Page 87 of Ride Hard
I snorted, struggling to hold in my tears. I hadn’t expected him,either.
“I’ve struggled…” He sighed and leaned back in the seat. “It’s not easy letting hergo.”
“I can’t make you do anything,” I said, my throat burning. “But I can’t play this game anymore. Iwon’t.”
“Sloane…”
“You can’t give her up, I understand that. That’s why I need to walk away. I need to protect myself.” The words struck deep in my heart, and it was all I could do to keep it together. “You need to get out of the car,Chaser.”
“Sloane,” he said. “You don’tunderstand.”
“I do. More than yourealize.”
His hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist. I struggled against his hold, but he was still a sight stronger than I was even with the bloodloss.
“Get out.” Isnarled.
“No.” His iridescent eyes blazed, burning into mine like liquidfire.
I stared at him, completelylost.
“I have feelings for you, Sloane,” he declared. “I don’t know what the fuck they are, but I’m not going to let them go. I’m not going to let you go. I’m yours to command. You want to run away? Let’s fucking go. Rightnow.”
“Mine?” I whispered, completelydumbfounded.
His eyes narrowed. “You need a fucking roadmap?”
I shook my head, and before I could catch my breath, his lips metmine.
We kissed. Long, slow, andhard. Just how I likedit.
When he pulled away, he sighed, his fingers stroking through myhair.
“Ride hard, Sloane,” he whispered. “Ridehard.”
“Where?” I asked. “Ridewhere?”
Nothing was solved. Nothing at all. My father was still after me, and so were these fucked up Hollow Men. Chaser and I were finally on the same pagebut…
“Full disclosure,” Imurmured.
Chaser nodded. “Fulldisclosure.”
“My father,” I began. “Why does he really want me? It’s not about his pride, isit?”
His eyes narrowed, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he was about tosay.
“He always knew where youwere.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t a coincidence I turned up at the strip club that night.” He snorted and tightened his hands around my wrists. “It was meant to be an easy job. I was given an address, a description, and a destination. Everything that happened after I first laid eyes onyou…”
“Wasn’t meant to happen,” I finished forhim.
“No.”
“Way to make a girl feelspecial.”
