Page 45 of Ride Forever

Chapter 17

Chaser

As Sloane and I lay together after we’d worn ourselves out, my arm circled her slender form. She’d gotten thinner. All of this stress, paired with our shitty diet, had been taking its toll.

Nestled along my side with her cheek on my chest, Sloane’s fingers traced an old scar on my ribs. Draped was an appropriate word. Sloane was draped over me. She draped like no other woman had.

“Where did we…” she began, her cheek moving against my chest as she spoke. “I’ve been trying to pinpoint it, but I can’t.”

“Don’t dwell,” I replied. I wouldn’t tell her, but I believed it was that night at the cabin. It was the second time she’d killed, but it was the most personal. “Dwelling won’t change anything.”

“Are we safe here?”

“Safe enough.”

I glanced at the bedside table, and her mother’s ring glinted in the artificial light filtering through the crack in the curtains. She’d been holding it a lot—studying the diamond, learning the curves of the gold claws holding the stone in place—but she never put it on. I assumed she was thinking about her, but she never voiced what those thoughts were.

“Do you want to talk about your mom?” I asked.

“Why?”

“Her ring…”

“No,” she said after a moment. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

I pulled in a deep breath, my chest rising, then let it out. It wasn’t a sigh, it was a reset. A deep breath to fill my lungs with life.

“Chaser?”

“Yeah?”

Headlights lit up the window, and I tensed, but the car beyond kept going. Whoever it was, wasn’t here for us.

“Are we just going to wait?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Then?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

“We’ll figure something out. I’ll cut my hair, bleach it blonde. Get facial reconstruction surgery.”

“That’s a bit extreme.” I snorted and dragged my fingers through her hair. “Ten days.”

“That’s a bit specific,” she said, twisting my words into a comeback. “Why ten?”

“I’ve been thinking…”

“You can think while you fuck?” Her head rose, and her eyes sparkled in the half-light.

“Some men can multitask,” I retorted, my lips twisting into a smile.

Sloane propped herself up on her elbow and placed her fingers on my mouth. “I like when you do that.”

“Smile?” I narrowed my eyes.

“You brood a lot.”