Page 118 of The Wildest Ride

She snorted. “See?”

He made his voice serious. “It’s also a hybrid, though.”

Laughter burst out of her. “I give up!”

He insisted, shaking his head. “It is. Love it, or hate it, Lil, everybody’s got to do their part.”

“You sound like a wartime advertisement.”

He shrugged again. “It fits.”

She shook her head with a smile while she buckled her seat belt. When that was done, she looked up, caught his eyes in her stormy gray ones, and smiled.

He would have given her anything she wanted right then.

But she didn’t want anything from him beyond a good time.

“So,” she said. “Where are we going?”

Grinning, though the thought had brought a hollow sensation to his throat, he said, “It’s a secret.”

32

“This is the part where you murder me, isn’t it?” Lil asked, eyeing the abandoned warehouse in the shuttered and darkened Houston industrial district. From the outside, the large square building at the outer edges of the city looked closed. The lights were out and a few of the windows were broken. The doors were chained shut.

If it weren’t for the full parking lot she wouldn’t have believed there was anyone else around.

Shaking his head, he said, “This is the part where I sweep you off your feet.”

Lil was still skeptical. “Not literally, though, right? My feet like being on the ground...attached to my legs.”

AJ laughed, “As far as I know, all your limbs will remain attached.”

“As far as you know?”

He shrugged, adding, “Nothing is certain in this life.” He offered her his arm and she took it.

If this was where he turned out to be a secret serial killer, this was probably about as good as the night was going to get. She said, “I usually like better odds for my nights out, but fair point.”

He countered with, “I thought you didn’t have ‘nights out.’”

“Ouch,” she said, reaching for her purse and quickly realizing she didn’t have it with her. She stopped.

“I need to go back to the car—left my purse.”

“You won’t need it.”

She frowned at him and he grinned, completely unrepentant and charming.

“I need my ID at least,” she insisted.

His smile turned indulgent. “You’re adorable, but it’s not that kind of place.”

She shrugged, releasing the idea of another drink. She wasn’t sure what kind of place it was, but anyplace she knew that served drinks tended to require IDs.

They walked up to a door that looked as locked as the rest of the building and he knocked three times. Up close, Lil could hear and feel the muffled rumble of bass vibrating the thick door. There was music inside. That was a good sign.

After a moment, three responding knocks came from the other side of the door. AJ replied with two more raps and the door opened.