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“He doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Obviously. Why?”

“Because I—”

Scar returns with Nitro and Max. “Take Julia to the clubhouse and see how things are going with Matrix and the others.”

“Why do I have to babysit all the time?” Nitro asks, clearly pissed off. He’s bouncing on the balls of his feet, reminding me of a racehorse at the starting line.

“Do what I’m telling you to do!” Scar yells.

“Fine. Come on.” Nitro jerks his head toward the garage door.

“You’re being unreasonable,” I call as Scar disappears down the hall. “Ugh! Asshole!”

“He can be one, that’s for sure,” Nitro says. “Fuck him. We’ll go have some fun.”

“I like the sound of that.” I’m so enraged by Scar’s refusal to talk to me that I’m up for anything.

Nitro leads me to his bike.

“Where’s your helmet?” I ask.

“Don’t need it.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to ride without one?” I ask as he hands me one. I don’t understand why he doesn’t wear one.

“I fucking live for danger.” His grin holds a hint of madness, but I’m too pissed off to take it as a warning sign. If Scar trusts him, then I’ll have to trust him, too. Besides, I doubt Nina would let me leave with a crazy person.

“Done.” I wrap my knuckles around my helmet.

“If I’ve got to babysit a chick, then I’m going to have fun with her.”

“Sounds good to me.” I need to blow off some steam, too, so if he wants to show me a good time, I’m not going to say no. He’s one of Scar’s brothers. Maybe he’ll be able to tell me something useful so I can get to know Scar better.

Nitro’s bike is a Harley-Davidson Street Bob 114 in fire engine red. He climbs on, and I slide in behind him. I grab his waist, but not as tightly as I hold onto Scar’s. It feels weird being on another guy’s bike, but Scar’s the one who made this happen. It’s not like it’s my choice.

As Nitro starts the engine, the troubling thoughts I’ve tried to keep at bay return. I’m still confused about what Scar meant when he said I was too good for him. I’m not perfect. I mean, sure, I went to school, got a degree, and I’m helping kids now. But I still have problems I struggle to deal with. Doesn’t everyone?

Something else is going on with him, but I don’t know what it is … or maybe I’m totally delusional, and he really doesn’t want anything but sex. I hate to consider that possibility, but it could be the truth. Maybe he just doesn’t have the same feelings for me that I have for him. If that’s the case, and I was totally wrong, then I’m an idiot for confessing my feelings. But if I’m right, and he does care about me, then I need him to admit it. I don’t know what I need to do to win him back, and honestly, I’m not sure I want to if he’s going to be a total asshole. It’s demeaning. I’ve never chased after a man before. But then again, I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want him. This is such a mess.

The ride down the driveway and out the front gate is what I expect. But when we get onto the open road, Nitro revs the bike. Hard. We tear up the road, roaring down it while the hot afternoon sun blazes overhead.

As the yellow stripe down the middle of the highway flickers past us, all my fears vanish. I love riding, and I’m giddy at first, but Nitro’s driving becomes reckless. He’s taking curves way too fast, and the bike’s vibrations don’t feel right.

“Slow down!” I yell into the wind.

He doesn’t. If anything, he goes even faster. I don’t think he heard me, so I squeeze his waist to try to convey my anxiety. He doesn’t seem to get it, or he doesn’t care, because he accelerates.

“Nitro!”

I cling to him as my life flashes before my eyes. What the hell is wrong with him? Why is he doing this?

I’m tempted to jump off because there’s no way we’ll survive the next series of switchbacks. We’re going to fly off the mountainside and die.

A siren cuts through the rushing wind. Thank God! I’ve never been so happy to be pulled over by the police in my life. The FBI has me on their most-wanted list for kidnapping, so I’m sure I’ll be in deep shit when they figure out who I am, but at least I’ll be alive.

Nitro brings the bike to a stop on the side of the road. We get off and wait for the deputy to get out of his patrol car. He’s with the sheriff’s office, which has me instantly on high alert. I don’t know if Sheriff Curtis gave his deputies orders to kill us on sight or what. Maybe getting pulled over wasn’t such a good thing after all.