13. Chapter 13
Even though I made jokes, I was fucking pissed at myself for not even thinking about the tracker. Dammit. That only proved I was compromised with Dalton, but I wasn’t about to stop this thing between us. I couldn’t stop this thing between us, even if I wanted to. We were on a speeding train with no brakes.
As we made it to the end of the long driveway, I saw the car barreling down on my left. I suddenly swerved right onto the road, nearly toppling us over from moving way too fast.
“What the hell?” Dalton snapped, hanging on for dear life, but these old cars had nothing to hang on to.
“That didn’t take long,” I said, gripping the steering wheel and looking out the rearview mirror.
Dalton turned to glance out the back window as the black car sped up their chase, coming up quickly behind us.
“Fuck!” he hissed.
“Yep.”
“God, is this old truck going to be able to outrun them?”
I quickly glanced at him with a raised brow. “I’m well-equipped, thank you very much. Everything is new and in working order.”
My cars may have looked old, but I made sure they had the latest engines.
This old Bronco could handle anything I threw at her. It was practically a tank.
Once the road leveled out, I gunned it, but so did they.
“I’m not keen on hanging my ass out the window and shooting behind me,” he yelled over the roaring engine.
“I’m not keen on losing your ass, either. Let me see if I can lose them. I know this area. They don’t.”
“It’s kind of hard to lose someone on a farm road. You can see cars for miles unless we can hide in the surrounding woods or head closer to the mountains, where the roads are more winding.”
I looked out at the rearview mirror, not saying anything, as the car quickly got on my ass as a plan formulated in my head.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Get your gun ready. I also have one in the glove box in front of you. Pull mine out and get it ready for me. I’m going to slam on the brakes. It’s going to be jarring, but this baby will hold herself together. The assholes will slam into us. As soon as we come to a stop, they’ll be dazed, so we jump out and start firing.”
Dalton groaned. “Jesus, more death. Okay.”
“God, my poor baby. She’s going to get so hurt,” I whined.
Dalton gave me a sympathetic look as he removed the safeties from our guns and put bullets in the chambers.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Fuck… yeah. Let’s do it.”
“Hold on tight!”
Dalton placed his feet on the dashboard and braced himself. I slammed the brakes while driving nearly sixty miles per hour, hoping we wouldn’t roll or flip.
We jolted forward with the brake and jolted again when the car hit us, the crunch of metal deafening. I hit my head on the steering wheel, nearly blacking out. I shook my head, grabbed my gun, and we both unbuckled before jumping out of the truck.
Their car was totaled, and the windshield and windows were shattered. Dalton and I fired off several rounds into the men before they had a chance to recover.
“Done. Let’s go,” I said.
He looked at me wide-eyed. “Wait, you’re bleeding. Let me drive. You may have a concussion.”
I didn’t argue as we traded sides and jumped back into the Bronco. The engine was still running, so he pressed the gas and pulled away with a crunch of metal.
“Hang on. Let me make sure nothing’s dragging. ”
When Dalton stopped, I quickly jumped out. Sure enough, the bumper hung precariously to the ground. I yanked it off since it was barely hanging on by a thread and tossed it in the back.
“Let’s go before more assholes show up.”
Dalton drove us for the next hour to Winchester, Virginia, where we pulled into the parking lot of one of those cheap hotels with kitchenettes. It didn’t look like much on the outside, and exactly what we needed. The place was off the highway and in the middle of nowhere.
“Drive around behind the building,” I said. “The Bronco is now conspicuous with all the damage in the back and the missing bumper. We’re going to have to switch cars again.”
Dalton parked behind the building, out of sight from the highway, and we got out of the truck. He rushed over to me and grabbed my face before we could do anything, looking straight into my eyes.
“Did you black out at any point?” he asked.
“No, Dad .”
“Shut up. I’m being fucking serious.”
I raised a brow, but I also preened inside, pleased that he cared that much about my well-being. “No blacking out. Stunned is a better word.”
He pulled my head down for a closer look. “The bleeding has stopped. We’re both a wreck right now. The front desk is going to have questions.”
I shrugged. “Tell them the truth. We got into a car accident.”
Dalton let go of my head and walked to the back of the Bronco. I unlocked it, and we grabbed our things and headed to the front desk to get a room .
Before the woman asked, because it was clear as day on her face, I told her we got into a fender bender, but we were okay and had already dealt with the police.
“Would you like two beds?” she asked, ticking away on her computer.
“Yes,” Dalton said.
“One king bed,” I replied at the same time, but louder.
He narrowed his eyes, pulling a smirk from me. Even with a splitting headache, I found pleasure in teasing him.
She looked between us both, reading between the lines, but at least she kept her professional yap shut.
I grabbed the keycards she handed us, and we walked back outside with our things and up the stairs to our new home for the next few days.
The suite was rather bland, but it had a place where we could make food, so we didn’t have to go out too much.
As soon as I set down my stuff, my phone buzzed with a message. I pulled it out of my back pocket and read it.
Unknown: A crew is headed out there now to clean
up your place.
Me: Thanks.
I had given the couple who took care of my place time off for about a week, so I didn’t have to worry about them stumbling onto dead bodies and blood or more danger.
“All right, people are going out there to clean up our little mess. ”
“What about the car that hit us? You know… the one full of bullet holes?”
I shrugged. “My guy will check it out, but no doubt it’s already been discovered since we just left it there. There’s not much we can do about it now. Anyway, I’m going to head out to get us some groceries.”
Dalton frowned. “No, you’re not. We’re going to clean up your head, and you need to clean up my arm.”
“Such a Boy Scout. Fine.”
I sat at the small table in the kitchen as Dalton opened up the first aid kit I’d brought in with us. He cleaned my head with an alcohol wipe, making me wince.
“I was an actual Boy Scout , you know.”
“Oh, I know.”
He frowned at me. “There’s nothing wrong with being a good person and being prepared.”
“Why do you assume me calling you ‘Boy Scout’ is an insult?”
He looked at me with those pretty chocolate eyes lined with thick lashes I could stare into all day. “I just… assumed since you used to call me that when we were teens. It never felt like an endearment.”
“It definitely was. I secretly liked it.”
I slipped my fingers into the belt loops of his jeans and tugged him onto my lap. He straddled me but kept cleaning my head like nothing was amiss, as if we always sat like this.
My wandering fingers traveled along his thighs and hips and slid underneath his T-shirt. His skin broke out in delicious goosebumps. I loved getting reactions like that from him .
“This is a distraction, Sid. I know. I know. You said you weren’t distracted, but you were.”
I feigned a pout. “Sure, shove it in my face that I missed the tracker. Next, you’re going to say, ‘ I told you so ,’ in a super whiny and annoying voice.”
He put a bandage on my head and relaxed on my lap, suddenly smirking. “What an active imagination you have. Anyway, I’m teasing you. You saved my life. If you hadn’t been with me, I wouldn’t have known about the tracker at all. In fact, I would probably be dead right now.”
My smile turned crooked. “Then, you’re quite welcome.”
My fingers continued to explore until I reached the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. “Now, it’s my turn to treat your boo-boo.”
“Boo-boos are reserved for Owen. I’m a man , dammit! Men have manly-man wounds .” Dalton flexed his cute biceps and pecs, grinning.
“No one would ever confuse you for not being a man,” I chuckled.
I reached for his neck and pulled him down so our faces were less than an inch apart.
“Kiss me, Boy Scout.”
I loved how he didn’t even hesitate when he cupped my face and pressed his mouth to mine. As soon as my lips parted, he eased his warm, smooth, and soft tongue inside. Even with a more gentle kiss, I still felt the sparks, maybe even more so because I was solely focused on his woodsy scent, still mingled with sleep from earlier, not to mention his growing erection pressing into me .
“I owe you a finished blow job,” I said when we came up for air.
“Yes, you do. I feel cheated, dammit.”
I laughed, pleased that he could find humor in the middle of all this darkness. It just further proved we were well-matched. “Later. Let me get us some food and necessities first.”
“That was my first blow job in three years, Sid. I can’t tell you how much I missed that.”
My jaw dropped. “Then I’m going to have to remedy that. You have a lot to make up for.”
We kissed some more before he pulled away and sat across from me so I could clean his arm.
“I’m going to be inside you soon, too,” I said as I spread ointment on the burn.
“Is that a fact?”
“Yep. I never lie.”
He raised a brow. “You’re an assassin, Sid. I can’t see you being honest.”
“Pfft. That’s just business. I’m dead serious when it comes to pleasure.”
“Need I remind you that you lied to your family, too?”
I sighed. “You got me. Still, I’ve never lied to you, and I don’t plan on starting now.”
I placed a bandage on his arm and kissed it. “There, your boo-boo is all better.”
Dalton rolled his shoulder, testing it out. “Thanks.”
He started cleaning up the mess as I grabbed my keys.
“Is it safe to take the truck out?” he asked .
“We don’t have anything else right now. It’s going to have to do. We’ll get another car tomorrow. I’ve got a lot of cash hidden in the truck as an emergency stash, but we’re going to need more.”
“I’ve got some in my case, too.”
“Good, we’re going car shopping tomorrow. I’ll be back in a bit.”
With a quick peck on his cheek, I left.
An hour later, I returned with enough food to last us a couple of days.
Dalton helped me empty the bags and when he pulled out the condoms, lube, and an enema bulb, he held them up. “I suppose these are for me?”
“Yep. You don’t mind bottoming for me, do you, babe?”
He rolled his eyes and I loved it. “Such a romantic.”
I tugged him against me and nibbled his neck. “I’ll show you romantic.”
To prove I cared, I pulled out a small bouquet of flowers. They weren’t the nicest. It was a small grocery store, after all, but they made him laugh.
“I stand corrected. You’re the epitome of romance. What a sad state these poor flowers are in. They’re barely hanging on for dear life, but it’s the thought that counts.” Dalton reached into the cabinet and pulled down a glass, filling it with water before placing the wilted bouquet in it. “Anyway, I’ve bottomed a couple of times, but I usually did the fucking. ”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he raised his hand. “We can do this, Sid. I don’t mind you penetrating me. It’s okay. Honestly, it’s been so long, I probably forgot how sex works, anyway.”
I boxed Dalton in against the counter and nibbled on his earlobe. “Oh, I doubt that. We’re fire when we’re together. You feel it, don’t you?”
He nodded his head, which rested on my shoulder, his hands splayed on my chest. “I’m still torn about all this, but bad or good, I’ve always been drawn to you. You’re a force to be reckoned with, Sid.”
I cupped his face, forcing him to look at me. “This is our time. Our chance. Our do-over. I’m sorry I was such a shit to you and that I was so fucking weird.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing to apologize for. This makes me nervous as hell and I’m questioning my sanity at the moment, but this? You and me? It doesn’t feel wrong.”
“Because we’re not wrong. You’re mine. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed or if you’ve loved another. This is a dangerous time, but fate drew us together. As soon as your file was dropped into my lap, I knew it.”
Dalton rested a hand on my cheek. “And what does that mean for me? I’ve lived my life by a moral code. I’ve tried to be a good person, especially for my son. It’s drawing me toward a darker side I’m not familiar with.”
“We’re both intelligent men. We’ll figure this out, Boy Scout. I know we will.”