Page 9 of Heartbeat Highway

“You lying, fuckingcheater!”I hear from the hallway.

Shit. What did K do?

I slip into my shoes, grab my wallet, and run into the hall, in just enough time to see a blur of Lily heading toward the elevators.

“Lily,” I whisper, a second before I run after her. The elevator doors slam closed a second before I get there, so I sprint to the staircase. I may have already run ten miles on the treadmill today, but my heart’s pounding and my feet move of their own accord.Lily. If K did what I think he did—which isn’t that off brand for him—I’m going to kill him. Or watch while Lily justifiably disembowels him.

Why I thought I could outrun an elevator is anybody’s guess, but I burst into the hotel lobby, sweaty and panting, probably looking like a werewolf as I swivel three hundred and sixty degrees, looking for her.

There. Walking toward the front door of the lobby, her back heaving as she cries. Jesus Christ, everyone in the lobby completely ignores her. How is that fair?

“Lily!” I call as I chase after her, letting the automatic doors whoosh open and close around me.

It’s already sticky and humid, even this early in the morning. There’s a haze hanging in the sky, like a reverb that lingers a beat too long.

Ahead of me, Lily crosses the parking lot, her blond hair flying behind her. She must have bought a new dress, because it’s one I haven’t seen before. Knee high, printed with little flowers, the skirt fluttering around her legs. When I saw her in the hotel lobby, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

My opinion has not changed. What has is that my heart is now constricting because that fucker finally hurt her.

She stops at the driver’s side of a sedan that looks like it crossed the Smoky Mountains back in 1952. Where the hell did she find that thing? Tears stream down her face as she searches through her purse for her keys.

“Lily!” I dodge a car that ignores the stop sign and jog toward her. “Wait up!”

At my voice, she turns toward me, and then collapses against the side of the car, her breath heaving. I don’t stop moving until she’s in my arms, her head on my chest, her hair brushing my nose. All I can do is hold her, so she can let it all out. I glance toward the hotel, but K hasn’t even bothered to come after her. He probably can’t find his pants, or he got distracted by a fan in the lobby.

I don’t care. It gives me time with Lily, and that’s all I want.

“Did you know?” She sobs against my chest, showing no signs of wanting to move. “Did you know what he was doing?”

That confirms everything for me. He is such a douchebag.

“No. I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t know. I—I guessed, but nothing was ever confirmed.”

She cries harder, burying herself in my embrace, and if I could hold her like that forever, I would. “I have to get out of here,” she says, her voice heavy with tears.

“Let me drive.” I hold out my hand for her purse and she hands it over wordlessly. When she looks up at me, my heart shatters into ten million pieces. She loved him. Fuck me, I never considered that she might actually love K.

“What are we going to do?” she asks. I hand her a package of tissues from her purse and she wipes her nose with one of them.

“Impromptu road trip.” I dig through the purse and finally pull out a set of keys. “We’re supposed to be in Chattanooga tonight. We’ll start that way and figure out the rest from there.”

Slowly, she moves around to the passenger side of the car. When she lifts her head to meet my gaze, her expression is broken steel. “All right.”

CHAPTER 4

Lily

Bo findsa radio station on the ancient car stereo that plays a mix of country and pop. I stare out the window as we leave the city of Nashville behind and venture further into Tennessee. It’s pretty here, more like where I grew up in Wisconsin than the beach-industrial vibe of Los Angeles. But I don’t really give a damn about the scenery.

I can’t believe K cheated on me.

Okay. That’s not true. I can totally believe it.

What I really don’t believe is that I didn’t see it before now. How many red flags did I ignore because I didn’t want to lose the illusion of being wanted? I feel like I’ve stuck my face into a bowl of ice water.

I hug my arms around myself and my stomach growls.

“Are you cold?” Bo asks. He fiddles with the temperature dial.

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