about going all the way back east near Boston, to see my sister.”
“Okay.”
Chuckling again he said, “Okay, what?”
“Boston. That sounds okay.”
She was running from something, and he was already in trouble. He wasn’t taking her all the way to Boston. He decided he’d take her to the next town and then he’d tell her that was as far as she was going, with him, anyway. He helped her stand up straight again and handed her the helmet. His core tightened when she reached back and pulled the elastic band out of her hair. It came tumbling down like an avalanche of dark, spun silk, and his fingers itched to touch it. He would have liked to help her onto the bike, but he was too big, he had to get on first. He climbed on and then felt her put a shaky hand on his shoulder before throwing her leg over. She let out another small grunt that sounded like she wanted to scream but was holding back. He felt her settle against the “sissy bar” behind him. The guys gave him shit about it all the time since he didn’t have an old lady, but now he was glad he had it.
“You on?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to stay on, you best get a grip on me.” Timidly, she wrapped her arms around him; they barely reached. “Grab onto my shirt, tight.” She had to snuggle in closer to do as he asked and his whole body responded. Swallowing the softball-sized lump in his throat he said, “Don’t let go. I don’t want to lose you. You ever been on the back of a bike?”
“No.”
“Well, don’t worry, I ain’t lost nobody yet.” She didn’t respond to that, but he felt her grip his shirt a little tighter, and he had to remind himself that he couldn’t keep her. His mother used to complain all the time about him collecting strays. He brought home cats and dogs, baby alligators and injured raccoons. A plethora of birds let their wings mend in a box in his bedroom, and once he’d even tried to keep a water snake, but that was where his mother had drawn the line. This was the first human stray he’d ever found, but damn if he didn’t already want to keep her.
3
Razor stopped the bike and waited for Kayleigh to slide off. She pulled off the helmet he’d given her and her still partly bound, dark hair, fell in wisps along the sides of her face. Her hazel eyes took in where they were and then looked accusingly at him. “Why are we at a bus station?”
“Welp, you didn’t give me a destination, just said you wanted to go anywhere, so here we are…Anywhere, Alabama with a bus that’ll connect you to Anywhere, USA.” He didn’t want to leave her. The past hundred miles it had felt good with her on the back of his bike. But he was running from trouble, and if he wasn’t guessing wrong, so was she. The two of them together, the Giant and the Mouse as he’d come to think of them on the one-and-a-half-hour drive, would stick out like a sore thumb to anyone who might be looking.
“So, you’re just going to dump me in the middle of nowhere, at a bus station of all places? What? They don’t have a train station or an airport here?”
Razor chuckled and stepped off the bike to stretch his legs. “Well, forgive me, milady. I didn’t realize you were too good for the Greyhound. I’ll get you to an airport where you can travel first class, forthwith.”
Those sexy eyes narrowed on his face. He knew he shouldn’t be amused…she certainly wasn’t…but damn she looked cute, spitting fire out of those brown and green eyes. “Is this where you’re staying? I thought you said you were headed to Boston.”
“I am. Visiting my sister while I’m on vacation.”
“This isn’t far enough,” she said. “Why can’t I ride with you to Boston, or at least a little further from Louisiana?”
“Far enough for what? What are the Vipers so pissed at you for that you feel like you have to run?”
“Don’t answer a question with a question, it’s rude.”
He laughed again. “Well hello, pot, I’m kettle and you’re black.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You haven’t given me a straight answer to a single question I’ve asked you all day. How can I trust you on the back of my bike if you can’t even tell me what you’re running