“What?”
“Nothing, here’s my phone.” He grabbed it out of his back pocket.
“Good, you still have battery left.”
I started punching in Lila’s number, then noticed there was no signal.
I handed it back to him. “I’ll have to wait until we’re closer to town.”
He glanced at his phone. “That’s weird. I had a signal last night. I saw several bars when I was checking the time.”
I shrugged, “No big deal. I’ll call her while I’m devouring this amazing malt that you spoke of.”
“Let’s head that way. I don’t want to find out what a hangry Fox is like.” He reached for my pack, and I followed close behind.
“You definitely don’t.” I agreed.
We reached his motorcycle, and Beck signaled for me to hop on. He adjusted his saddlebags and then strapped my pack onto the seat behind me, tightening the straps until it was snug against my back. He gave it a shake to ensure it was secure, his fingers brushing my hip casually. The pack remained still, and for a brief moment, so did he.
I tilted my head back, and we stared into each other’s eyes, as they do in those sappy-as-hell Hallmark movies.
He broke contact first and climbed on, pulling my hands around his waist. “Hold on tight now, Fox. I don’t want you falling off.”
I lay my head against his back and nodded.
This whole thing was out of character for me. I knew that when we got back to school, things would change, but for now, I was just going to enjoy this beautiful man.
We hadn’t been riding for long when I felt Beck slow down. I raised my head. There were several cars stopped. One was empty, but the others had people in them who looked sick.
“What the hell is going on here?” I asked in confusion.
“I have no fucking idea.” Beck sounded just as confused as I was.
“Maybe we should see if anyone needs help?” I knew Ben wouldn’t approve, but this was beyond strange.
Beck grunted, “No, I don’t want you near them if whatever they have is contagious.”
I might have to keep him if he kept this up.
Suddenly, a woman stumbled out from between two cars ahead of us. Her hair was tangled, her face smeared with what looked like blood.
“H—help,” she garbled, sounding as if she was struggling to speak.
Beck dismounted his bike and positioned himself between her and me. I got off the bike, too, and he frowned.
“Get behind me. Something is off with her.”
“No shit,” I whispered. “Look at her eyes.”
Beck stepped forward, “Lady, you need to stay back.”
She didn’t answer. Just lurched closer.
Her movement triggered a tightening in my stomach, accompanied by an unsettling, hard-to-define feeling.
“Ma’am,” Beck said, firmer now. “You need to stop.”
Her movements quickened suddenly, and she slammed into him.
