Page 74 of Hate Mates

“Mom, it’s me.” My voice is shaky.

“Vina?” she says immediately awake, sharp. “Where are you?”

I gulp down a knot in my throat. “I...I can’t tell you. How’s Dad? Home?”

Mom sighs. “No, he’s at CC General Hospital.”

“What room,” I ask.

“Two seventeen,” she answers. “Still in ICU for a few more days, but the doc says he’ll be okay.”

Relief washes over me, but Mom doesn’t have a clue as to the extent of the trouble we’re in. “Look, I’m … we … might have to disappear for a while.”

“Who is we?” Mom gasps. “Disappear? Vina, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“I can’t”—I pinch the bridge of my nose—“explain right now. I’m safe. I’ll call when I can.”

“The hell you can’t explain!” Her voice rises in pitch. “You can’t just call me in the middle of the night talking about disappearing and expect me to?—”

There’s a click on the line, and my pulse skitters.

“I gotta go, Mom. I’m sorry. Love you.”

“Be careful, Corvina …” her voice trails as I hang up before she argues further.

The receiver clatters as I shove it back onto the cradle, and I hang my head. The adrenaline is gone, and I’m crashing hard.

The bathroom door opens, and Blaze steps out, a towel slung low on his hips. Rivulets of water run down his sculpted chest, tracing the lines of his abs, rolling toward that V dipping down from his hips. I avert my gaze, but not before glimpsing the only tattoo on his body.

Across his ribs—a crown wreathed in flames. The mark of his club. The enemy.

He runs a hand through his damp hair, making it stand up in tousled spikes. “How’d it go with your mom?”

I shrug. “As well as expected.”

He grabs his jeans off the chair and disappears into the bathroom, and I exhale.

The memory of riding on the back of his bike floods my mind—the rumble of the engine, the wind whipping my hair, the solid warmth of his body as I pressed against him. I had no choice but to wrap my arms around his waist, to lean into him as he took the turns at breakneck speed.

It meant nothing, only necessity. And that searing kiss in the barn was just the heat of the moment too. But I can’t shake the feeling of how my heart raced from more than just the thrill of the ride.

I will away the images. I can’t afford to think like that about him.

Blaze reappears, now clad in his jeans, his damp skin glistening in the dim light. He leans against the dresser, arms crossed over his bare chest, watching me with intensity.

The air crackles, like lightning’s about to strike, and I fixate on the threadbare carpet. The silence weighs on my shoulders, broken only by the distant sound of a train whistle and the hum of the neon sign.

Blaze clears his throat, and when he speaks, his voice is rougher than usual. “We should get some rest.”

Still watching him only from the corner of my eye, I answer, “Good idea.”

I tug off my boots, letting them thud to the floor. I crawl under the thin blanket, the sheets cold against my skin, and the bed dips when Blaze settles on the other side, careful to leave space between us. The gap feels like a chasm, but also not nearly wide enough.

As I curl onto my side with my back to him, my heart beats against my ribcage. Despite my exhaustion, I’m hyper aware of every shift of his body, every breath he takes. I’m supposed to hate him, this man who’s now my unlikely protector.

“If you snore, I’ll smother you in your sleep,” I mutter.

Blaze lets out a dark chuckle that resonates in my bones. “Duly noted.”

---