Page 37 of Slide

There was a gas station across the street. “I need a snack for the road and a pee stop before we head off.” And a minute to catch my breath. Adam had a tendency to suck out all the oxygen in his general vicinity. “I won’t be long. You want anything?”

“Surprise me.”

“Okeydokey.” She darted across the street, and God, she could feel his eyes on her the whole way, not leaving her until she was through the doors.

After carefully selecting treats for her and Adam, she took her supplies to the counter. “Can I leave this stuff here? I just need to use the restroom.”

“Yeah, knock yourself out.”

The bathroom was outside, and when she walked out, the sun seemed to have gotten hotter. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes, and it took her a few seconds to realize what she was looking at.

The Superbird was parked at one of the pumps, some guy with a paunch and a handlebar mustache that may or may not have been fake leaning against it while he filled it with gas and talked on his phone.

She could see Adam’s sleeping bag in the backseat.

Son of a bitch!

She looked across the street, desperately searching for Adam. He must have already been inside the rental place. Shit. What was she going to do? If she ran over to get him, the car might be gone by the time they got back. And Adam’s cousin, someone Adam cared a great deal about, could lose his business. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to do something.

“I’ll meet you at the bar in an hour,” Mustache man said to whoever he was talking to. “Yeah, I’ll just hang out, have a beer and wait, I’m only like five minutes away.”

The creep lifted his head at that moment and caught her watching him. She froze. Did he recognize her? Had he been watching them before he took the car, or did he just stumble across it and think, hey, there’s a nice car, I think I’ll take it?

But there was no recognition on the asshole’s face.

He ended his call, and she forced herself to grin back, and the guy leered.

Okay, shit. Time was of the essence. Options were limited. Getting this car back to Adam’s cousin was important. She was no car expert, but she knew this one was special.

In that moment, she made an executive decision. It was bonkers, she was well aware of that. But what choice did she have?

She had to steal it back.

She was a Colton after all. It was in her blood somewhere, right? Her brothers used to be two of the best thieves in LA. The reckless streak they were always berating her for totally ran in the family.

Still no sign of Adam.

Shit. Right. She was doing this. Fighting down her fear, she put some swing in her hips, and walked over to Handlebar Mustache, who had now ended his call. “Nice car.”

He gave her a slow once-over. “You like it, huh?”

“Sure do.”

“You need a ride someplace, sweet thing?”

Well, that was easier than she thought. “Maybe, where are you headed?”

He grinned. “There’s a bar a few miles back. You in the mood to party?”

A public place—surprising since he’d just stolen a freaking car. But also not that surprising since the guy obviously wasn’t too smart. She could handle a bar. Plus, she’d heard him talking to someone on his phone mere seconds ago, someone he was going to meet at this bar, so she knew he wasn’t lying. “Sure, why not,” she said, heart racing like crazy.

The fact this guy seemed completely fine with picking up some random woman and taking her for a spin in the car he’d just boosted, not only confirmed that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, it also showed how delusional he was about his own appeal.

The guy licked his lips. “Well, all right, hop in.”