AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not right now,” I replied.
She eyed my cut suspiciously as I tried to wring it out. A dubious look flickered over her face.
“Fine. It is, but I don’t want to ride bitch behind him all the way to San Francisco. Any chance you’re headed that way?” I motioned for her to go before me on the stairs. One would think I was being gentlemanly, but really it just put me face level with her butt again. I picked up her board and carried it over my head. It was the least I could do.
“I am,” she tossed over her shoulder.
“Care to give a marooned stranger a ride?”
“Wow,” she laughed. “Laying it on a bit thick. Like saving your life wasn’t enough.”
I’d love to lay my thickness on you.I bit my tongue. There were times when I’d been told I could be a bit…much. I wasn’t trying to offend her and drive her away. Quite the opposite, I was desperate to spend more time with her. I knew nothing about her, but it didn’t seem to matter. She called to me like the siren I’d nicknamed her.
For the first time in months, something was on my mind other than catching Eric and making him pay. Everything about her amber eyes drew me in.
She stopped by a car parked on the shoulder, door still hanging open, keys in the ignition. She’d literally dropped everything, snagged her board off the rack on her car, and rushed down the stairs straight into the ocean to rescue me. This really solidified it for me. She was a woman of action and impulse and that spoke to something inside of me.
“What kind of person risks their life for a stranger?” I asked, leaning against her car while she secured her board to the rack.
She smiled at me. “It wasn’t much of a risk.”
I leaned over the rail and stared down into the choppy water below. Big Sur was temperamental on a good day. Most people knew not to mess around in her waters. Yet, this woman had dove in head first.
“Sure.” I saw Drew motion for me. “So, can I get that ride?”
Her lips quirked at my blunt question, but she nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ll be right back.” Jogging over to my friend, I winced as the water sloshed in my boots. They were ruined. My fucking cut probably was, too. My bike was gone. My siren was literally the only positive thing about this day.
“What’s the plan?” Drew asked.
“I’m going to catch a ride with her,” I answered, pointing my thumb over my shoulder.
His brows shot up. “What about Eric?”
“We know where that asshole is headed, thanks to Rat. Fuck off and let me have this one.”
Rat was our Austin chapter’s resident computer genius. The only person who came anywhere close to his skill was his wife. He and his wife Ari had been helping us keep tabs on Eric. He’d been evading us for too long not to bring them in. They were talented enough that it wasn’t a risk to have them help. Every time Eric scurried into a hole, making it impossible to find him, they stepped in. They worked their black magic and always found him. A street camera, an ATM, there was always a way.
“I’ll meet you back at the club,” I told him with a grin. Not only would riding with her be more comfortable since I was soaked to the bone, but I’d have the added benefit of getting to know her.
He shot a smirk at the woman who was waiting by her car for me. It occurred to me I hadn’t asked her name, or told her mine.
“Alright. Later.” Drew started up his bike and took off down the winding road.
I walked back over and we got into her little car. She’d laid towels down over the seats, but we were still going to get things wet.
Sliding my seat all the way back, I stretched my legs as far as they would go in the cramped passenger seat. Her car was not made for a man who was six-three. I had to slouch in my seat so my head didn’t hit the ceiling. She looked to be about five-eight or so. I wondered why she hadn’t bought a bigger car. This thing had to be too small for her to comfortably drive.
“What’s your name?” she asked, as she pulled out onto the road.
“Trip.”
She shot me a look of disbelief. “Were you exceptionally clumsy as a child?”
I chuckled at her teasing. “No, it’s my road name. I’m in a motorcycle club.” There’d been an incident with a trap I’d set once. It’d been a whole thing—one I didn’t care to tell a stranger—and ever since they’d called me Tripwire. It was that fucking squirrel’s fault that my device hadn’t worked properly. That didn’t keep my brothers from hounding me about it. Luckily for them I was a forgiving guy. One who liked to laugh, even if it was at myself.
She nodded and motioned to my cut. “Figured.”
