.

  “I don’t have any condoms,” he says when he’s above me, his dark, piercing gaze locked with mine, his hips cradled between my spread thighs. A slight smile curves his lips before he adds, “Didn’t think we needed any to rob a bank.”

  “That’s…it’s okay,” I tell him between panting breaths. “Just don’t, you know…inside me…”

  “I won’t,” he says before his mouth crashes dow
n on mine.

  Hendrix kisses me so deep and passionately that all the secrets I’ve been keeping from him seem to dissolve away, like they happened a million years ago. That was all before.

  Before I met Hendrix.

  Before he saved my life.

  Before I started to fall for him.

  Before his flesh merged with mine, joining the two of us together in a way that makes me certain nothing will ever be the same.

  Still, I can’t help but worry about what happens after?

  Chapter 17

  Hendrix

  Being with Libby is fucking amazing and I don’t know if that’s because it’s her or if it’s because she knows…everything.

  Never in a million years did I expect her to show up at the bank, saving my ass last night.

  Is it the fact that Libby knows all of my secrets that makes me feel closer to her, like she’s my missing half?

  Our first time together was epic. It was more than sex. It felt like a union of sorts, one even more significant than a marriage.

  As she lies on her side next to me, face resting on her arm as she sleeps and her blonde hair glowing like an angel in the sunlight filtering in from the window, I know without a doubt that I’m in love with her.

  That sudden epiphany makes me want to wake her up and take her again, but she looks so peaceful that I can’t disturb her.

  Instead, I decide to get dressed and go downstairs to find us some breakfast. The house is stocked with some nonperishable groceries in case we have to hide out here for a few days. I need to check with Van and Sawyer to see if they’ve heard anything over the police scanner.

  Ideally, we’ll be able to get a flight out before nine a.m., when the bank opens and will surely realize they’ve been wiped out.

  As I make my way down the stairs, there’s still a smile on my face threatening to split it in half. Or it was, until I step into the kitchen and find Van and Sawyer standing against the counter with their arms crossed over their chests, scowling at me.

  “What?” I ask.

  “More like, what the fuck was she doing there last night?” Van shouts.

  “I’m not sure,” I admit, since we didn’t spend much of the night talking. “But I’m glad she was, or our asses would all probably be locked up right now if she hadn’t turned that cop away. That’s on you, by the way. I thought you said they only had cameras!”

  “You told her…” Sawyer starts, sounding hurt that I betrayed their trust when I didn’t.

  “I didn’t tell her shit,” I assure him. “I swear. You know I would never chance anyone finding out.”

  “Then how the hell did she know? Either you’re lying, or…” Van starts.

  “Or what?” I grit through my clenched teeth.

  “She’s a cop.”

  Barking out a laugh at the absurdity of that statement, I tell him, “Libby’s not a fucking cop. She’s just a waitress.”

  “A shitty waitress. She could be working undercover,” Van offers.

  “That’s preposterous and you know it!” I reply.

  “You’re fucking her, so your opinion is a little biased, don’t you think?” Sawyer says, getting in my face, and then his finger is poking me in my chest. “This is exactly what your Pop warned us about.”

  Shoving him backward, I wave a hand toward the kitchen window and say, “In case you haven’t noticed, there are no cops surrounding the place. We. Got. Away. If she was on anyone’s payroll, they would’ve busted us by now.”

  Van and Sawyer exchange a look that I can’t read.

  “Then how did she know exactly when and where we were robbing a goddamn bank last night?” Van asks.

  “I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “We’ve been…getting closer. Maybe she was just following me, trying to see if I’m fucking around on her.”

  “So, she’s a stalker?” Van asks. “And she saw you lift the van from the car lot?”

  “Maybe,” I answer with a shrug. “That’s a helluva lot more reasonable than her being a fucking LEO. Women do that kind of crazy shit, especially one who has been holding out on me for weeks because she knows my reputation.”

  Sawyer and Van share another silent look.

  “You do fuck around a lot,” Van supplies.

  “I know, right?” I say with a smile, glad that they’re finally coming around to the idea that Libby isn’t our enemy.

  “But you broke the rules,” Sawyer says, not ready to give up on his witch hunt.

  “I didn’t tell her!” I say again.

  “You brought her here with us last night,” he points out.

  “So what?” I scoff. “She saved our asses by getting herself involved, so we owe it to her to keep her from going down for us.”

  “She’s got you by the balls and you don’t even fucking realize it, man,” Sawyer says with a shake of his head. “We’re too close to the end for you to get involved with some woman and have it blow up in all of our faces!”

  “Nothing is blowing up because of her,” I assure them. “We can trust Libby.”

  “I don’t,” Sawyer replies right away.

  “Me either,” Van adds. “There’s something about her…”

  “You’re both just fucking jealous,” I challenge.

  “Oh, for the love of god, bro, please pull your head out of your ass!” Sawyer groans. “You broke the rules for her!”

  “Fuck the rules!” I spit. “They’re stupid rules my father gave us because he wasn’t smart enough to avoid getting screwed over!”

  “Maybe,” Van says. “Maybe not. He might be right in this situation though.”

  “Look, you know what? I don’t care if you trust her or not,” I reply. “I’m in charge here, always have been, and I’m not getting rid of her.”

  “What do you mean, you’re not getting rid of her?” Van asks. “If all goes well, we’re leaving in a few hours, adios United States and everyone in it.”

  “I want her to come too,” I admit.

  “Jesus fucking Christ!” Sawyer exclaims at the same time Van mutters, “Fucking hell.”

  “Do you even hear yourself right now?” Sawyer asks. “This is our plan. Ours! Not for you to drag along some bitch you just met!”

  Grabbing him up with both my hands on his shirt collar, I slam him against the counter before getting in his face. “Don’t you ever call her that again, or I’ll leave your ass here.”

  “Your love life has consequences for all of us, whether you can see that or not, Hendrix,” he says. “So, get your shit together or everything the three of us have worked ten long years for is going to fall apart!”

  Blowing out a breath, I finally let him go and take a step back.

  “What do you really know about her, man?” Van asks.

  “Fine, I’ll go by her place and do some digging, see if anything shady comes up, even if it’s pointless,” I concede, just to make them happy. It feels like I’m deceiving Libby just by considering snooping around her place for dirt, but Van and Sawyer won’t give it a rest until I do my due diligence and convince them we can trust her to leave the country with us. Besides, I can pack her shit for her while I’m there, and then she’ll have no reason to refuse to come with us.

  “Leaving here is risky,” Van warns.

  “I know,” I tell him. “But I’ll be careful, and I’ll hurry.”

  “What are you planning on driving?” Sawyer asks. “The van we robbed a bank with last night?”

  “No, asshole,” I respond. “I’m not an idiot. I’ll steal a nondescript car from the neighborhood.”

  “Like that’s any fucking better,” Sawyer grumbles.

  “Make the flight arrangements for a private plane for four while I’m gone,” I tell Van. “As close to nine a.m. as possible.”

  “That’s only two and a half hours from now,” he points out.

  “Then you fuckers better be ready to go,” I reply, since I know for a fact my girl and I will be ready. “Don’t let Libby le
ave this house!” I warn the guys before I take off out the back door.

  …

  Libby

  I wake up alone on an uncomfortable carpeted floor in an empty bedroom, naked, except for my shirt that’s been draped over part of my body.

  It’s not the best way to start the day, that’s for sure. But then I remember last night, being with Hendrix for the first time after he was thankfully not caught robbing a bank. He held me all night long and it was amazing. So amazing that I know I won’t ever regret leaving with him. I think my mom would understand if she knew the reason for why I’m about to disappear off the map. She never had a man who loved her enough to stick around, not even when she got pregnant with me. Someway, eventually, I’ll find a way to get in touch with her, to let her know I’m okay and safe.

  For now, I need to get out of this depressing room. I pull on the clothes I was wearing the night before and then head out across the hall to the bathroom.

  Since I don’t see Hendrix or anyone else upstairs, I go down the stairs and find Van on his cell phone, pacing, and Sawyer sitting on top of the kitchen counter, glaring at me.

  “Morning,” I say. He doesn’t respond. Okay then. “Have you seen Hendrix?”

  “He left.”

  “Left?” I ask.

  “You look worried. Why?” Sawyer asks.

  “Well, should he really be out in public after last night?” I ask while chewing nervously on my thumbnail.

  “No, he shouldn’t.”

  “Then why? Why would he go out?”

  “Because you have him taking chances he never would have taken before,” Sawyer snaps. He jumps down off the counter and gets in my face. “And if you rat us out, so help me god, I will kill you.”

  “I’m not…I won’t,” I assure him.

  “Sawyer, back off!” Van shouts when he comes in the room and pushes the other man back a few steps. “Everything is all set. Private flight leaves at eight-forty-five, so now we just have to wait for Hendrix to get back and we’re all set.”