Wild Nights(41)

Why do I even care how I look? I asked myself. Who am I trying to impress anyway?

I realized how ridiculous I was being. My looks should’ve been the last thing I was worrying about.

I stepped out of the bathroom in my dirty clothes, wet hair, and makeup free face, and was met with R.J. who was walking downstairs.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded as I followed him.

We crept out the back door quietly and climbed on his bike. He pushed it with his feet down to the bottom of the driveway before starting it up and gently gliding us down the street. There was no denying his bike was loud, but I could tell he was easy on the throttle. I’m sure the neighbors appreciated not being woken up by a loud Harley at six in the morning.

I clung onto him like my life depended on it because it did. I buried my face against his cool, smooth leather jacket and breathed in his musky scent. The morning air was a bit humid and sticky, but it felt nice and soft against my face.

About twenty minutes later, we pulled into the Greyhound Bus station. They had just opened and there was already a line forming at the ticket window.

I followed him to the line where we waited patiently, each of our eyes constantly scanning the room as if Blaze were going to show up at any minute.

“So what are we going to do about Blaze?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” R.J. said with a menacing smile. “My men are going to make sure he never bothers you again.”

“Are you going to turn him into the authorities?” I asked. I wanted him to rot in jail. Kidnapping was a felony, and I’d be damned if he got away with it.

“That’s the problem,” R.J. said with a wince. “As much as he deserves to go to prison for what he did, he’s got too much dirt on the club. He could sing like a canary and we’d all go down and he’d walk away with a slap on the wrist for being an informant.”

I realized R.J. had a point. It would only spell disaster for both of us in the long run. The last thing I wanted was for R.J. to go down for helping me and for Blaze to be able to track me down again.

“My men are going to scare the fucking shit out of him,” he said. “We’re going to make it very clear that he is to never see you or contact you again.”

“Thank you,” I said, looking up at him like he was some kind of superhero. He was definitely a hero to me.

“Here,” he said. He walked over and grabbed a map route and a pen and scribbled his number on it. “Don’t lose this. Call me if he ever so much as tries to call you or harass you or anything.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised. Having R.J. at my service was going to be better than having the police on speed dial, especially when it came to Blaze. “Wow. Thank you.”

“Call me if you need anything,” he said. “Ever. Blaze related or not.”

“Thank you,” I said again. “Will do.”

We soon found ourselves next in line and as the patron in front of us stepped away the lady at the ticket booth motioned for us to come towards her.

“Where do you live anyway?” he asked with a chuckled.

“St. Louis,” I replied.

“I need a one way ticket to St. Louis,” he said as he pulled out his wallet.

The ticket lady stared at her schedule. “Next one leaves in an hour. You’re lucky.”

“We’ll take it,” he said.

“That’ll be sixty eight dollars and forty cents,” she said. “Cash or charge.”

He slipped a credit card under the window and she swiped it, returning it to him immediately. He signed the receipt and she slipped my ticket to freedom to us.

We stepped away and finally, I knew it was real. I knew I was really going home.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” I said to him. “You don’t know me from Adam and you saved me from a maniac.”

He smiled and flashed some amazing dimples that I didn’t even know he was sporting. They were the same dimples Blaze had, only they didn’t remind me of Blaze at all. They were all his own.

“You remind me of a girl I once loved,” he said. I could see his face quickly blushing, and I knew he didn’t like to talk about feelings.

“That’s sweet,” I said. I wasn’t going to ask him to elaborate. It was none of my business.

“I’m just doing what she would’ve wanted me to do,” he said.

I smiled and leaned towards him. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to do something more to show my gratitude, but it seemed like nothing was going to be enough to show him just how thankful I was.

“Want me to wait with you until your bus comes?” he offered.

“Sure, that would be nice,” I said.