Page 166 of Wanna Play A Game?

As we get closer to the big city, I start recognizing the roads again. My stomach churns.

I finally break the silence. “Where are we going?”

Ryder glances over at me. “I got you a hotel. You can stay there while you get your feet back under you.”

“Why can’t I go home?”

He looks uncomfortable. “Do you really want the cops sniffing at your door, asking where your boyfriend went?”

“Ex,” I correct, looking back outside. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

There’s silence.

“Your DNA is on him too, Cali. You realize that, right?”

I clench my jaw. “How am I supposed to get a job?”

“I kept your name similar. Callie Smart. You have a new social, and I’ll leave you with enough cash to get settled. You’re a capable girl. You can get it figured out.”

The hum of the tires fills the car.

My voice is low, “Why are you doing this?” Is it because we fucked?

The muscle in Ryder’s jaw flicks. We sit in silence for so long that I don’t think he’s going to answer me.

When he does, his voice is low and hoarse with emotion, “I’m trying to keep my family together. Wouldn’t you?”

I continue staring out the window. More and more cars flash by. We’re getting close. I hear him loud and clear. I’m not part of their family. I have no place with them.

He’s right. I’ve known them, what, two weeks? They’re killers. I’m not. Well, maybe I am now. I don’t know.

“My family.”A family I’m not part of. That makes my throat tighten so badly, and I think I’m going to cry. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why that hurts so damn bad.

We enter the city, and Ryder pulls up to a tall building with mirrored walls all the way to the top floor and stops. I glance around. We’re here? This is too fancy.

Ryder faces me. His voice and tone is even. “You know that if you say anything about us to anyone, I’ll kill you.”

I have no doubt about that.

“Don’t go back to our house. Don’t go back to your old place. When I say new life, I mean it.”

Fuck. This morning, I was showering with Miles, happy for the first time in a long time. Now, everything is changing. Again.

Suddenly, I don’t want to get out of the car.

Ryder reaches across to the glove compartment. I catch a whiff of his cologne. He smells good as hell, and I hate myself for noticing. I’m such a fool.

Ryder shoves a stack of cash at me. “The hotel is paid for three weeks. This should be enough for rent and a down payment.” He hands me paperwork and a box. “ID, social, birth certificate, and a phone.”

I look down at my hand. There’s more money than I’ve seen in my whole life.

“Where…”

“They’re expecting the cat. Do you have any questions for me?”

I blink, then glance at Ryder’s dark eyes.

I clench my jaw. I don’t even know what to ask.