Page 75 of Endurance

I’d tossed and turned all night long, and when my alarm went off at seven the following day, I knew I had to go to her and make things right. I was supposed to be at the track by eleven to help load the totors for the road trip. We were scheduled to leave for Texas tomorrow morning, needing to get there early for weigh-in and heat races, but I had no intention of doing anything until I fixed this mess with Kallie.

After a quick shower, I made it to her house by eight-thirty. Her car wasn’t parked in its usual spot in the driveway, and I wondered where she would be this early in the morning. It was too early for her to have left for the track. Worry for her whereabouts gnawed at me as I made my way to her front door and rang the bell, hoping she’d just decided to break with habit and park her car in the garage.

When she didn’t answer, I rang it a second time and tried the door handle. It was locked. Peeking through the sidelight window next to the door, I saw suitcases lined up in the hallway. I sucked in a surprised breath when I saw how many there were. A pit in my stomach began to grow. I had a sinking suspicion the bags were not packed for Texas. She didn’t need to pack that much for a week-long road trip.

Pulling my cell from my back pocket, I dialed her number. Again, there was no answer. Shoving a frustrated hand through my hair, I dialed Colton. I knew he would be at the track soon, assuming he wasn’t there already. With any luck, maybe Kallie was there too.

“Colton,” I said after my friend answered.

“Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Are you at the track by any chance?”

“I just got here.”

“Is Kallie there?” I asked, trying to keep the anxiousness out of my voice.

“I haven’t seen her. Why?”

“Ah, I fucked up. We had a stupid argument yesterday. She basically told me to go to hell—which is exactly where I went. Last night was one long, miserable night. Now I can’t find her.”

“Shit, man. You definitely have a way of stepping in it,” Colton said with a slight chuckle. “Can I do anything?”

“Not really. If you see her, can you just let me know and ask her to call me?”

“Will do.”

“Thanks.”

I ended the call and began to walk back to my car. I racked my brain, trying to think of who else I could call. I’d spent almost every day with Kallie over the past three months, making me all but certain she didn’t have any friends around here outside of my inner circle. I thought about calling Gabby to see if she’d heard from her, but quickly scratched the idea when I remembered I didn’t have her number.

Just as I reached for the door of my car, Kallie’s red BMW pulled into the driveway. I breathed a sigh of relief. Her gorgeous eyes were wide and steely when she saw me. She looked at me like she didn’t even know me as a civil war battled across her face.

When she climbed out of the car, I stared at her. She looked hot as hell in a red halter top and those cut-off jean shorts I loved. I could tell she was braless, reminding me so much of the first night we had sex in her backyard when all I had to do was yank at the ties on her neck to free those glorious tits.

With her arms folded across her chest, she stared back at me, hurt dimming her normally bright emerald depths. Deep blue and siren red flowed through her golden blonde ponytail, and I could tell she was angry. She had every right to be. I should have been straight with her—I shouldn’t have been so cruel. In her eyes, I was probably nothing more than a liar. The only defense I had was the truth. But first, I needed to feel her in my arms.

Quickly crossing the distance between us, I wrapped my arms around her. She stiffened and didn’t hug me back. I didn’t care. All that mattered was that she was here.

“I was worried when I didn’t know where you were,” I murmured as I fingered the red and blue streaks in her hair. I pulled back to look at her. “Do I dare ask what the red means?”

“Red is the color of the devil. It’s what I wear when I’m flaming mad.”

I chuckled at her no-nonsense tone even though I knew I shouldn’t, considering the seriousness of the moment. My only excuse was that I was giddy with relief, knowing she hadn’t run off somewhere.

“I’m sorry, Kallie,” I earnestly said as I stroked my hands up and down her arms.

“I don’t want to hear your apology,” she said stiffly. “You’ve already said enough.”

“No, actually, I haven’t. All I did was say all the wrong things. I came here today to tell you what I should have right from the get-go yesterday. I didn’t take those pills.”

She blinked, seeming confused.

“You didn’t?”

“Not a single one. After you left, I flushed them.”

“Why didn’t you just say so yesterday instead of leading me to believe you did?”

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