CHAPTER 068: Where Are We?


    I look at his outstretched hand, wanting nothing more than to go to him.


    But I can''t just leave. Not like that.


    "I need to say goodbye to my mom," I say. "And a couple of other people. Maybe


    catch my sister before she leaves. She''s upset, and I need to-"


    "Erase her memory?" Knox''s voice is calm, but I can hear the impatience underneath "Come on. Let''s go."


    "I can''t."


    "Do I need toe get you, Bunny?"


    I roll my eyes. There''s no winning with him. And honestly? I don''t want to fight. Not today. Not after everything. So I go to him, gripping the top of the fence like I''m actually going to hoist myself over.


    He doesn''t let me.


    Strong arms wrap around me, and I''m lifted clean off the ground, pressed against his chest in one smooth movement. I gasp and instinctively wrap my arms around his neck.


    "You love getting your way, don''t you?" I murmur, the world suddenly quieter this close to him.


    "I do," he says, mouth brushing the edge of my hairline. He leans in and breathes in deep. "You used a different product today."


    I blink. "What?"


    "Your hair," he says, nosing lightly at it. "It''s different. Still you, but different. Smells like almond. Or vani. Something soft. Really nice. But I''m kind of pissed you did something special toe flirt with other guys."


    He starts walking.


    He''s right. Of course he is. I did switch conditioners this morning-some fancy product I grabbed off the store shelf and tossed in my basketst minute without thinking. It felt stupidly indulgent, like a quiet little rebellion. But I''m not going to think about that. I''m not going to think about how good it feels that he noticed. That he always notices. Instead, I lean my cheek against his shoulder and focus on the rhythm of his steps, the solid feel of his arms around me.


    "You''re never going to let me live today down, are you?" I say.


    "No." The answer is firm.


    "My car''s right over there," I say, twisting slightly in his arms.


    "I know. That''s where I''m headed."


    When he reaches my car, he sets me down gently. My heels click against the pavement, and I look up at him, a little breathless.


    Then he stretches out his palm. "The keys."


    "What key?"


    "Your car key. I''m driving."


    "Hell no. What happened to your car?"


    "I came with Jade," he says. "Didn''t want you seeing mine in the driveway and running away."


    I stare at him for a beat, then shake my head. "If you''re going to sit in my car, I''m driving."


    I walk around to the driver''s side, unlocking the door with a look that says, ''Don''t argue''. He doesn''t. He just watches me with that same amused expression.


    Once I slide in, he follows. Buckles his seatbelt without a word.


    "You''re making me your passenger princess now?" he says, ncing over at me. "You look cute sitting over there with your hands to yourself," I mutter. "Do you need a pillow?"


    He grins and shakes his head, clearly enjoying every second of this.


    I pull out of the driveway and onto the road. It''s getting dark. The streetlightse on one by one as the day folds into evening. The radio''s off. The silence between


    ur is thick center his eyes on me. Studying. Quiet.


    "Where am I taking you?" I ask, ncing sidew


    "Anywhere you''re going to."


    I raise an eyebrow. "That''s not an answer."


    Sessfully unlocked!


    "It''s the truth. I don''t know what kind of trouble you''ll be up to next. I have to keep my eyes on you."


    CHAPTER 068 Where Are We?


    "You''re one to talk. You knew Jade was my stepfather, and you didn''t say anything."


    "What was I supposed to say?"


    "Oh, I don''t know. Maybe, ''Hey, one of my employees is your mother''s husband?"


    "That would''ve defeated the purpose of the element of surprise."


    I scoff. "You always keep things from me, Knox. It never stops getting annoying, just so you know."


    "You''re driving very slowly, Bunny."


    "Sorry it''s not a V8 engine, I mutter.


    "It can definitely go faster than this."


    Annoyed, I ease my foot off the gas just a bit more, then more again, until the car is barely doing twenty. The engine hums in protest, but I don''t speed up. We glide down the street like a Sunday parade float, crawling past manicured hedges andmpposts at a pace that would frustrate a toddler on a tricycle. I grip the wheel tighter, pretending to concentrate on the road, but I can feel him burning holes into the side of my face.


    He sighs. "How can you be mad at me for keeping a secret when you kept your intentions about this barbecue hidden?"


    I don''t answer. Just keep driving. The tires humzily on the asphalt.


    "We have to stop keeping things from each other, Knox," I finally say. "You barely tell me anything about you."


    "You don''t want to know half the things about me. It''s like your sister said-I''m a bad man."


    I nce at him. "You don''t scare me."


    "I believe you. Because no one else would dare drive at that speed with me in the car."


    "Oh, so you''re tough? Everyone trembles at the sight of you?"


    He looks at me long and hard before saying, “I want to be inside you right now, Bunny."


    My pulse stutters. A rush of warmth hits low in my belly. I wasn''t expecting that, and it sure shuts me up.


    I m my foot on the gas.


    The car jerks like it''s just been shaken awake, the tires gripping the road with a growl as we lurch into faster motion. The sudden pull knocks me slightly back in my seat. I immediately reach for the dial and flip on the radio, fingers twitching with the need to fill the silence and the growing ache in between my legs.


    A rap song sts from the speakers-aggressive and fast and full of rage. Heavy bass punches through the car. It''s not my usual pick, not even close, but I wee the noise. I need it. I need anything that can drown out Knox''s heat and presence. I keep my eyes trained on the road. Refuse to look at him. Refuse to give in to the way his scent fills my lungs. I can feel his eyes on me, like fingertips dragging down the side of my neck.


    We ride in silence. I''m headed toward my house, of course. But just as we near a strange corner, Knox suddenly speaks.


    "Turn there," he says.


    "Why?"


    "You want to know about me? Then turn."


    I hesitate, then signal and turn. He gives me directions now and then, and I follow, more curious than I want to admit. I almost miss a turn, and he reaches over to tap my thigh-a gentle touch.


    Electricity zaps straight through me. My foot ms on the brake.


    We both lurch forward, seatbelts tugging us back.


    "Is something wrong?" he asks, clearly amused.


    "Fuck you, Knox."


    Heughs, and I start driving again.


    The road feels different now. Quieter. Like we''ve left the real world behind.


    Houses fade into empty lots. Streetlights stretch farther apart. The sidewalks are cracked. Faded graffiti covers the sides of old buildings. We pass warehouses and closed shops, ces that look like no one''s used them in years. Somewhere in the distance, I hear music-faint and far away, like it belongs to another life.


    Knox tells me where to turn, and I follow, even though it leads us down a narrow road with gravel crunching under the tires. At the end of it is a small, dark building, low and wide, sitting in the shadows like it''s hiding.


    There''s no sign. No lights. No clear door. Just a few scattered cars parked like their owners didn''t want to be too close to anything.


    I park the car, hands still tight on the wheel for a second longer than necessary.


    When know asks to step sinsy88.10


    But is not


    Because the moment my feet hit th Th building that looks like it''s never een


    daylight


    And I did it willingly.


    That should scare me more than it does


    "Where are we? I ask


    CHAPTER 069: Pick Your Victor