Jude pulled out his phone.“I’m calling Wrecker.”
He turned slightly away, voice clipped and efficient.“We’ve got her.”Silence.“By the pipeline.”More silence.“We didn’t get the guys.She managed to get away.”A pause.“She pretty much ran right to us.”Another pause.“Yeah.She’s well enough to ride.We’re headed home.”
Home.
The word wrapped around my heart and squeezed.
Ender tilted his head down toward me.“You sure you can ride, baby?”
I nodded, swallowing hard.“Um… yeah.Can I ride with you?”
A smirk curved his lips, slow and sure.“As if you had a choice.”
He pulled me closer, his voice dropping just for me.“You’re with me, baby.”
Chapter Ten
Ender
I still couldn’t believe she was there.
Clove’s arms were wrapped around my waist, her forehead pressed between my shoulder blades, and her breath warm through my cut.Every time I shifted even an inch, I felt her adjust with me, like she was afraid I was going to disappear.
I didn’t blame her.
From what I could tell, she was banged up, scraped, filthy, and exhausted, but nothing looked broken.No limp when she’d run to us.No awkward angles.Just shaking hands and wild eyes and a body that had been pushed past what it should’ve handled.
Anyone would’ve been frantic after that.
Anyone would’ve been rattled after being chased through the woods, convinced it was their last few minutes on earth.
She’d survived it.
That mattered.
I wanted to talk to her.God, I wanted to hear everything: what they said, what they did, how close she’d come.I wanted to catalog every detail and burn it into my memory so I could deal with it later.
But not now.
Right now, I just wanted to get her home.
I eased the bike into motion, keeping my speed steady, smooth, predictable.No sudden movements.No aggressive turns.I didn’t want to scare her.Didn’t want her gripping me tighter because she thought she might fall.
Not that I minded the way her body was pressed against mine.
Clove had never been on the back of my bike before.The thought hit me out of nowhere and lodged itself firmly in my chest.
I’d never had a woman back there.
Not once.
It wasn’t some rule I’d announced or enforced; it was just something I’d always known about myself.The only woman who would ever ride on the back of my bike would be my ol’ lady.No exceptions.No casual rides.No proving points.
And now Clove was there.
Her knees snug against my thighs.Her hands gripping my jacket like she trusted me to keep her upright and alive.
Something in me shifted, subtle but irreversible.