Page 111 of Chasing Lyric
My pulse hammers against my ribs, each beat louder than the last. I swear Dax can probably hear it thumping through the damn upholstery.
She snatches the note. No hesitation. My breath catches, my lungs halfway through a breath, they never finish.
Her shoulders drop, her eyes scan the page. And for a second, a goddamn split second, something in her changes. There’s a flicker across her face, a softness that wasn’t there before, then the wildest thing happens. She presses the note to her chest, eyes closing like she’s holding onto something she thought she lost.
LikeImatter.
And just like that, I feel it.
Hope.
Hot, hard, overwhelming.
It crashes into my bloodstream, pushing out every doubt I had. My hand clenches against the seat, gripping it for dear fucking life. My leg bounces restlessly, adrenaline demanding an outlet. Every part of me wants to bolt from this car and close the distance, pull her into my arms, breathe her in, tell her I’mnotgoing anywhere.
But I don’t move.
Because this moment?
She gave me something with it.
Dax lets out a low whistle. “We have a jackpot!”
She slowly slides the note into her pocket, and I feel relief in every inch of my body.
She pocketed the note.
She didn’t toss it.
Didn’t tear it.
She kept it.
And I swear to God, it takes everything in me not to chase after her like a madman.
I shift in my seat, my jaw tight, my heart louder than reason.
I can’t rush this.
I won’t screw this up again.
But damn if it doesn’t take every ounce of control I have.
Dax taps my leg. “Okay, big man, onto the next one.” He gestures to a young boy riding past on his bicycle. Dax jumps out of the car in a mad dash before I have a second to gather my thoughts. But Dax has gone rogue, so I need to pull my head in and get with the program. I quickly jump out of the car to see that Dax has stopped the kid and has him headed back this way.
“So, kid, I have a proposition for you,” Dax blurts out.
“Oh geez,” I grunt out.That shit sounded terrible.
The young kid, who must be all of about ten, suddenly seems aware of the danger he’s found himself in around two grown men and a car on the side of the street.
“My mom told me to be aware of stranger danger, so I’ll pass.”
I let out a small laugh. This isexactlywhere I thought this was going. Dax might have all the moves on the ladies, maybe even some men too, but with kids, he’s just a fucking weirdo.
“Oh hell, no, I’m not a creeper, kid. Shit! This is nothing like that. We just want you to go into the florist right down there and give the lady with blonde hair this note, but don’t tell her we’re out here. If you do that, I’ll give you twenty bucks.”
The kid tilts his head to the side, raising his brow. “Fifty?”
