I don’t know where we are or how long we’ve been driving. It’s still night, but even without the streetlights, I can see the pain etched on Kaiden’s face. Blood is caked beneath his nose, and he’s holding his side. His shirt is torn in a few places, and I know I should be more concerned, but honestly...
That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
It’s always been a constant thing with us. It’s not the first time he’s kicked someone else’s ass for me, but it might be the first time he’s been beat while doing it. I shake my head. I know the thoughts are inappropriate, in more ways than one, and I just try to focus on the road. It’s so quiet, but I don’t feel safe being anywhere near Ryder.
“We need to take you to a hospital,” I say, but I don’t glance at him. I know a hospital is the last place he’d want to be after a fight like that. I’m pretty sure one of the conditions of his bail would be that he can’t be involved with those people or alcohol or whatever anymore.
“I’ll be fine,” he instantly replies, though he winces a little. “I just need a place to lay low. We should be far enough away, but if you see an all-night pharmacy...”
He trails off, and I nod obediently.
“Just rest back,” I say, adrenaline still coursing through me and making me more lead-footed than usual.
Mile after mile of road spreads out, California desert on all sides as I make my way west, towards our old town. It’s not that I want to go home, but I just don’t know where else to go, and I’m craving the comfortable, the familiar. All I have on me is a hundred bucks in tips, and instinctively, I know there’s no going back to our trailer.
Ryder’ll have people looking for us, and I glance at Kaiden.
His eyes are shut, and though his lips are still pulled into a sneer, he’s absolutely gorgeous. Everything about him, even in his pain, just screams out for me.
I lick my lips, my heart beating so loudly in my chest.
“You saved my life,” I murmur, not even sure if he’ll hear me. The words hang between us, and I drink the entire situation in, trying to cope with what just happened. I have no idea what Ryder is capable of, but now I do, and I don’t know what to do next.
“Right back at you, Princess,” he says in his gravelly husk of a voice, so raw and harsh after the night we just had. “If you hadn’t given me the distraction, it’s likely they would’ve just put me down on the spot before I had a chance to turn the tables.”
He winces again, his thick, muscular arm draped over his battered side as he sits there beside me in pain. He’d taken a brutal beating from four big, strong guys and still has it in him to turn things around and save us both. This is a miracle, all things considered, and judging by the fact that I heard a crack or two, he has at least one broken rib beneath his bloodstained shirt.
I stare ahead, desperate to keep my mind off of just how damn attracted I am to him right now. We’ve spent so many years running from one another, running from our desires and God only knows what else.
And look at all the good that’s done us?
He’s facing prison time, and we’re both on the run from a killer.
“We can head back, go home,” I say distantly, but he shakes his head with a groan.
“No need.”
I look at him, my brows furrowed.
“I knew what I was getting into, Princess, and that I likely wouldn’t be coming back. I transferred all the money I had saved over the years into a safety deposit box in your name.”
“My name?” I ask, drawing in my lower lip, and he nods.
It’s not just the pain of the beating getting to him.
“I’ve done some stupid things in my life, Abby, but I saved every penny. I couldn’t tell anyone about it, I couldn’t pay my bail with it because I didn’t get it legally. So mom and dad went broke, and I was just sittin’ on money I couldn’t spend. So a few months ago, I set up some safety deposit boxes in your name.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
There’s a part of me that’s so mad, so outraged that maybe there was a way mom and dad didn’t have to sell out my future to bail him out. But it’s tempered with gratitude.
“How much?”
He swallows with a wince and his breathing is a bit off, but he looks at me and rests his hand on top of mine.
“When I transferred it, there was $1.5 million.”
I must have heard that wrong.
I slow down for a second before I remember we’re on the run and speed up once more.
“Over one million dollars?”
He smirks, proud of my surprise, but he looks like a scolded pup at the same time. He won’t meet my eyes, and he nods more seriously.