It was a beautiful view, though, and I savored it. The morning sky was a gorgeous blend of velvety pink, amber, and blue. The mountains hid the rising sun, so the sunlight was a dusky color. I couldn’t look away. There was something about the sky, about the vastness of it all, that gave me something akin to hope. Like maybe this wasn’t the beginning of my journey to death’s door. Maybe I’d find the freedom I sought and build a new life for myself elsewhere.

Maybe.

My whole fucking future hinged on uncertainty. And that sucked.

“A fucking possibility,” I grumbled to myself. It wasn’t enough. I was a smart girl. Ronan gave us the best education. We had the best of everything. What the fuck happened? Why hadn’t he come looking for me?

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I stood tall and looked forward instead of up to the cloudless sky. My future was ahead—not behind or above—and I needed to remember that.

A low chuckle pulled me out of my musings, and my gaze found a pair of laughing gray eyes trained right on me. I should have been afraid, worried, but I was mostly annoyed.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” I said in my snarkiest tone.

The gray-eyed biker smiled wider and, holy shit, it was a magnificent sight. Magnificent and annoying.

“That smart mouth of yours is probably the cause for that black eye.”

His words brought be down to reality. This man wasn’t flirting, no matter how gorgeous he was. His words reminded me of what men were like. What they were really like.

“Fuck you. Glad to see how you treat the women in your life. Dick.”

His laugh echoed in the mostly empty parking lot just as Tits pushed out of the convenience store. She sighed at me when she saw me talking to the guy.

“I got you more smokes and some snacks, Blue Eyes.” She gave him a wary eye and said low so he wouldn’t hear, “I can get you out of the Green Zone but after that, you’re on your own.”

“I get it,” I told her softly because I did get it. Rules were rules, and Tits had already put herself at great risk to help me. I held up my cigarette, and she nodded, getting the message I just wanted to finish my smoke before I moved on.

“I can’t make enemies of these crazy fucks, babe. They’ll be on the warpath once they find you missing. Dealio just called and said some bad shit went down at the club which means he’ll need a good hard face ride to put it out of his mind.”

“What happened?” Any hints about the battle ahead of me would be useful.

“Don’t know,” she shrugged. “He didn’t say, only that some shit went down, and he could use his girl.”

“You probably shouldn’t keep him waiting.” I pushed off the car and flicked my cigarette into a nearby puddle before turning back to Tits.

“Thanks, Tits. For everything. You didn’t have to do this, but you did and someday I’ll pay you back for that, I swear.”

Big tears pricked my eyes before spilling down my cheeks, which was fucking crazy because I hadn’t cried since the first time the Jacks held me down and fucked every hole I had. That very first degrading humiliation. In a way, it was comforting to know there were things that could still make me cry, and apparently simple human kindness was one of those things.

“Thanks.”

“Us girls have to stick together, Blue Eyes. Keep a low profile until you find a way out of town.” She handed me a wad of bills, hugged me tight and slid into her El Dorado.

“Stay safe,” she said finally when I reached inside for the big canvas bag filled with my earthly possessions.

“I’ll do my best, Tits.”

I stood back and watched her drive away. The woman who had saved me, had given me a chance at a life. I owed her more than I could ever repay, but one day I would.

I hoped.

“You need a ride somewhere, Blue Eyes?”

The question from the gray-eyed prick surprised me, at first.

I snorted a laugh and shook my head. “I don’t fuck for rides.”

The corners of his mouth curled into a playful grin that, at another time, I might have found intriguing. “What do you fuck for then?”

That was easy. “Not for joy, that’s for sure. You got any money?” I couldn’t even muster up an ounce of pleasure at the fact that my words wiped that smirk right off his handsome face.

“Maybe,” he said with a casual shrug. “The offer for the ride still stands though.”

Ah, a nice guy. Wasn’t sure those even existed anymore, especially among bikers. “Thanks. Come back when I think of someplace to go, and I might just take you up on it.”

Tags: K.B. Winters Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net