Page 36 of Ride Forever

“They only held you for twelve hours.”

“Really? That’s a long time.”

“No, it’s not. The FBI can hold someone for up to seventy-two hours if they’re suspected of a serious crime.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. That’s what happened.”

“I’m not blaming you, Sloane,” he said, a sharp clip to his voice. “I’m blaming the Hollow Men.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel, the force of his grip turning his knuckles white. “You witnessed how far their reach can go. Remember that train?”

“You think they’re inside the FBI…” I knew full well they were, but why the hell wasn’t I saying anything about it? My heart twisted as I realized I might actuallywantto take King’s deal. A clean record, a free life…all in exchange for the man beside me.

A life for a life…

“Of course, they are,” he declared.

Guilt began to fester in my gut, and rather than continue the conversation—which was brewing into an argument—I reached for my bag again and found my favorite American eagle T-shirt. I glanced out the back window and watched the Strip and downtown Las Vegas disappear into the distance. Perhaps it was a good thing we were getting out of the city. Once we were away from all this, I could think clearly, because I was beginning to doubt Chaser’s feelings.Screw his ultimatum.

The way he’d talked me into going into the Halcyon without discussing it beforehand didn’t sit well with me. I should’ve said no. I should’ve said no to a lot of things. Had my impatience to come to Las Vegas ruined us before we’d even begun? This whole story was one mistake after the other. A comedy of fucking errors.

I focused on a black SUV behind us and narrowed my eyes. When we turned, it turned. It was a few car lengths away, but it was suspicious enough for me to swallow my fear and tell Chaser.

“Someone’s following us,” I said, settling back into the passenger seat. Tackling our relationship problems would have to wait another day.

“I know.”

“You know?” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. First, his now or never ultimatums, and now this. Guilt was fast turning into anger. “Next time you have a grand plan, don’t tell me about it. Oh, wait.You already did.”

“This isn’t the time, Sloane.”

“Neither is thirty minutes before you want me to walk into a casino and offer you up as bait!”

“Sloane,” he barked. “Let’s fight about this later. “I don’t know who is tailing us, but we need to lose them before we leave the city, or we’ll never shake them.”

“I’m so tired of this shit,” I muttered, tightening my seatbelt as Chaser gunned the engine. “Real fucking sick.”