Page 8 of King of Pain

I hit the accelerator.

It doesn’t matter which direction we go this exact moment, as long as we slip away from here. I’ll figure out how to reach my family after I know we’re safe.

CHAPTER THREE

Kate

I’m going to hell.

It’s not because I’m speeding through the night with the headlights off, while my date and his deranged brother chase us.

It’s because…

I think I might be turning into my mother.

The woman is a bum magnet. Like every guy that a woman should not want, she brought home. Tried to pass off as my daddy for the week or month he’d stick around.

I’ve been so careful to avoid that trap. I don’t date. I keep my head down. But now…

This guy has every part of me humming. And I think for the first time in my life, I might understand why she liked bad boys.

I can’t even remember this guy’s name.

I think he told me, but I was barely paying attention. In my defense, I was still recovering from having a gun to my head.

What have I learned? I know for sure this guy is a criminal. The kind who gets shot, knows how to beat other guys up, really big guys. The kind who knows how to steal cars…

Man, I know how to pick ‘em.

“Can I…” I start. “Can I ask your name again?”

“Luke.” He must have the gas pedal pressed to the floor as we take a right turn, speeding through the night.

Luke. It’s a perfect name for this guy. Watching him drive, I can feel liquid fire in my panties. It doesn’t help that he’s incredibly hot. Like way too hot for me.

And the fact that he went out of his way to bring me with him, doesn’t help either. Would it be weird if I slept with him?

It would be. It definitely would. The silent lecture going on in my head is epic. I should be worried about why he just killed the lights and hit the gas.

Instead, I picture introducing Luke to my med school friends…

How’d you two meet?

He rescued me after my date kidnapped me. Couldn’t control myself after that.

This is not exactly a meet cute line that you tell your friends over drinks.

I could probably tell my mom. She would one hundred percent get it, which is part of why this crazy attraction is so scary.

This is why I don’t date. I’ve kept my head down, focused on my studies.

It’s been working for me.

But I’ve been bored and lonely for a while, and now I’m in a whole new city where I know no one. When Vincent asked me out, I knew he wasn’t relationship material. Not even date material. But I wanted a night I wasn’t alone.

He had money and connections, and I figured I’d be all right for one date even if he was a “no good” guy. He was attractive enough, though, and I really did want that dinner.

I know better. I should have just said no when he asked me at that bar. If I’d followed my own rules, I’d be fine right now.

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