Page 6 of In It for the Long Ride

I reached right past her face, grabbed a fistful of her long, unruly curls and jerked her back to my mouth. I smothered her curses and bullied her toward the work bench until she had nowhere to go.

Her hand shot for my face as I might have predicted it would have, if I’d actually thought about what I was doing and not lost myself to impulsivity. A second wave of stinging settled across my cheek, but so did her palm. The other hand curled into my kutte like she meant to keep me, and she shocked the sense back into me when she kissed me back.

Our mouths warred, making up for every insult, curse, and wasted moment of the past twenty plus years.

It was incredible.

I could have died and gone to my maker a happy man.

It probably would have been for the best if I had, because her next words crippled my spirit in a way that it might never recover from.

“The feds have Crystal.”

Her eyes shifted open, and she stared at me so pointedly that I knew whatever I said or did next was going to determine what became of us.

“Wha–?” I blinked, and tried to shove a few words out, but my mouth was so fucking dry.

“They have Chicago, too. I have to get Blaze from school. I’m leaving with him. Come with me, Carl. Come with me or go down with this shit show.”

I ducked my head back like she’d taken another shot at me.

“Dai–” I started, but she shoved me and shifted past.

I grabbed her arm, and she hurled back at me like she probably should have the first time. Instead of a little smack, she laid a right hook to my jaw.

“Goddamn it, woman!” I roared, storming into her.

I took her by the upper arms and gave her a little shake.

“You’ve got to slow down.”

“Nope. Time’s up, Carl.” She jerked away.

I trotted after her like some kind of fucking teenager.

“Daisy–” When she hefted the driver's side door open, I shot around the trunk and jerked the passenger door open before she could lock it.

“Shut the fucking door, Carl,” she advised, while firing the engine up.

She didn’t even look in the rearview, she threw it into reverse and stomped on the gas. The door clipped the other side of my jaw, and I grabbed it like I meant to take the damn thing off its hinges.

Of course, I couldn’t, and she wasn’t fucking slowing down any, so I had no choice but to dance with the car and jump in.The door clipped shut on my ankle and I howled and grabbed it, leaving the thing to smack me in the head when she stomped on the brake, and it came back.

“Mother fuck!” I roared, drawing up, but the only one to confront was Daisy’s wide-eyed ass.

She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“What the fuck are you staring at me like that for?” I spat, still too shocked and stunned with pain to be bothered with how I was talking to anyone.

Her dimples fluttered and a smile broke out before she laughed and sniffled.

“What?”

“If I’d have known all I had to do was hit you with the car to make you choose me over that club, I’d have done it twenty years ago,” she whispered.

Chapter 4

Daisy

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