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Banger’s Ride(207)

By:Chiah Wilder


The sun set over the mountain peaks as the moon rose in the darkened eastern sky. Cara glanced at the clock in the kitchen and noticed it was six-fifteen. She had to get a move on, so she motioned Kylie over.

“What’s up?” Kylie asked.

“I need to go out for a bit, but I don’t want Ruben tagging me. Do you think you can distract him for about fifteen minutes or so?”

“Why would Ruben follow you?”

“Hawk isn’t here, and he wanted to make sure I’m doing okay. You know how these men are.”

“God, I love these guys. They’re my family, but they can be so infuriating with their possessiveness,” Kylie said, rolling her eyes.

“Tell me about it. I need a little time to myself, you know?”

“Oh, yeah, I get it. I’ll distract Ruben for a bit.”

“Thanks. I owe you one,” Cara smiled at the girl and headed toward the stairs. As Ruben followed her, Cara said to Kylie, “I think I’ll read in my room for a while. Let me know when dinner is ready.”

Kylie came up to Ruben and asked, “Do you know if my dad’s here?”

Cara pretended to climb the stairs, but the minute Ruben turned his head toward Kylie, she tiptoed down the hallway into the mud room. Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind her, she opened the back door. The bitter cold slapped her in the face and she pulled her sweater tighter around her chest. Inside her car, she switched on the ignition and killed her headlights. She drove to the chain-link fence and jumped out to open it. Her fingers, numb from the cold, fumbled with the lock as she checked behind her shoulder.

“Where’re you going?” a gruff voice asked.

She turned around and expected to see Ruben, but instead, she looked into Johnnie’s eyes. “I’m running to do an errand of the female type,” she said.

Embarrassed, he looked down, and said, “Do you need help with the lock?”

“Yes, please. My fingers are so cold I can’t move them right.”

He came over, and with his gloved hand, opened the lock. Relief flooded over her. She knew Ruben would climb the stairs to make sure she was in Hawk’s room, and she had wasted precious time with the damn lock. Smiling at Johnnie, she said, “Thanks.” She plopped in her car, turned on her headlights, and drove into the murky night.





Chapter Twenty-Eight





Eric looked at his watch. It was almost seven o’clock, and Cara still wasn’t there. Maybe something held her up. He decided to give her five more minutes, then he’d leave. It was damn freezing in the shack near the abandoned mine. Thinking back to his high school years, he remembered coming to the mine with his buddies to drink beer, and sometimes they’d bring a few girls to make-out with. The girls were afraid the shack and mine were haunted. Those were the carefree days, when he didn’t have much to worry about and his life was in order.

Those days seemed so long ago, and he was weary of everything. He didn’t want to marry Nancy because she was a demanding bitch, but her father had a lot of money and political clout, so she was a necessary component in his plan to run for mayor. How he wished he could stop the tedious wheel his life was on.

Where is Cara? He needed to talk to her to find out what she thought was so urgent. Why couldn’t she keep her nose out of this mess like he had asked her to? She’d always been a curious girl. Back when they were kids, she’d questioned everything, and whenever they’d watch police shows together, she’d tell him how she would’ve done things differently. He smiled to himself; he and Cara had been so close growing up. Over the last few years, they had drifted apart, and he knew it was more his fault than hers because he was the one who’d distanced himself. He felt vulnerable, like his world was closing in around him, and he didn’t want Cara to see his weakness.

I’m so stressed. All Cara cares about is her lowlife, outlaw biker. The thought of her with Hawk revolted him. How can Cara even think of going out with a man like Hawk? Why does she find him attractive, he’s—

Tires crunching on the snow in front of the mine interrupted Eric’s thoughts. He peered out the doorway and saw Cara park her sports car.

“It’s about time. You’re late. I was ready to leave,” Eric said when she entered the shack.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be late. How are you? You look tired,” she commented.

“Work is a pain in the ass, and Nancy is driving me nuts with all the wedding plans. I’ll be glad when that’s all over. You look great, rested and happy,” he said, his eyes scanning her face.

She laughed. “A few days off works wonders.”