Page 60 of The Chase

“We wait for a time and place to meet. Then, we meet,” she said.

He stroked his stubble, the dissatisfaction clear on his face. “Well, fuck,” he said finally.

She sighed. “Colt, I’m sorry-”

“Cigarette,” he ground out, cutting her off before she could try to begin to explain. He heaved himself up from the sofa and crossed the room in a small number of strides.

She sighed, what could she say? “Please, Colt.”

He shrugged on his jacket, patted the pockets to check he had his lighter and the pack inside them. She pulled herself up off the sofa.

“I’m trying my hardest here, Kitten, I really am, but this is just… shit,” he said.

“I know, I promise, trust me-”

“April, fuck, I do trust you… but this… it’s not that easy for me to just... say okay… after everything...”

“I know, I get it, I do, just know-” She was in front of him, she reached up, putting her hands around his head, deep in his hair and she kissed him. Hard. Just lips. A hard, pure, simple kiss where she attempted to convey all she felt for him. She poured her heart and soul into that kiss.

He froze at first, making her work for it, and she did. Then he warmed up a little, squeezed her lips back, and then even opened his mouth, flicked his tongue inside hers for a moment. He pulled away first and she let him.

She stared up into his eyes. “I think we have a couple of options, and this person we meet, he will be able to make them happen for us,” she said, nodding to reassure him. Trying to reassure herself.

He grunted, his face passive. He gave her a flick of the head and stomped out of the cabin. She let him go.

The next morning, Colt stood at the bus stop on the main square in the town, arms crossed. He had no intention of getting a bus. After a shitty sleep last night, he was pissed off. April stood beside him, fidgeting nervously. They were pretending to check the bus schedule, but Colt wasn’t paying any attention to the times and bus routes in front of his eyes.

Who the fuck was this guy they were going to meet? Why was April nervous? She’d been distracted all morning. Last night she tossed and turned in bed before finally dropping off into a fitful sleep. But she didn’t seem full of dread, she was almost... excited. Flitting about at breakfast, unable to settle on one plate of food.

Colt sighed. “What are we-” he began, but April cut him off.

“Colt, I told you before, we’ve got to check the bus times, bear with me just a moment,” she said, her eyes scanning the minute details of the schedule, behind plastic in the bus shelter.

Colt ground his teeth. Fucking fine. She was saying they needed to do it her way. He’d follow, for now. He’d tried to ask a thousand questions about this meeting, but April had refused to answer. She just told him to let her take the lead. So he would. He’d play ball, but he hated not being in control, not calling the shots. The hairs on his arms bristled, he felt cold sweat on the back of his neck. He had the overwhelming urge to run. His guard was up. Adrenaline pumped through him. He knew he shouldn’t fly off the handle, he needed to keep control of his temper. He knew it with his rational mind, but his body was telling him something else.

He was aware of someone else loping up to the bus stop. Slightly outside of his field of vision. Just on the periphery. He sensed their presence. There was no one else at the bus stop. The streets were quiet.

April turned beside him from the timetable and looked up. Her face changed as she took in the arrival of the stranger. Colt watched, trying to gauge how he should react, too, when he turned and faced whoever it was. April looked on in awe and warmth. Colt frowned. Who the fuck was this guy?

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” a gravelly voice cut through the morning air.

Unfamiliar to Colt, and yet so familiar it hurt. It physically pulled at his heart. A bodily thing. A chemical thing. His breath caught in his throat. His brain scrambled to make sense of it, yet his heart leapt.

Joy.

Relief.

Confusion.

Hurt.

Betrayal.

He wanted to hug the man and punch him at the same time.

“Daddy, don’t swear,” April quietly muttered, her arms coming up.

Colt turned around fully now to look straight at the man they were meeting. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Colt echoed what the other man had just said.

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