Turning on the shower, I stuck my arm underneath the flow of water and scrubbed the dried blood away.

The bullet wound stung like a bitch, but at least it was only a graze—that had required four stitches—and I didn’t have to get out a pair of pliers and fish around in my bicep.

I still felt the ghost of Sloane’s body sitting on my lap. Her little waist, her ass, her… Fuck. It would’ve been so easy to take her, to lose myself in her pussy. It had been too long since sex had meant something for me to throw an innocent woman away on an empty fuck.

Hissing as the stitches pulled, I jerked my arm back and shut off the water. Picking up a threadbare towel, I patted my skin dry.

Sloane wanted a way to escape, and so did I. Until now, I thought it wasn’t a choice on the table. In a way, it still wasn’t. They were still after her, which meant I had to see this through, no matter which way this went.

I could drop her off at the Fortitude compound, or I could fuck off into the middle of nowhere with her. I was a master at finding people. I knew their tricks. I could find, but I also knew how to hide.

Snorting, I pulled on my jeans. I’d known the woman for a week, so her tears meant shit. Who knew if they were genuine or another ploy to make me drop my guard so she could sneak away.

If I listened to her, I would have two criminal organizations hunting my ass, not one.

Helping her? It was bad news. I’d already been shot once.

When I went out into the room, Sloane was in bed, bundled up in the duvet.

“Chaser?”

I grunted. We were already a day behind schedule. By tomorrow night‬, if we got on the road at first light and made up the distance, we would add another. At least we would be going in the right direction. The longer we were out here, the more risk there was. ‬‬‬‬‬

“Can you sleep beside me tonight?” she asked.

The fuck.

I glanced at her, then at the bed.

“Please.” She pouted.

Sighing, I sat next to her, my back resting against the headboard.

“You can get under the covers,” she murmured.

“I’m not into molestation,” I drawled, staring across the room.

Sloane sighed and rolled onto her side so she didn’t have to look at me. It was only the near-death experience driving her sexual appetite. High adrenaline always brought people together. They fucked, then that was it. Everything after the money shot always fell apart. Always.

I had a different bullet waiting for me in California if I crossed the line. The fuck wasn’t worth it.

Sloane jumped at the sound of a door slamming somewhere in the motel complex, and I raised an eyebrow. Man, she was jumpy. It was annoying as shit. Her mouth didn’t match her brain.

“It’s just a door,” I said.

“Shut up.” She hissed. “I’m freaking out here.”

“Glad you finally admit it.”

“Wouldn’t you rather console me so I’m not a blubbering mess the next time a bullet flies at my head?”

“I’m not training you to become a ninja, so forget about it.”

“You can shoot…”

I grunted, signaling I didn’t want another deep and meaningful conversation. She would not learn a single thing about me. Information could destroy a person inside and out. Fact.

“Not just any kind of shooting,” she went on, not getting the hint. “Anyone can point a gun and pull the trigger. You knew where and when. You shot to kill.”

“An eye for an eye.”

“Then you sew your arm up without anesthetic like it’s nothing.”

I scowled, but she was still facing away from me.

“Then you push away the chance at a free fuck. All the bikers I’ve ever known would’ve bent me over there and then.”

“You better shut your mouth, Sloane,” I said.

“You’re not Fortitude.”

I tensed, causing my arm to sting like a little bitch. “Go to sleep before you say something you’ll regret.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered, nestling into the pillow. “I won’t tell.”

Smart-mouthed little… Grinding my teeth, my mind rolled over and over. I won’t tell, I won’t tell, I won’t tell… Tell what? That I followed orders down to the letter? Shit, I’d earn myself a fucking raise and a vacation in Tijuana when we got back to Fortitude.

Hands off, Chaser.

Aye, aye, President.

The moment Sloane was asleep, I went outside and changed the license plates on the car. Tomorrow, we were going back on the road to California, aka Fortitude.