Page 38 of Hard Ride

“Here’s what we’re going to do.”Ollie returned to his seat and strapped himself in again.He spun his chair around and said, “Kyra, you good with riding backward?”

“Yeah.I’m so used to spending time on the tour bus, I don’t get motion sickness anymore.”She watched as he locked himself in place behind the steering wheel again.

“Turn your seat around so you’re facing Van.The two of you can talk this through.There’s nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide.”He cleared his throat.“And if you need a mediator, I’ll be here to step in.”

Kyra seemed to relax at that.“That would be great.Thank you.”

She mimicked his earlier motions and unlocked her seat, freeing it to swivel into the reverse position.When she clicked into place, staring directly at Van, she said, “Hi.”

He smiled at that, how could he not when faced with her, and waved.“Hey.”

“Okay, here we go.”Ollie put on his signal, then carefully checked all his mirrors before merging back onto the highway.So it was a shock when the vehicle coming up behind them in the middle lane swerved over, nearly sideswiping them in the process.

“Holy fucking shit!”Van grabbed at the side door.“How are we supposed to talk when you drive like that?”

“It wasn’t me that time!”Ollie shouted.He reached over and tapped the small black box mounted to his windshield, which beeped three times.

“What was that?”Van asked, leaning forward to help Kyra right herself.

“Dash cam.It will save a clip going back ninety seconds.”Ollie hated to say it, considering he’d felt like they’d been on the verge of a breakthrough, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes that they had been.He was going to share everything.“The only thing I saw…or thought I did…”

“What?”Van was on high alert.

“I think the plates were from Iowa.”He practically spit the information about his new least favorite state.“Take the memory card out and check the footage on my laptop.”

Ollie turned to Kyra next.“Can you use your phone and search for campsites nearby?Maybe we should call it for today.”

Van retrieved the camera footage.In security mode, he took charge.“I do think we should lay low, but not on this route.If someone followed us out of Middletown, we need to throw them off.Kyra, look up the next major intersection of highways.Get us at least fifty miles away, then find for a place to stay the night.”

“Okay, got it.”She tapped and swiped at her phone as Van retrieved Ollie’s laptop next.He was silent as he analyzed the footage.Until he roared, “Fuck!”

“I didn’t want to be right.”Ollie pounded his fist on the steering wheel.“It could be a coincidence, right?”

Kyra didn’t say anything.Van grunted.“I’m going to email this clip to Jordan and have him run the plates.Let’s make sure.”

Ollie nodded, then Kyra told him, “You want exit 227 up ahead.It’ll take you to 80W and then you’ll have a bunch of options from there.I found places about thirty, forty-five, or a hundred miles away.”

Ollie checked the rearview mirror and Van nodded at him.“Hundred.”

“Good.Plenty of time for you two to finish your chat.”He smirked, trying to remind them of the problems they could control instead of the ones they couldn’t as easily.

“I’m not in the mood right now.”Van crossed his arms, his expression stormy as he peered at the road up ahead and then checked all around, as if the car that had nearly careened into them was somehow hiding right in their blind spot.

“Will you ever be?”Kyra asked him, surprising Ollie.Usually she didn’t challenge Van when he pulled away.

Things were changing.Hopefully for the better.

Ollie concentrated on driving to clear those worries from his mind.They were on this road together.All they could do was keep going.

“I honestly don’t understand how you can think I’m the one who’s not ready for this.”Van shifted some of his foul mood to Kyra.

“Maybe because you told me it was a mistake that one time I kissed you, like a year ago, and then after we fucked, you acted like it never happened.”She sounded ten years younger when she asked, “Do you wish it never had?”

“What?”Van rubbed his hands over his close-cropped head.“Of course not!It was the best sex of my life.”

“Could have fooled me.”She looked at Ollie as if asking him to team up with her against Van.

Unfortunately, he could see both sides from where he was sitting.“Did you seek him out afterward or go back to acting like everything was how it had been before?”

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