Page 52 of When You Stayed
I didn’t have Connor’s cell phone number anymore, so I was on my way to his parents’ house on my bike. Stopped at a red light, my foot on the asphalt, I watched as the cross traffic moved through the intersection. Rodney’s white Tesla flew down the road, heading toward the docks. I made a split-second decision to follow him.
Part of my anger revolved around him and the discovery that he’d been lying about his salary. I should have known when he bought a brand-new fucking Tesla. I’d assumed he had savings or something, but no, he was skimming off the top. Now I was determined to discover what he was up to. I twisted the throttle, going faster so I could catch up with him. There were two other cars in front of me, but I still had my eyes on him. He cut over toward the bridge until he was nearing the waterfront, which is where the other cars left us. I had no idea if he’d noticed me following, but my stomach flipped. I knew I was too close for him not to pick up on the fact that I was there, but I had nowhere else to turn off.
Finally, Rodney veered toward an abandoned lot, where two bikers were already parked and waiting for him. I continued to drive, so I couldn’t make out which club they were from. I would need to make a U-turn. I crested a hill and found a spot to turn off, but the moment I pulled into the gravel lot a bike came rumbling from behind me. I twisted to see who was approaching and immediately groaned. Ford pulled his motorcycle in front of me, blocking me from going anywhere.
I let a curse fly, dropping my feet and pulling on the brake.
Ford wore a smug grin, a backward-facing hat, and a pair of dark sunglasses. His boots came down, planting in the gravel while he steadied his bike. I wore my pink helmet, visor down so he couldn’t see my face. I remained prepared to ride away until he lightly tapped on the dark film over my eyes.
“What do you want?”
I was in no mood with how confused Ford kept making me. He’dflirt, hurt, then reveal something that threatened to tug my heart from my chest. I had too many questions running through my head: Like why he said he wasn’t into me but told Connor that he wanted him to lay my head in his lap. Why did he push my face against his erection this morning, and why did he seem to care if I kissed Julian, and what was he about to say when he’d mentioned not kissing.
Instead of tapping again, he reached over and slid my visor up with his finger. I knew my eyes blazed with ferocity, and I wished I could see his so I knew if he was affected at all by me the way I was by him. “What exactly are you doing out here, Rose?”
His raspy voice wrapped around me in such a way that all I could think about was how that must have felt against Jasmine’s ear when she was in his lap last night.
“Why do you keep calling me Rose?”
I couldn’t see his eyes, but I caught his dark brows caving inward. He quipped, “Do you not know what your name means?”
How did he know what it meant? People didn’t typically walk around with that knowledge running through their head.
“Back to my question…why are you following Rodney?”
“How do you know I was following him?” I asked with a bit of a sneer.
Ford didn’t smile this time. His head swiveled over to the abandoned lot that now lay below the hill we were on.
“I don’t want you near this, Royce.”
“Well, you don’t really get to make that decision, Ford.” I winked and then went to pull my visor back down when he reached out to stop me.
“I’m serious. Rodney is into some dangerous shit.” He pulled his shades off, revealing a bruised eye. That’s when I registered the cut on his upper lip, and a small bruise on his neck.
I smiled. “Dad got ya pretty good, huh?”
“Not as good as I got him. I think we might understand one another now though, so there’s that.”
Glancing back toward the lot, I reminded Ford, “I work with Rodney nearly every single night. What exactly do you think is going to happen?”
Something dangerous moved behind Ford’s eyes. I saw it that night I had cupped his face when he nearly killed that guy. “Just don’t follow him anymore. The last thing I need is them assuming you know more than you should and deciding to kill you because of it.”
I hadn’t considered that, but like hell was I going to tell him that.
I decided to change the subject. “Did you ever figure out why Connor was in town?”
Ford held my gaze as he nodded. “Your dad wanted to see if he’d accept a job from him.”
“What sort of job?”
Amusement lit up Ford’s features as he glanced to the side. “You’ll have to ask him about that, but Connor won’t be taking it.”
“Why not?” I asked, confused.
Ford pushed his sunglasses back into place on his face. “Told you. Your pops and I finally understand one another.”
With that cryptic response, Ford twisted his fist and took off. Leaving me sitting there, confused and unsettled.
