Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 112736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Coy continues to shout comforting, encouraging words to me over the wind.
Things like, “I’m so proud of you. So fucking proud of you.” And, “We’ll be home in no time. You got this.”
Every so often he reaches back and gives my thigh a reassuring squeeze.
And I wish I could relax. I wish I could let go of this fear now that I’m seated on the bike and be free of it.
But the simple act of moving is only freaking me out more somehow.
If this motorcycle doesn’t kill me, the heart attack I’m about to have surely will, I realize.
Breathing so fast I’m hyperventilating, I crack my eyes open, hoping the sight of what’s going on around me will relieve some of my anxiety.
But all of a sudden Coy pushes the bike faster causing the wind to whip at my hair.
“Please slow down, Coy,” I whimper, the words ripped away by the night flying past us.
He either ignores me or can’t hear me, and the bike picks up more speed.
“Please slow down, please!” I beg. “I don’t need to get home this fast. It’s okay if my parents are there.”
I’d rather take the punishment than die in a fiery accident.
“Relax, Allie. I know what I’m doin’,” Horse laughs, the braying sound scraping at my frayed nerves.
I know Coy is going to be pissed if he ever finds out I did this, but Horse is going so fast now, holding onto his shoulders is no longer enough.
Quickly, I slide my hands down and circle my arms around Horse’s chest.
Leaning forward, I plead one last time in his ear, “You’re scaring me, Horse. Please slow down!”
Horse laughs again and shakes his head before he roars back at me, “Is Allie Cat really a scaredy-cat? I ain’t slowin’ down, girl! I gotta get back to Sugar so I can get me some sugar!”
The bike picks up even more speed like the asshole has something to prove.
The world around us becomes a dark blur as he flies down the back roads leading to my parent’s house.
Each turn causes my heart to jump into my throat, and I can’t shake the sharp, impending sense of doom taking root in my stomach.
This fucking idiot is going to kill me.
And if I do survive and Coy finds out about this—
Suddenly the world is no longer dark.
A bright light appears in front of us and I hear Horse scream out, “Shit!”
I scream as Horse tries to turn but it’s too late.
“Jesus!” Coy curses and the bike swerves before he straightens it out and pulls off the side of the road. “Allie?”
I hear him repeating my name over and over, but I’m so upset, my body racked with sobs, I can’t respond to him.
Coy shuts down the bike and twists around. He says my name one last time, trying to get through to me, before he grabs me and drags me forward until I’m seated on his lap.
Hands grabbing my face, he forces me to look up at him. “Talk to me, Allie. Please. What’s wrong, baby? I wasn’t going that fast…”
I stare up at him through the blurry curtain of my tears, taking in his face and how it’s changed over the years.
So many years…
We’ve lost so many fucking years.
“I’m sorry, baby, if it feels too fast. I’d slow down, but if I do, we might tip over,” he says, his face twisted with guilt.
And god, I hate to see that guilt.
Especially now that I know what put it there.
“Fuck, I shouldn’t have done this to you. I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I knew you weren’t ready,” Coy goes on.
I try to shake my head, but his hands are firmly holding me in place.
“It’s okay, Coy,” I finally manage to sob out.
“No, it’s not.” He scowls. “Maybe I can call one of the brothers and have ‘em bring the flatbed before they grab those cars…”
“It’s okay, Coy,” I repeat, trying to get through to him. “It’s okay, I remember.”
He continues talking like he didn’t hear me. “I can get Grem to come back with the flatbed. It might take twenty to thirty minutes, but if I call him now…”
“Coy, I said it’s okay! I remember!” I cry at him and reach up, grabbing his face with my own hands. “You weren’t going too fast. Horse was going too fast!”
“Horse?” Coy says, his brows pulling together in confusion until what I said completely dawns on him.
His hands tighten around my face and mine drop as he pulls me closer.
Eyes searching my eyes, his voice cracks with hope as he asks, “You remember?”
More tears pour out of me as I say, “I remember, Coy. I remember him driving too fast because he wanted to get back to a girl named Sugar…”
“Fucking hell,” he growls low in his throat and murderous rage flashes in his eyes. “If he wasn’t dead, I’d—”