I was practically vibrating with excitement. God, I’d missed riding. It was a straight shot from here to Providence. I wouldn’t go anywhere near Saint View, where the cops liked to hang out. They never did random patrols in the ritzier suburbs. I’d get to Liam’s place and back before anybody even noticed I was gone.
He rolled his eyes. “I can already tell nothing I say is going to stop you, so just go. Keys are in the ignition. Take my phone so we can at least find you later if we need to.”
I closed my eyes for the briefest of moments and let myself feel the happiness.
Then leaned in and kissed him.
I realized what I was doing as soon as my lips touched his. I jerked back so quick the chance of whiplash was real.
We both glanced at Ripley and found him watching us with big eyes.
Fuck. I’d just put Rowe in the most awkward position.
I coughed. “Sorry.” I made for the bike, but Rowe’s fingers wrapped around my wrist, jerking me back.
“I’m not.” His voice was deep and husky, and he pressed his lips to mine again.
Instant heat surged through me, a combination of Rowe’s lips against mine and the thought I’d soon have the rumble of a bike beneath me. He opened for me, accepting the quick flick of my tongue against his. It was just enough to engulf me in desire before he pulled away.
Ripley grinned. “Rowe, do you love Heath?”
The two of us froze.
But Ripley’s little voice filled the void. “Grandma told me that boys can love whoever they want to love. And that girls can love whoever they want to love. And you can love a dog. And a cat. And rats, too, but I don’t like them. Toby at school says…”
Heat prickled at the back of my neck, and the shed was suddenly too small for both Rowe and me to be in. Avoiding eye contact with Rowe, I ruffled Ripley’s hair on my way to the bike. “Cover your ears. This might be loud.”
I threw a leg over the dirt bike and pushed down hard on the kick start. The engine lit up with a roar that echoed around the shed, and Ripley clasped his hands over the sides of his head like mufflers. His smile was ear to ear.
I made him a promise before I left. “I’m gonna take you for a ride when I get back, okay?”
I was pretty sure he heard me because his feet started up an excited little dance on the spot. I was still grinning when I tugged the helmet on, fastening the clip beneath my chin. Rowe watched from the doorway, keeping an eye on Ripley. I rode past slowly, too close to him, but he didn’t move. I let my hand brush his on the way out.
The sparks between us crackled with electricity.
“Be careful,” he yelled.
“Always.” I flipped the visor down, and then I was flying through the clearing, heading for the private road that would take me back to civilization.
The dirt bike was a zippy thing. It didn’t have the same growl of the road bikes I’d owned throughout the years, but it was quick and perfectly suited for the ruts and dirt. Most importantly, it did provide that feeling of freedom that had been sorely missing in my life for too long.
When I hit the main road, I opened the bike up and whipped along toward Providence. I would have preferred to take the scenic route, along the road that would eventually run beside the coast, but that meant going through Saint View. I was smart enough not to do that right now, because attracting the attention of the cops could only end in a chase. I didn’t want that. I wanted my girl on the seat behind me, her arms wrapped around my middle, her tits pressed to my back while she held me tight. I wanted her cheek resting between my shoulder blades and her squeals of excitement over riding with me as loud as when I rode her.
Last night had been the singular most mind-blowing night of my life. Having Mae between me and Rowe, knowing Liam looked on, watching us make every inch of Mae’s body tremble. I’d never known sex like that. It filled my head with ideas and promises of more.
I had no idea how to make this life a permanent thing. One without the threat of cops finding me and hauling me back to jail. But I wanted it. And I was willing to fight for it.
That started with getting Liam back on track. Rowe had Ripley to think about, Mae had Tori problems. They both loved Liam, but he was my family now, too. He’d gone out on a limb for me with my trial. He’d stepped up and belted the shit out of Rowe when I couldn’t, even though it had hurt him to do it. He’d broken every oath he’d ever taken, for me.
I owed him more than checking in on him when he was hurting.
I bypassed the security gate at his building by taking the dirt bike up on the sidewalk. In his parking garage, his BMW was very noticeably missing from his parking spot. I already knew he wasn’t at work. My mind churned over the words he’d said last night and the way he’d acted.
It suddenly hit me that it had all felt like a final goodbye.
Dread crept up the back of my neck. I realized that everything he’d been last night, had been me once upon a time. Things I’d done playing over in my head, tormenting me, never leaving me alone, until darkness had tried to control everything I was.
I yanked out Rowe’s phone and called Liam over and over again. “Dammit, Liam!” I yelled into the empty garage. “Answer your fucking phone!”
The insults echoed around me then lapsed into silence. Something urgent and insistent in the back of my mind knew I had to find him. I should have seen it earlier. I’d been caught up in Mae and Rowe and distracted by Ripley. I should have realized…
All of Liam’s problems centered around his grandfather.
His biological father.
The man who’d attacked his own son’s girlfriend, raped her, and gotten her pregnant.
Grateful I had Rowe’s phone, I did a quick internet search and easily found Liam’s grandparents’ address. My search also brought up multiple articles about his grandfather’s law work, his retirement, and charities his wife, Isadora, supported. I was already deep in the most affluent part of Providence. Liam’s grandparents’ place was only two blocks away.