Page 19 of Chasing Kings

She bit her thumbnail and tried not to imagine being murdered in the desert.

Ethan turned on the radio and tuned into a random pop-rock station. Stevie Nicks was singing “Edge of Seventeen”, and for some reason the familiarity of the opening guitar riff and Nicks’s raspy gypsy voice made the stiffness melt off her, and she relaxed into her seat.

Finally, when even the upbeat music couldn’t soothe her anymore, Sam asked, “Where are we going?” She’d already asked once or twice, but every time Ethan had dodged the question without really giving her an answer.

“We’re not far.”

“I wouldn’t look good as a sun-bleached, vulture-picked corpse. I mean, I don’t think I’d look good as any corpse, so keep that in mind, but like…especially not good in the desert.”

When they were on a straight stretch of road, Ethan shifted his eyes and looked at her. “What was that?”

“I mean, if you’re driving me out somewhere to kill me.” She gave a little shrug and kept a light tone to her voice, hoping he might laugh.

It must have worked, because he cracked a smile and chuckled softly. “I’m sorry. I thought I’d picked up a sane girl, but from what you just said it sounds to me like you’re pretty fluent in crazy.”

“You would think, considering how many women you work with, that you’d know by now—the only difference between a sane woman and a crazy one is that the sane one hasn’t let you see her craziness yet.”

At that he laughed loudly, a rich sound that made Sam glow with a curious warmth. “I didn’t know there were such fine distinctions between the crazy and the sane. Thank you for enlightening me.”

“Glad to help.”

“Just to be clear, though, I have no intention of leaving your bloated corpse in the desert.” He grimaced slightly at the words bloated corpse.

“No? Keeping it in the trunk then?”

“On a rental? Are you out of your mind? I’d never get my deposit back.”

“Well, I mean that all depends on how violently you plan to do away with me.”

“Oh, I’m going to throw you to the lions,” he told her, nodding decisively. “It’s going to be grisly.”

He turned the car onto a highway that looked totally abandoned, the high midday sun baking the bare earth. It was hard to believe it was February. The weather and landscape in Nevada made it seem like they were on the hot surface of a strange and distant planet. Sam silently thanked herself for having the foresight to put on sunscreen. With all the rain she dealt with in Oregon, she sometimes got lazy with her skincare habits, but she had been smart enough to think of the desert sun when she packed. Looked like she’d been smart to.

They followed the road another ten minutes or so, Ethan lapsing into another contemplative silence before he angled off onto a side road. With the exception of a lot containing a small house, a child’s play structure and a dingy brick wall beyond, there didn’t seem to be anything to look at.

As they drove, the brick wall went on for a long distance with them, until Ethan turned and pulled into a parking lot within the confine

s of the wall. Just looking at it reminded Sam of a prison lot. Her gut told her it was unlikely he’d be taking her on a romantic tour of a penitentiary, so it had to be something different.

“What are you up to?” she asked.

He smiled, the same coy, flirty smile he’d given her the first time they met, and got out of the car, coming around to her side to let her out. They cleared the lot without him offering her any insight, but beyond the main building, Sam swore she could see cages. Lots of them.

Then an animal roared.

Her eyes went wide, and she glanced over at him, but he hadn’t lost that grin, looking pretty damned pleased with himself as he put a hand on the small of her back and steered her in the direction of the main building.

Inside, a wall of A/C greeted them like an arctic air slap, and Sam was suddenly freezing in spite of the eighty-degree heat she’d just come out of. Ethan stuck to her side, and having him close made the chill a little easier to bear.

A young woman, wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a white polo T-shirt with the name Lion Habitat Ranch emblazoned over a photo of a small lion cub, got up to greet them.

Sam gave Ethan an assessing look. She’d assumed he’d been kidding when he said he was going to throw her to the lions, and though she obviously knew he wasn’t planning to murder her, she was more and more curious about what he was up to.

“Hi, guys, welcome to the Ranch. How can I help you?” Her voice was bubbly and bright, making her the perfect person for a greeter position.

“I have a reservation for one of the interactions. Should be under Ethan Silver.”

If the girl recognized his name, she made no sign of showing it. Though Sam was guessing Ethan’s celebrity status was limited to a very specific sphere of the population.

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