Page 90 of Ride With Me

His smile was back, and he forked a mouthful of pancakes and started chewing before he nodded. At least he waited until he’d swallowed before he spoke.

“Sounds good to me.”

I waited a beat, wondering if he was going to say anything else—maybe explain exactly why he was running—but it was obvious that he was in trouble… and I understood that sometimes trouble came with painful memories.

It was another dumb decision, but I didn’t push him on it.

“All right then. Finish your pancakes… we need to get back on the road.”

He smiled again, and I didn’t miss the way he mouthed the wordwebefore he turned his attention back to his plate.

This was a mistake, but at least I wasn’t going into it blind. Honestly, I’d known from the second I found him in the back of the truck that Iwantedhim, and I was shit at impulse control.

I just had to hope it wasn’t going to bite either of us in the ass before it was all said and done.

CHAPTER 3

BENJI

My instincts were never wrong,and I knew from the second I saw Warren on top of me that he wasn’t going to be able to resist helping me. Maybe he was right, and I’d taken a bit of a gamble climbing into his truck to begin with, but he’d paid for my pancakes and held the truck door open for me so I could climb into the passenger seat without a word.

And he’d carefully slung my backpack into the space between us before he climbed into the driver’s side and started his truck up again.

It was nice not having to hide in the back seat. I’d expected to stay scrunched up under that blanket for hours. Instead, I turned my head toward Warren and let a smile flit across my features.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah,” he muttered. I watched his shoulders rise and fall in a silent sigh. “I still think you aren’t realizing how much of a risk you took.”

I was aware, but I just drew one knee up to my chest and rested my cheek on it so I could keep watching him while he kept his eyes on the road, pulling back onto the freeway.

“It doesn’t matter how much of a risk it was. I can promise you, it’s better here than stranded back at that stop with no way out of the state.”

“I’m not like… harboring a fugitive, am I?” He hedged the question carefully, and I let out a sharp burst of laughter.

“Oh, yeah, you’re smuggling a killer across state lines. The FBI is going to be after you soon.” I made sure to lace the words with as much sarcasm as I could manage, and I didn’t miss the flick of his bright blue eyes as they turned to me for a second.

“You don’t look like you could kill anything.” He didn’t give me a chance to defend my slight stature, though. He just glanced at me again. “But you do look like you’re in trouble.”

I frowned, twisting to rest my forehead against my knee. Exactly how much did I want to tell him?

How much did I want a virtual stranger to know about me? He’d been nice enoughnotto strangle me in the back of his truck when he found me, and after his little confession in the diner, I had to wonder if it was because of the attraction between us that I was beginning to think was mutual.

Attraction probably wasn’t enough of a reason to confess my deepest, darkest secrets. So…

“Trouble always seems to find me. What matters is you’re nice enough to drive me in the opposite direction.” I tried for a sweet smile, but there was something about the way he looked at me that told me he was seeing right through it.

I didn’t know how much I liked feelingseen.

It wasn’t something that I usually allowed, if I was being honest. Getting close to people was the best waytoget into trouble.

I managed do to that without any help.

For his part, Warren looked at me for a few seconds like he wanted to ask more. I could see the curiosity burning unbridled behind his stare. For a second, I thought he was going to breakdown and push the topic, and I found myself wondering what I would do about it.

I could tell him.

Or... If he got too curious, I could do what I always did, couldn’t I? My eyes slid across the distance between us again, and I looked him up and down.

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