Page 17 of Hide From Me

She squirmed, and I let her down.

“Thank you?” I repeated as she adjusted her shirt before she made it to her camera bag.

“Yeah. Thank you. Thanks for making me do something with my life. I can’t say things always went perfectly, but it was better than being raped and drugged…” She paused and shit. “Oh wait, guess that whole drugged thing wasn’t just reserved for my father. See you around, Cas.”

She grabbed for the door, and I nearly slammed my body against the door.

“You aren’t going without me.”

Her fingers curled under her palm against the door, but she let go.

“I’ve been in the city for months now. I’ve been doing my job. What hole did you crawl out of suddenly that you think you own me?”

That caught me off guard, and I found it refreshing.

“Blossom, if you think that I haven’t known what you’ve done every second since you left this shithole, then you really do underestimate me.”

She sucked in a breath, but she wasn’t speaking. I opened the door.

“Besides, that address is in my territory, and I want to know why the cops are there. We’ll go together. Now get that sexy ass on my bike.”

She stopped, and fuck if she didn’t dig her damn heels in.

“No. I can do this on my own. If you have to do something, then you do it, but I am driving myself.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Fine. It isn’t like I can’t track your ass.”

I left her on that last little gem and hopped on my bike parked on the sidewalk. She was still standing there when I fired her up.

“Blossom, are you being independent and driving, or do I have a backpack back to our old stomping grounds?”

That was all I needed to say, and she was damn near running to her car. Good. I’d scared her. I pulled up the neck-scarf that doubled as a mask as I got ready to tail the sweetest piece of ass that I should be walking away from.

SEVEN

rylee

Sure enough,it didn’t matter what turn I made, how fast I drove, or if I sat at the stoplight just to push him over the edge, he was still there.

What the hell was happening? I’d had all of a few hours last night to contemplate finding Cas and what it all meant. What did it all mean? I was twisted up like a damn pretzel. Yesterday I’d known who I was and what I wanted. I wasn’t getting everything I’d wanted. No one ever did.

I blew out a breath as I accelerated. I’d thought I was fine with being celibate. Well, as long as my little rabbit didn’t count. I was fine. It was all fine. I mean, I couldn’t miss something I’d never tasted. No one had ever tempted me like Cas.

But it sucked to know that Cas tempted me, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with that. He seemed pretty clear about what to do with it. But where would I end up when it all exploded in my face? I was so alone all the time. Something chirped in my pocket, and I swore to myself. My little sweet pea Tamagotchi was reminding me she needed to be fed.

“So demanding,” I said and smiled to myself. Maybe I was only sort of alone. I had to water Gerald when I got home too. I never lasted in therapy long, but one thing I’d gotten out of itwas that I needed to work on taking care of plants to work on human relationships. Or that’s what I’d heard. I hadn’t gone out and adopted a million cats, so I was winning if you asked me.

The roar of Cas’s bike was like the calming bass to a song I didn’t know I’d like. I glanced over when I saw him pull up next to me. Maybe it didn’t matter what I would do after I scratched some little itches that teen me hadn’t exactly had time to process in survival mode.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t always the star of my fantasies, but I’d been a silly, broken little teen when he’d burned down my father’s house. All this time, I’d been fantasizing about a boy, and Cas? He was no boy now.

“Roll your damn window up and don’t fucking blink at anyone as we enter the neighborhood. The shit you remember makes the new side of things look pretty fucking tame.”

His words had done what he wanted them to. I second guessed myself. He probably wasn’t wrong about the safety. He’s put that doubt there, so maybe I listen to him?

He was about the only person that had ever looked out for me. I wasn’t dense. I knew my aunt had all but rejoiced the day I’d graduated high school and could leave. I hadn’t been back since. She was better than my father. She ignored me. That was better sometimes. I was pretty certain of that. It was fine. I was fine.