Page 55 of Rastor

"Our ride."

"Oh," she said, walking with me back to the car. When we reached its front bumper, she gave the car a long, worried look. "You sure this thing runs?"

I grinned over at her. "It got me here, didn't it?" I flicked my head toward the passenger's side. "C'mon." I walked to the car-door and opened it. I waited.

Chloe didn't move. "How far are we going?"

"Not far."

She glanced back at her own car, parked in front of the garage. "Wanna take my car?"

I laughed. "Not a chance." For starters, she was my guest, not my chauffeur. But more importantly, there was no way in hell we'd be takinghercar to the place we were going.

I owned a small fleet of cars. Every one of them looked a lot nicer than the one I was driving today. But I'd brought this car for a reason.

"Trust me," I told her. "It runs great."

She bit her lip. "I suppose you have a backup plan if we get stranded?"

"We won't," I assured her.

She gave me a shaky smile. "I must be insane," she said, finally climbing into the passenger's seat. I closed the door behind her, and walked around to get behind the wheel.

When I fired up the engine, she was studying the car's interior, as if unsure what to make of it. Her confusion was understandable. On the outside, the car was a heap. On the inside, it was vintage quality.

As for the engine, it was a nice, steady purr.

When I backed out onto the street, she turned sideways in the seat to face me. "Alright," she said. "You know I'm gonna ask, so let's just get it out of the way. Why this car?"

I put on my serious face. "What? You don’t like it?"

"Am I supposed to?"

She looked so adorable that I had to laugh. Returning my attention to the road, I said, "Alright, as much as I'd like to mess with you, I don't want you to worry."

Her tone grew teasing. "Too late for that."

"So here's the thing," I said. "Where we're going, I'd never take any of my other cars."

"Why not?"

"Because they're not as safe." I gave her a quick glance. "And since I've got you here, I'm not taking any chances."

"Oh come on," she said. "Be serious."

"I am serious. My other cars, they draw too much attention."

It was true. I loved cars, the faster the better. Even my basic black sedan wasn't all that basic when you considered the engine and its corresponding price tag.

She gave me a worried look. "I don't want to be mean, but this car? It'll get plenty of attention."

"Yeah? Well don't let the exterior fool you. The engine, along with everything else under the hood, is in prime condition. And it's fast too. A lot faster than it looks." I reached up and tapped the driver's side window. "And see this glass? Bullet-proof."

She laughed. "Oh stop it."

"I'm not kidding."

"You serious?" she asked.