Page 10 of Slay Ride

“I’d be happy to let her down for you,” I say with a laugh.

He laughs too, because we both know I wouldn’t let her down gently. I’d drop her ass from the Empire State Building, then race down to see the carnage at the bottom.

“Just pick me up and take me to the airport. If you’ll do this for me, I’ll see if I can put in a good word for you with the higher-ups.”

Ouch. That hurts. It wasn’t so long ago that a green-eyed youngster came to me to get into the game. I was the one putting in the good word. Now...I’m finished.

I tell Maverick I’ll be by his hotel to pick him up shortly. He gives me the address, and I end the call and head toward the door.

But then an idea strikes me as I’m reaching for the door handle. I’ll already be at the airport, so maybe I should pack abag and catch a flight myself. Since I don’t have any work lined up, I have plenty of free time. Silver linings and shit.

I hear Texas is nice this time of year.

Well, parts of Texas are still warm. If I’m forced to go north, there could be some cold and snow. I’ll pack some light winter gear, just in case. I’m chaotic, but I’m never underprepared.

After tossing a few things into my suitcase, I shut down the apartment, turning off lights and unplugging appliances. Now that I know why the work river has stopped flowing my way, I’ll need to be more careful with my already strained finances. My mother’s care comes first, though. I’ll live in a box and scrub car windows with newspaper before I make her do without anything.

I don’t know how long I’ll be out of town, so I call a ride service. I won’t leave my bike in a parking garage. Maverick can pay for the ride since he’d have paid for one if I hadn’t agreed to take him. It’s the transitive property or some shit.

With a plan in place, I take my suitcase downstairs and wait for the driver to pull up. In a few short hours, I’ll be up in the air and miles away from my problems. Maybe this is just what I need.

Or maybe what I need is in Alaska after all.

Without a real lead on Luisa G., our infamous missing sister, it seems pointless to waste a plane ticket to Texas. I’ll also end up spending a lot of money while I’m there. If I go northwest, however, Ezra will cover the plane ticket, and there are no lodging expenses for insiders like me.

Not to mention the havoc I can wreak. I know how excited Cat must be to get her first kill, but I’m even more excited at the prospect of preventing that from happening. The look on her face when I arrive will be enough to soothe my broken soul.

As the car pulls against the curb, I’ve made up my mind. I lean into the window and say, “I need five minutes. I’ve forgotten my winter finest.”

And just like that, I’m Alaska bound.

Chapter Five

Cat

The mansion is a hub of activity today. I had no clue just how much went on behind the scenes at one of these retreats, but I’ve learned a lot since arriving. Kindra and I were plastering wallpaper to the bathroom walls until nearly three in the morning.

Now I’m in the kitchen with Chef Maurice. Since I took his class at the summer retreat, Kindra thought I’d be the best fit to help him. She seems to have forgotten how much he hates me after I refused his brain puffs.

Hecertainly hasn’t forgotten. As he spins around the stainless-steel kitchen, he pins me with an icy glare every few turns. His eyes are a bit hard to see below the thick red caterpillars hovering above them, but I get the message loud and clear.

“I’ve cut the chicken, Chef,” I say. “Did you need help with anything else?”

He glowers at the massive pot before him. “It shouldn’t be chicken. It should be a finer delicacy than this.”

“Maybe we can talk Kindra and Ezra into letting you serve human during the cooking classes. We have enough Cattle stored in the basement. There should be a few we can pull for that.”

Chef Maurice scoffs before stirring the sauce inside the pot. “Yes, well, if you can make that happen, I might be a little kinder to you. Go and see what you can do.”

I remove the filthy apron and wash my hands before leaving the chef and his small team to handle the rest. Kindra shouldn’t have an issue with my suggestion, especially since it’s not like she has to eat it. She hates cooking.

I find her in the front hall. She and Ezra are locked in a heated discussion with one of the grooms. Stepping closer, I learn that one of the coachmen slaughtered the other, so now we’re down to a single driver.

“I might be able to help,” I say. “My family had horses, so I have some experience.”

Kindra looks from me to the groom. I understand her trepidation. Most of the workers are former convicts who survived the hunt on the final day of Jim’s summer retreat. Since I haven’t even killed anyone yet, she’s worried about my safety.

“I’ll be fine,” I whisper to her. “Jim doesn’t let the sex offenders survive, even if they make it through the hunt. Most of these men and women are wanted for financial or drug crimes, not violent crimes.”

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