Every turn made me cling to him, the bike wobbling a little too much, and then he would immediately hit the gas, lurching us forward in an unsettling way.
After I found out Rook was stalking me, I had reached out to a few people, hunting down anyone who knew where bikers would be hanging out until someone connected me with Jake. He seemed to know all about what he called Syndicate, a place where bikers around town would meet up for racing and hanging out every week. He told me he would be happy to take me if I agreed to go out to dinner with him.
And I had agreed, which seemed to be the stupidest thing I had done this month, which included going with Rook.
I held on, my mind fighting me on the conflicting emotions. It wasn’t like I could deny I had an interest in Rook, even though he was obviously trouble.
He was everything I wasn’t—wild, unpredictable, and dangerous. I had always been the good girl, the one who followed the rules and stayed within the lines. My life had been predictable, boring even, until now. I didn’t do anything in college except study and push to graduate with honors to show my dad how serious I was, and then once I left, I was immediately faced with how short life was. I knew my dad just wanted to keep me safe, but I couldn’t live my entire life locked up.
Rook represented everything wrong for me, yet I couldn’t stay away. The sensible part of me screamed to walk away, to return to the safety of my predictable life, but I had already started down this path. But honestly, I didn’t want to go back to that. I liked the thrill I felt when he came around.
What’s wrong with me? Why would I be so attracted to someone covered in tattoos, had threatened to not only kidnap me but nearly kill me, and loved stalking people? I felt like I was betraying my dad, and maybe even myself, but somehow I liked it?
The ride only lasted another five minutes before he pulled off into an old, abandoned parking lot. The place was already chaos, the sound of revving engines and the flash of headlights making everything one big mess. Motorcycles were parked in nearly every open area, the lights reflecting off chrome and steel, making it all blend together. A few bikers sped down the middle of the lot as they raced each other. In another area, someone spun in constant circles. The scent of burning rubber filled the air, and I wondered if they would even have a tire left after they were done. I scanned the crowd, the pulse of it all and the musicmaking me realize just how difficult it would be to find Rook in this mess.
He had a black bike, and he was pretty much always dressed head to toe in black. I assumed to make stalking easier. Then the mask and the face paint. Until a few days ago at the window, I hadn’t seen his face clearly. Now I remembered it perfectly. His blue eyes, the perfect angle of his jaw, the way his dark hair would fall across his forehead, and even the way he smirked like he could kill me and be happy about it.
But I really tried not to focus on that last part.
Jake weaved through the bikes, and I looked at each face I could focus on. We parked, and I jumped off, happy to be back on solid ground.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I yelled to Jake, running off before he could respond.
I weaved through the slightly terrifying crowd to look at bike after bike, guy after guy, and I still couldn’t find him. Then I came up to four bikes surrounded by people, the night not letting me see their faces well enough until they lit up by passing headlights.
“Rook,” I breathed, taking note of the women surrounding him.
And the one currently sitting on the back of his parked bike.
I took a few more steps towards him until I broke through the small crowd.
His face fell when his eyes met mine, and my heart stopped.
He didn’t look happy to see me, which shouldn’t have been a surprise. I wasn’t sure why he was stalking me or spending time chasing me down just to learn my name, so why had I felt so sure he would be happily surprised to see me here?
I stepped in front of him, my chin tilting up as I pulled back my shoulders. “I see you found another backpack.”
“I see you learned what a backpack is,” he said with a rude grin.
“You work quick. You’ve already found yourself a new girl to put on the back of your bike when you were stalking me a day ago.”
With what felt like nothing more than a flick of his wrist, the crowd dispersed and the girl on the back was gone. In less than a minute, we were basically alone.
“It almost sounds like you are jealous of me having another girl here. Do you suddenly think you have a claim over me or my bike?”
“No, not at all. Just surprised.”
“How sad. I wouldloveto see you stake your claim. What are you doing here?”
“I came to hang out. Is that a problem?”
“Not if it’s the truth. Did you come here to find me?” The edge to his tone made me wince, but I still couldn’t understand if he was happy about this or not.
“No,” I said, putting my hands on my hips as I pulled my shoulders back. “I’m not interested in creeps who stalk people.”
“Only the ones who hold you at gunpoint and let you feel them up?”
I fought to keep my face straight. “Something like that.”
