Ava
Istill can’t believe I’m doing this. When Cassie saw the bruise on my face and offered to help me, I knew it was going to be my only chance. She’s tried to get me to leave for a few weeks now, but there was no way I could go before the semester ended. I wasn’t going to throw away my degree because of some dumbass.
Today, as soon as my last exam was over, I got a text from Beau. He said he was tired of me hiding from him, and he was on his way over. I knew I had to go. Now I’m traveling across the country with only the clothes on my back, and I’m going to let some guy I know nothing about protect me. My teacher Cassie is a sweet woman and says I can trust her brother, but I have my doubts. I never trust anyone completely.
The train ride was twenty-five hours, and I couldn’t let myself sleep. All I could think about was Beau and his family following me, what the person I’m running to is like, and of course there are a few sketchy men on the train so there was definitely no letting my guard down. I was on edge for the whole ride, so by the time the train stops in Texas, I’m exhausted both physically and mentally.
I have one hand on my cross-body purse, and everyone has already disembarked. I stand looking around but realizing that I literally know nothing about the man I’m meeting. My phone is dead, and I can’t call Cassie, so instead I walk to the end of the platform and wait.
I’m about to give up when a motorcycle pulls into the lot and parks. The rider is a big barrel of a man with a determined look on his face. He’s huge compared to me, and the way he’s watching me has my insides fluttering. It makes me wish I had put something else on besides my yoga pants and a crop top with the school’s logo on it.
As he gets closer, I have to tilt my head back to look up at him. I should probably be worried. There’s hardly anyone left, and it seems like it’s just him and me.
“You’re Tank? You’re Cassie’s brother?” I ask him, not even trying to hide the surprise on my face. It’s hard to believe. Cassie is petite and not intimidating at all. Just being around her brings a calm over you. Her brother is nothing like that. Heck, looking at him makes my heart race.
He’s gruff and abrupt. “Yep. You ready?”
I nod, bite my lip, and then shake my head. “How do I know you’re who you say you are?”
He smirks and pulls out his wallet. I take it from him and read Tank Griffin. “Tank’s your real name?”
He grunts his answer before taking the ID from my hands and putting it back in his wallet.
I wipe at my eyes in exhaustion. “Fine. Honestly, at this point I’m too tired to care. You decide you want to kill me, can you do it painlessly please?”
My shoulders buckle in defeat, and I walk toward the bike.
He asks me where my bag is, and I shake my head. “I didn’t have time to grab anything.”
My head is down as I stand next to the huge machine. I’ve never been on a motorcycle before, but I’m pretty sure I need to wait for him to get on first. When he stops next to me, he puts his hand on my chin and pulls it up. “No one’s going to kill you. Fuck, no one’s going to hurt you. You’re with me now, and you’re safe.”
I inhale, my throat thick with emotion. Everything that has happened in the last few weeks are coming to a head. I’ve done my best to keep it together and focus on graduating, but just one little bit of compassion from a stranger has me ready to start bawling. I nod my head, biting my lip to keep the tears in.
He climbs onto the bike, and his voice is softer now, no doubt afraid I’m about to lose it on him or something. “Go ahead, honey. Get on.”
I get on the back of the bike and try to keep my distance from his back. He hooks his hands under my legs and pulls me down farther into the seat until my front is plastered to his back.
It’s like I land against him with a thump.
“Hold on.”
When I don’t lift my arms, he grabs my hands and pulls them around his big chest. “If you don’t hold on, you’ll fall off.”
I hold on then, and he gives me a quick lesson of what to do. Lean when he leans, tap on his shoulder if I need something, don’t let go.... it all goes in one ear and out the other as I squeeze my thighs around his waist. My hands barely fit around him, and I’m holding on to his chest, praying that I stay on.
He drives slowly down the road at first, letting me get used to it. A few miles down, he turns his head. “You doing okay?”
I nod and realize he can’t see me. “Yeah, I’m good.”
His massive hand wraps around my thigh and squeezes. “Hold on,” I hear him say over the roar of the engine.
He picks up speed, and I rest my cheek against his back. I realize now that I didn’t even ask him where we were going.