Page 63 of Ride Hard
Sloane
Ispentthe rest of the afternoon sulking—for lack of a betterword.
We were back in the car, my Poli Sci textbook was floating somewhere in a lake behind us, and I was still drowning in an emotional limbo the size of the state ofTexas.
We were driving through a long, flat expanse of nothingness. We were alone. No other cars or trucks had passed us for some time, and if I had it in me to pretend, then maybe Chaser and I would be the only two people left on the planet. I wished the world had ended and everyone else was gone. I could do it. Survive in a world like that. The brutality of it was more romantic than the life waiting for me back atFortitude.
Alone in a long, flat expanse of nothingness. It was an epic metaphor for my current state of mind. Our pit stop back at the lake had been magical…until I’d given Chaser an ultimatum like a fuckingidiot.
Push too hard and you could lose everything.Words of wisdom rightthere.
“I wish you’d tell me what is going on,” I said, studying the horizon. “It would make me feel a lotbetter.”
“You keep asking, and I keep saying nothing,” Chaserdrawled.
“Don’t remind me. I feel like I’m on a fucking merry-go-round I’m not allowed to getoff.”
“Full disclosure?” he asked, raising aneyebrow.
“Fulldisclosure.”
“We’re beingfollowed.”
“Huh?” I twisted around in the seat and looked out the back window. Sure enough, a black car was trailing us. It was a fair way behind, so I couldn’t see who was behind the wheel or how many people were inside. “How do youknow?”
“I’ve been watching them for the pasthour.”
“An hour? Why didn’t you sayanything?”
Chaser grunted. “Because you don’t need to know the details. You just need to sitthere.”
“If that’s what you think I’m going to do, you haven’t learned a single thing about me,” I muttered tomyself.
Glancing over my shoulder, I shuddered. They were here for me. It didn’t make me feel any better that Chaser was here with his macho alpha bravado. He’d already killed four men to save my life, but this time was different. We were on an open road in the middle of a dustbowl.
So much for taking the back roads to shake them and the cops off our tail. We were gonna die outhere.
“So what do we do?” I asked, scowling. “Outrun them? Turn andfight?”
“We’re on a secluded highway, and the closest town is miles away. We can’t outrun them in this car,” he replied. “And this isn’t the WildWest.”
“Technically it is, you know.” Ipouted.
“Sloane.”
“So we’re screwed?” I turned, watching the dark-colored car loom behindus.
“Slightly.”
“That’s justgreat. Who are theseguys?”
“Not the time to ask,Sloane.”
I felt the car slow, and my heart jackhammered in mychest.
“What are you doing?” Idemanded.
“They’re gaining,” he replied. “They’re making theirmove.”
