Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,25

outside. I was probably tossed on my ass when they needed to clear the place out, and I was unconscious and unable to move.

I feel the difference, though; the relief coursing through my veins. That right there makes it all worth it.

I find the key to my bike in the pocket of my shorts. Time to get out of here so I can get cleaned up and revel in the cleansing my contrition brings.

But as I go, Elias calls out to me. He just can’t let this shit go. “Kane, Sin? Really? I thought you were past this shit.”

Fighting the shame, I drop my chin to my chest. “I’ll never be done with this shit. The two of you would be better off far away from me.”

It doesn’t escape me that I factored her into this fucked-up equation. It slipped out, but I still mean it. From the looks of things, she’s going to be hanging around for a while. She might as well get used to the fact I’m an asshole.

As I trek to my bike, I can feel their eyes on my back and hear the sounds of their murmured voices chasing after me. They can take their muted gossip and shove it up their asses for all I care.

I straddle my ride, ready to get the hell out of here when her voice takes me by surprise.

“Wait!”

I cut my glance her way.

She nearly trips over herself but recovers and shoots an angry glare over her shoulder at Elias. He’s standing there with his arms crossed over his chest like a pissed-off, protective father.

“I’m coming with you.”

“The fuck you are.” Even though I mean the words, the tone behind them is weak. Blame the drugs, the walloping, or the hot sun beating down on my back, but I just don’t have the energy to fight with this bullshit.

“Make room.” Shelby crosses her arms over her chest and cocks out a hip. The little flash of attitude is a welcome change from her usually timid demeanor.

Still, it pisses me the fuck off.

“Bitch, did I ask you for a ride-along?”

“Does it look like I care?”

Satisfaction hits me square in the chest at the quiver in her voice. She holds her own, though, not giving up the position her body is in. I let my gaze lazily trail over her body for about thirty seconds before the motion makes me dizzy.

I back out my bike, then reluctantly hand her the helmet.

“One complaint and I’ll drop you in the middle of nowhere. Got it?”

“Sin,” Elias growls.

I send him a glare.

The second her tiny hands clutch my shoulders I nearly buck her off. Her touch warms me so deep it almost burns. I want to shrug her off at the same time I want to beg her to hold on. It takes every ounce of strength to hold still and let her fit herself behind me. Her slender thighs grip the outside of mine, and the only thing that’d make it feel better were if she had on a pair of shorts instead of her soft sleep pants.

A grunt slips out as she slides her hands from my shoulders, fitting them around my waist with her chest pressed against my back. She lays her head down, and I’d bet the last of my stash she has her eyes squeezed tight. The image floats in front of my eyes like a memory. I almost wish I could turn around and see it.

“Got it,” she replies quietly.

Without a word, I start the bike, pulling out of the abandoned lot without another look at my best friend. I can only imagine the thoughts he’s having about me right now, and if I weren’t in so much pain, I’d probably grin.

I find solace in the roar of the bike and—as much as I hate to admit it—the tiny girl wrapped around my back. Even though my body is throbbing and the pain in my head feels like an ice pick, I take us to the open road and pick up speed. Shelby needs a little recklessness in her life. Elias handles her with kid gloves, but at some point, she’s going to have to start living again. I think that’s what her crawling on the back of my bike was all about. If that’s what she needs, who am I to say no?

The only indication she’s still alive back there are her arms tightening around my waist the faster we go. As if tethered together, the more