I drove for over twelve hours. Even though my body was crashing, my adrenaline was keeping me going. I was in North Carolina, winding through some of the most breathtaking mountains and foothills I had everseen.
My head started to bob as the tiredness took over. I strained to read the sign in front of me:Vilas – 5 miles. I could make it five miles. I started to slap my cheeks lightly, blasted the cold air, cranked up the radio, and bounced in my seat. I was coming in on fumes, but I made it. I pulled off into the gravel parking lot of what looked to be a biker bar. I didn’t care where the fuck I was—I just needed to sleep. I put my car in park, grabbed my sweatshirt from the back seat, reclined my chair, and dozedoff.
* * *
Alight tappingon my window woke me up. The sun was shining bright as I forced my stinging eyes toopen.
“Ma’am? You all right?” a pregnant woman called through the glass. She had a sweet smile and kindeyes.
I rolled down my window, squinting from the sunlight. “Yeah, just had to pull off the highway last night before I fell asleep whiledriving.”
“How about you come on inside and grab a bite to eat before you head back on the road? You look like you could use a good, hotmeal.”
I couldn’t argue with her; my stomach felt hollow. “Yeah, allright.”
I followed her into the bar after she unlocked the front door. “It’ll only be a few minutes for me to open up and everything. Why don’t you just take a seat and look at the menu while I run into the back realquick?”
“Thank you.” I did as she instructed. I stared down at the laminated page, not reading a damn word. I was still in shock that I was in the middle of the mountains in North Carolina because of my damn douche canoe of an ex. What a fuckingjoke.
“So, where are you headed?” she asked, making her way behind thebar.
I shrugged. “Fuck if I know. Just not back to where I camefrom.”
“Well, Vilas is a town filled with people running toward things and away from them. I’mRaine.”
She offered me her hand. Shaking it, I replied, “I’mSloan.”
“It’s nice to meet you. There’s a motel right up the road if you need to crash somewhere other than your car for a night or two while you’re trying to figure out what the hell you’re going to do. It’s cheap and a bit dodgy, but it’s the only one in town.” She filled a glass with ice and water, setting it down on a coaster in front ofme.
“Thanks. I’ll think about it.” The water tasted better than anything I’d ever had in my life—probably because I hadn’t had anything to drink or eat since the previousmorning.
I chugged down two glasses of water and ordered a cheeseburger with a fried egg on top. It seemed so odd to me that someone as sweet as Raine was working behind the bar of such adump.
She set my food down in front of me with a caddy full of condiments. “Enjoy,” she stated with a kindsmile.
“What time is it?” I asked. It was odd that I didn’t have my phone. Moments like that really showed me how dependent our society had become ontechnology.
Raine glanced over at the bar’s register. “Almostnoon.”
I ran my fingers through my long greasy hair. I wasn’t sure how long I had slept, but it was definitely at least twelve hours. Even so, my body was still exhausted. I knew I needed to set a game plan before I made any other moves, and I still needed to check my car for tracking devices andwires.
After I’d taken a couple of delicious bites of my messy burger, a few men wearing leather vests walked in. I had only seen bikers on TV and in the movies, and I would have been a liar if I didn’t admit that it was thrilling to see them inperson.
Two of the men sat at the far side of the bar while the third walked around the back. It was adorable how much Raine’s face lit up when the guy scooped her into his arms and kissed her. Now it made sense why she was working there—she was part of theirlifestyle.
Raine walked down the bar, hand in hand with her guy. “Sloan, this is my husband,Ryder.”
They were a young couple and seemed so much in love. It radiated from them in the simplest of ways—the way he touched her, the way she smiled at him, the way he glanced at her when she wasn’tlooking.
We shook hands. “It’s a pleasure, darlin’. Raine says you’re just passing through, but if you need anything while you’re in town, we’d be more than happy tohelp.”
I bit my lip.Why are these people being so kind to me?It’s so sad that when people are actually being genuinely nice and trying to help out a stranger, the first reaction is to question their motives.I had always thought one-percenters were scumbag vigilantes who treated women like shit and had a total disregard for the law. In only minutes, this couple was proving my assumptions to bewrong.
“Nice to meet you. Could I actually get directions to that motel? I think having a home base for a day or two would be smart.” Right as Ryder was about to explain how to get to my destination, one of the other members walked up behindme.
“I’m headin’ in that direction, I could point it out to you on my way.” He was tall, big—not in a bad way, just muscular and wide—and had stunning ice blue eyes and a smile that could melt any girl’s panties on thespot.
Get a grip. You’re already running from one psycho of anex.