Ride Hard (Raven Riders 1)

“Sure,” she said, trying to fend off the irrational feelings of defeat and resignation threatening to swamp her. It was all for her own good, after all. Right?

“And one more thing,” he said. “Just to be on the safe side, we think . . . well . . . you gotta change the hair. The length makes you stand out, and it’s identifiable from a distance. It might be overkill, but we have to assume the worst—that your father knows you’re in the greater Baltimore area and that you were taken by the team operating out of Hard Ink. It wouldn’t take too much digging for someone with the right skills and motivation to tease that trail in this direction, and we’ve got a race open to the public next weekend, so . . .”

Her hair? She had to change her hair? Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes, and she ducked her chin to her chest. After everything else he’d said, her reaction to the idea of cutting her hair was probably ridiculous. It was a little thing in the greater scheme of things. And it would grow back, of course. But then why did it make her stomach hurt and her shoulders sag?

It’s for your own good, it’s for your own good.

She repeated the mantra in her mind and shook her head. “Okay,” she said. “How should I, uh, go about that?”

“Oh, uh,” he said, looking uncomfortable. “I’ll take you somewhere. Or something. Let me figure that out.”

A fast nod and lots of blinking. When she was sure her voice wasn’t going to crack, she said, “Thank you, for all of this. It’s pretty amazing that you’d help complete strangers.” Although, she didn’t feel like a stranger to Dare. Not even a little, and that made that hollow space inside her chest ache even more. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the reward sooner. I just . . . it wasn’t . . .” She shook her head again. “Just, I’m sorry.”

Dare stepped closer and bent down so he could look at her eye to eye. “I get why you did what you did. Okay? I’m not pissed about that. Not anymore,” he said.

His closeness stole her breath, and suddenly Haven found herself trembling for reasons that had nothing to do with how overwhelmed she felt. As her gaze scanned over his darkly handsome face, she licked her lips, hungry for a taste of him. Hungry for everything, with him. And that feeling beckoned words she didn’t mean to say out loud.

“Will I get to see you . . . after?” Heat flooded into her cheeks at everything the question potentially revealed. But she probably didn’t have time to play games or be subtle or wait to see how things worked out, did she?

His eyes narrowed. “After you’re relocated?”

She nodded.

“No,” he said, neither his eyes nor his expression revealing anything about how that made him feel. “It would be sorta like the witness protection program. New name. New home. No contact with anyone or anywhere from your old life.”

“Oh, of course,” she said, her tone sounding a heck of a lot more normal than she felt. Because she would be giving up not only the one place she’d ever felt safe but the one man who had ever made her feel safe, too. And, of course, safe was only just one of the things Dare made Haven feel. And maybe not even the most important—which was saying something for someone who’d lived the way she had for so very long. “And when would we leave?”

“Could take as much as two weeks to get everything ready,” he said on a sigh. “Or it could be sooner. But I’ll keep you posted.”

Two weeks. Two weeks. She wanted to be happy about that. She wanted to feel like, oh yay, in two weeks I can finally have the life I’ve always wanted. Except she didn’t feel that way at all. Instead, it felt like the clock was ticking down all around her, marking the minutes and seconds until she’d have to give up some of the best things she’d ever found.

“Two weeks,” she said out loud. “Well, that sounds, uh, great.” The last thing she wanted was for him to think she wasn’t grateful, because she was. “Anything else?” she asked, suddenly wanting to flee, to be out from underneath the intensity of his too-observant gaze.

“No, but Haven—”

Two knocks against the door.

Haven startled at the sound coming from right behind her. She jumped out of the way as the door opened.

Maverick poked his head in. “Oh, sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Haven said. “We were all done. I think. Right?” She looked to Dare.

He frowned. “Yeah, about done.”

“Well, then, can I talk to you?” Maverick asked, looking to Dare.

“I’ll go,” Haven said, not even waiting for Dare to respond. She pulled the door open further and then slipped by Maverick. He seemed nice, which made her feel bad for him and Alexa, because it seemed like there was something between them. “Is Alexa okay?” she asked.