Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 173392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 867(@200wpm)___ 694(@250wpm)___ 578(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 173392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 867(@200wpm)___ 694(@250wpm)___ 578(@300wpm)
And I want it now. I can’t battle this guy for ten more years.
We’ve held on to the land, but nothing is getting better, and it has to or otherwise I have no idea what it was all for.
I need to change something.
“A solar field?” Krisjen says.
“Yeah, it’s bullshit.”
Men like him own oil rigs, not clean energy. He wants it for something else.
We reach the bike, and I hand her the helmet.
“You could get permits in a heartbeat.” She holds the helmet with one hand, twisting up her hair to fit inside. “You have everyone in power wired.”
How does she know that? Did someone tell her about the cameras?
Nevertheless … “But they don’t all know that,” I point out. “When they do …”
“They’re going to be more aggressive.”
“Exactly. They won’t wait around for me to strike.”
Concern hits her eyes. “They would kill you?”
I don’t answer, just climb on the bike.
“Don’t let them,” she says.
Don’t let them? “You think I would—”
“You know what I mean.”
I stop, staring at her. Don’t make it easy, she means. Like I have a death wish.
“I know what you mean,” I tell her, making my voice gentle.
Sprinkles of rain have started to fall, and her skin in the white dress almost sparkles with the drops.
I give her a small smile. “You look pretty.”
She pulls on the helmet, fastening it, and then hikes up her dress just enough to climb on behind me.
She wraps her arms around me tight.
“Don’t worry, Krisjen.” I start up the motorcycle. “Men like that won’t be the end of me.”
I push the kickstand out of the way, looking over my shoulder. “And you don’t leave the Bay without protection from now on,”
I demand. “You’re a target now, just like the rest of us, and there’s no telling what they’ll do.”
“You let Liv, Clay, and Aracely come and go as they please.”
Fuck.
“You think I can’t defend myself,” she goes on. “I can when I want to.”
But I’m not arguing about this. “You don’t leave the Bay without a male.”
The rain falls, the drops darting to the ground faster and faster, and I tip my head back, feeling the cool water and the beautiful, welcome weight of her body around mine.
Like an anchor.
“Do you mind if we just drive around for a while?” I ask her. “In the rain?”
She’ll get soaked, but somehow, I know just what she likes.
And true to form, she replies, “All night if you want.”
I take off, not wanting to be anywhere else for the first time in a long time.
25
Krisjen
He pulls into the garage and hits the brakes. My body lurches into him as I hold him tight, the smile on my face constant ever since we left the docks.
He kills the engine, and I savor the feel of him in my arms one last time before I let him go. Hopping off the bike, I unfasten the helmet and shiver, laughing at how the rain drips off both of us. We’re soaked.
Leading the way up the steps, he hits the button to close the garage door, and my teeth chatter as we pour into the dark kitchen.
I rush to the island and dig out a clean dish towel from a drawer, using it to squeeze the water out of my hair. No lights drift in from the living room, the house silent all around us.
I slip off my shoes and hold the towel to my chest. “Where is everybody?”
He whips off his jacket and hangs it on the back of the chair. “Close, I’m sure.”
He lifts his arms, pulling his T-shirt with him, and I gaze at his taut, tan stomach, the cut of the muscles there flexing, and his ribs cutting through his skin.
In a moment, he’s in front of me, taking the towel and drying off his face and neck. “Why didn’t you tell me you were cold?” he asks.
I grab the towel back, like it’s any substitute for a blanket, and breathe out a laugh. “I didn’t want you to stop.”
He looks down at me. “Yeah, me either.”
It was fun. We went everywhere. A hundred miles down the coast, all day, in and out of neighborhoods and busy shopping districts along the shore. In and out of rain and sun until we turned around and started getting pummeled on the way back home. I almost told him to keep going. I’ve never been to Cape Canaveral. We could’ve gotten a room. He should get out of town for a night once in a while.
“Are your brother and sister here?”
“With my grandparents tonight.” I set the towel down. “Are you hungry?”
When he doesn’t answer, I look up. He stares down at me, his warm eyes burning into me.
I don’t blink. The house is so quiet.
I’m cold. I want my dress off.
“You should get into a warm shower,” he says just above a whisper.