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I walked past the sleek Mercedes, rain still beading on the hood. The expensive piece of tin had never been to my tastes, but always made a statement. Snorting, I headed to the back of the garage and to the massive piece of steel positioned in a rented spot. I’d arrived in Miami on my Harley and I would leave on it. The bike and the jacket were the only two pieces from my past that I’d refused to get rid of. I kept the red and chrome Fat Boy maintained, riding her at least once a month. She was my baby and would help me get the hell out of the city without being noticed.
She started up with no issue and with almost a full tank of gas, I could ride up I-95 to at least Daytona Beach before filling up. As I rolled down the road, roaring up the ramp and onto the interstate, I did everything I could do to put Blade’s persona in a padlocked box. I wanted the cold-blooded freak out of my life permanently.
The bright lights and the big city had brought me nothing but damnation.
There’s nothing like riding down the interstate doing eighty, the wind whipping past. By the time I hit Daytona, there were fewer cars on the road, mostly folks leaving the bars, trying to keep within the lines. I gassed up, grabbed a coffee then headed back out. Getting out of Florida before dawn was in my best interest. After that, it would take Diego and his goons a few hours to regroup and try to figure out where I’d gone.
I’d toldEl Hefelittle about my life, but he knew enough that I had to be very careful. I also had no idea what he’d learned long before I came to Miami. Still, all ties to the bad seed, as I’d been called by the few members of my real family more than once, had been eliminated. Even names had been changed. At least they’d followed one of my directions. But that had come after making a brutal decision, one that destroyed my entire family. For me? It had been the only choice to make.
I’d simply disappeared one night, heading south on my way to righting a wrong and saving a life. Instead, I’d found hell, including servitude to the devil. I hadn’t thought about the many of the details regarding my past for a long time. The pain had never subsided, only my ability to pretend I was someone else had gotten easier over the years.
The stretch in Georgia was grueling, the adrenaline of the past two days finally wearing off. I’d even been forced to outrun a state trooper since my foot was heavier on the accelerator than normal. The cop had been no match for my well-tuned bike, although I admit, I made another pit stop just in case he was still on my tail.
By the time I hit South Carolina, even my bones were tired, aching to the point my calf muscles cramped. While I would have preferred to get into North Carolina before stopping, Top Sail one of my favorite beaches, I hit the exit for Charleston, determined to find a cheap motel. Shame I hadn’t packed any booze. A drink would have at least put me to sleep, tempering the nightmares that always occurred.
I was just a couple of miles outside of Charleston when the Harley lurched, chugging several times. Fuck. This was the last damn thing I needed. The area I was driving into wasn’t at all what I expected, more rural in nature, with almost nothing commercial. As the sound continued to get worse, turning into a thumping and the steering becoming difficult, I was able to see what appeared to be some kind of hotel just up ahead.
The bike was barely limping by the time I rolled into the parking lot. The two-story motel was the kind of place that had been popular forty years ago. Now, the joint appeared like a bad version of a Bates Motel, complete with missing neon on the flashing sign. At least the sign said vacancy, as if I couldn’t figure that out by the missing cars in the dilapidated parking lot. As long as the place was remotely clean, I’d stay. What the hell other choice did I have?
After securing my helmet and grabbing the duffle, I walked inside the lobby, half expecting to see roaches crawling across the counters. I was surprised to see a quaint hole in the wall. A television was blaring, the sound coming from another room. I was many things, but certainly not patient. Hitting the old-fashioned bell several times, I hovered over the counter.
“Yeah? Hold your fuckin’ horses.” The attendant was older, moving slowly as he made his way to the front, his eyes opening wide the moment he craned his neck in order to look into my eyes. He raised his arms, blinking several times. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“I just want a room. Clean towels. Nothing more.”
A full minute ticked by before he responded. “Sure. I think we have one left.” As he searched through the computer, his entire body quivered. “Got a suite, if you don’t mind paying a couple bucks more.”
I tossed a couple hundred-dollar bills on the counter. “Will that do?”
“You bet. I’ll give you access to the minibar. Room two-eleven. Best one we got.”
“You tell no one I’m here and we’ll get along just fine.”
He tried to smile, his hand shaking as he offered me the room key. “No one.”
I grabbed the card and headed out the door without saying another word. By the time I climbed the stairs, my mind was foggy and ready to shut down. I locked and bolted the door, dropping my shit and going straight to the small fridge. The cheap scotch would do.
Twisting the top, I dropped onto the bed, staring at the blackened screen on the television. After chugging a majority of the bottle, I realized my hands were now the ones shaking. Hell, every inch of my body was. Within a few seconds, I was forced to accept the fact that I had no one. Nothing.
And even though I was free from the fucker who’d ruled my life, controlling my every move, I dropped my head, anger boiling from deep within my bones.
What the fuck was I supposed to do now?
CHAPTER4
Crystal
“So, let me get this straight,” Jessie mused as she threw me a nasty glare. I could tell exactly what she was thinking, even though a good portion of her face was covered by a ghastly pair of sunglasses. Funny how I knew they probably cost more than I made in two weeks. “You had a fantastic dinner with a sexy man, excellent conversation, delicious chemistry then nothing? No fucking in the backseat of his car? No wild sex on your kitchen table?”
I yanked the hair out of my eyes, wincing hearing the words. She was driving way too fast as usual, her little red convertible drawing attention from every red-blooded male, age not dependent. “It was an okay dinner with a nice guy, pretty good conversation, and absolutely no sexual chemistry. Okay?”
“But you still could have fucked him! You don’t always have to like the guy. Just use him. Fuck his brains out.”
“Jessie!” This time, I was the one snapping my head, giving her a how-dare-you look. When she only shrugged, her attention drifting to the rock song on her satellite radio, I burst into laughter. “Randy must have his hands full with you.”
“He keeps me in line,” Jessie said casually.
