Page 3 of Break The Ice

“You’re really hungry, aren’t you?” Raider says with a laugh. “I know the feeling.”

“Yes,” I say bleakly. “I just got off the bus. The pub doesn’t sell food, and, if I recall correctly, it’s about an hour’s walk to the nearest convenience store.”

Raider raises a brow. “Are you a local?”

I shake my head. “Just dropped by a few years back. On a return trip for work.”

He makes an ‘ah’ sound. “What do you do?”

“I’m a professional photographer,” I say absently and sweep all the nuts into the bowl and set them aside. I just can’t eat them now, no matter how hungry I am.

My stomach growls, and Raider sits back, laughing.

“Shut up, it’s not funny.”

“It kinda is. Come on, I’ve got something for you at home. I promise, nothing shady. But you won’t even find food at the convenience store this late. Consider this a kindness, one good deed from me to you.”

“Actual food, right?” I ask suspiciously.

Raider smiles and dips his head. “My house mate loves food, so there is always something tasty at home. Come on. I know what it feels like to be stuck somewhere on the road and need a meal. Consider this my one good deed for the year. You can sell the story to the tabloids when you need another meal.”

That’s not even funny.

“Why are you being nice?”

I can’t believe I’m asking Raider this question, but people aren’t nice. Not for no reason. Raider Raines is not going to kill me, I don’t think anyway.

But there are worse things that could happen. He could rape me. He could beat me up and rob me.

I consider my options, but taking the risk of going with Raider wins easily. I am so hungry.

Is that how desperate I am?

Yes, yes, I am. I just need a meal and a place to rest. And no one would expect me to go home with him.

I shake my head at my own stupidity. “Okay, hold on.” I approach the bar and tap to get the bartender’s attention. “I’m going home with Raider Raines. If you see me on the news, call the police and tell them he did it.”

Raider bursts into a peal of laughter that makes my stomach flutter.

“It’s not funny,” I growl as he walks me outside and helps me into his monster truck. “Girls have to be safe.”

From the shadows, I spot someone watching. My heart jolts in my chest, and my mouth goes dry. I strain to see who it is. He shifts and brings his face into a beam of light, and I realise it’s Wren. I wonder how he feels about Raider bringing me home. His disapproval leaks into the surrounding air with a cold hostility that makes me edgy. Well, that answers that question.

I should be worried, right? Should I say something?

But I feel like I know Raider Raines, as if we’ve been acquaintances all this time. I’ve been hearing about everything he’s done forever. I trust him. Wren, on the other hand, is a wild card.

Raider is my safe bet.

Wren stomps over and snatches the keys out of Raider’s hands. “Are you trying to lose your license? You’ve been drinking.”

I almost offer to leave, but my stomach grinds on air, and instead, I give in to my shameless nature. Sometimes you got to do what you got to do. Even if it hurts your pride.

Wren drives us through town and turns into the driveway of a modest little house in a cul-de-sac. He parks, and, in the dark, I can see the pretty, manicured gardens and the letterbox, all white and shiny.

Wren tenses his fingers around the steering wheel. “Don’t do this! It’s wrong.”

Raider snorts a laugh. “I’m just feeding the hungry. Go to bed, Wren. We’ll talk in the morning.”

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