Chapter 31 #2
I floor my Mustang again and glance over.
Nothing. Only tinted glass gleams back at me.
Whoever is inside isn’t even trying to look at me, which irritates me more.
We’re side by side, racing through the curves in a dangerous game.
I swerve over, threatening to tap his fender.
Just as I wanted, the muscle car taps the brakes.
I take the opportunity, tightening my grip, and jerk the wheel.
The world rotates as my car spins, all four tires screaming.
I slam the clutch in again and jerk the gears.
As soon as my hood aligns with the road, I floor it in reverse with the Road Runner directly in front of me.
The black car immediately slams its brakes, screeching to a sliding stop.
I follow quickly, screeching to a halt before it.
Both vehicles sit in the middle of the road, smoke and rubber debris whirling through the air around us.
“Games over,” I bite out, snatching my Glock from the seat. I climb through my driver window, perching on the frame, and raise the gun with my arm balanced onto pillar. “Get out!” I yell, cocking back the slide.
The Road Runner sits motionless as the engine idles, the deep rumble vibrating through the mountains. I tilt my head. “Last chance,” I call out, aiming for the driver side of the windshield.
The engine cuts off and the driver door opens. A black boot hits the pavement as a familiar tattooed arm reaches out. My stomach drops, along with my gun. Nyx.
“Are you out of your mind?” I yell, slipping back into the driver’s seat and open the door, motioning for Kova to get out with me.
Nyx chuckles. “Are you?”
Kova trots away from me right up to him. Traitor. He gives her a quick pet before settling himself onto the hood of the Road Runner.
“Where’d you get the ride?” I ask, mirroring him as I plop down on my Mustang.
He shrugs. “I’ve had it.”
I crinkle my nose and examine the smoking car. “How come I’ve never seen it?”
A slow grin spreads beneath his mustache. “I only drive it when I need it.”
I raise a brow. “What’d you need it for then? Other than to scare the living daylights out of me.”
Nyx pushes off of the car, swinging his arms as he approaches. “To keep up with you of course. I didn’t mean to scare you though.”
“To keep up with me?” I scoff, repeating his words.
He nods, stopping just a few inches from me.
I fold my arms and try not to glance at Kova, who’s dancing between us like her two divorced parents decided to give it another shot.
Nyx twirls the keys in his hand, before spinning on his heels back to the Road Runner. “Follow me.”
“Why?” I ask, trying to fight the heat creeping up my neck as he walks away from me. It’s just something about those tattoos. It’s got to be the tattoos.
Nyx says nothing as he dips into the driver’s seat and starts the engine. It’s the low growl of it that finally has me jolting back to my own. Kova jumps in first, her tongue lolling out to the side as she looks at me eagerly. “Follow him,” she seems to say.
And Lord help me, I do. The second I pull onto the road behind him; the game begins again. Not as tense this time, of course. Nyx drifts toward the center line, his car swerving just enough to tell me he’s looking in his mirror. A challenge.
I roll my eyes and follow. His brake lights flash suddenly, so I slow, but then a second later he accelerates again.
So do I. I feel the smile widening across my face as we soar through the mountain like two idiots playing follow-the-leader on roads that neither of us should be treating like a racetrack.
At one point, I drop a gear and surge past him with a triumphant grin.
It lasts all of thirty seconds as Nyx disappears around the next bend and comes flying back alongside me, passing with ease before lifting one hand out the window in a lazy wave. Show-off. The playful dance continues for several more miles until the pavement finally gives way to gravel.
The familiar mountain driveway appears between the pines.
Nyx slows first as we pull into a small clearing at the trailhead and kill the engines.
Silence settles over the mountains, only Kova’s excited panting in my ears.
She jumps out of her lowered window before I can get my feet fully onto the ground.
I climb from my Mustang as Nyx shuts his door with a subtle smile hidden in his features.
“I followed you. So now what?” I ask impatiently.
He says nothing as he pulls a duffel from his backseat, and then he sets out on the trail.
I stand there for a minute, tempted to just get back in my car and drive away.
But Kova bolts forward, glancing back at me to follow her.
So, I unwillingly begin the trek behind.
I keep my distance as we walk the rocky road.
Nyx only peers back a few times but remains silent up ahead.
As the hike ends, the cabin finally comes fully into view at the top of the valley. Even from here, I can still see the gut wrenching for sale sign at the top. A sigh escapes me at the sight of it. Maybe one day.
Nyx clears his throat as we reach the firepit from our camping trip and throws the duffel into the dirt. He rubs his hands together nervously, then gestures for me to take a seat on the log.
“I’m not sitting until you tell me what you’re up to, Nyx Vale,” I snap.
He sighs. “Please?”
I fold my arms tightly across my chest and remain solid.
Nyx rakes a slow hand down his beard. “Okay.”
He bends down, slowly unzipping the bag. It sits open, but dark and hollow. He hesitates for a moment, before turning back toward me. “Please?” he asks again.
“Listen, you asked me to follow you and I did. Now you bring me back here with a sketchy duffel bag and you’re asking me to sit?” I dig my shoe into the ground and scan the area around us.
He exhales shakily, as if he’s contemplating his next move. Then, Nyx reaches into the duffle. His hand hovers for a second, before he finally pulls something out.
I gasp, stumbling backward.
The collar from my cell sits loose in his hands. Nyx holds it out as if the leather burns his skin. I knew it, I knew it, all men are evil and he just brought me out here after he gained my trust just to put me right back into that thing!
“Stop that,” he commands as if he can hear my thoughts. He shakes his head and pulls a box of matches out behind the collar.
“You’re going to light me on fire too!” I yell, reaching for the knife at my ankle.
“What? No!” Nyx throws the collar down into the dirt and pinches his eyes closed. “You’re going to take your life back,” he explains.
I raise my brows, taking an exaggerated step backward. “Elaborate before I attack you because if you don’t start talking so help me?—”
“Florence!” Nyx groans. “You see, this is exactly why I asked you to sit.”
I march over and plop myself onto the log. “I’m sat.”
He sighs. “I cut it loose, as they were taking Cici in the ambulance. I couldn’t stand to see it hanging. Couldn’t stand the thought of anyone taking a picture of that for evidence. Evidence of what happened to you.”
I fold my arms, twirling the blade in my hand.
“It happened, Florence. Whether you want to talk about it ever again, or not. You’ve never let your past define you before, and I know you’re not now, but I guess I just wanted you to be able to physically bury it. Well, burn it.”
“Why?” I ask warily.
“Because I can’t stand seeing the woman I love carry the weight of her trauma on her shoulders any longer.”
My breath hitches as I drop the knife. It tumbles down onto the log, and bounces into the dirt.
Nyx reaches down, picking up the collar, and opens the box of matches. “The choice is yours. You hold the power here.”
I stare at the worn black leather; my blood still crusted within it.
Then my gaze slowly drifts to Nyx like an undeniable magnetic pull.
I slowly rise from the log, and step over.
He strikes the match and holds it in the space between us.
My fingers tremble as I reach for it. I finally take it, and he chunks the collar into the firepit.
“Hold on,” he mutters.