Page 33 of Never Let Me Go

“Yeah,” she answers around a yawn before flashing me a smile. God, she’s fucking gorgeous. I mean, I knew that as soon as I laid eyes on her in that diner parking lot last night but the more time I spend with her, the more beautiful she becomes. Not to mention, that her unwillingness to talk about herself and her past is driving me up a fucking wall. Most girls I meet can’t wait to tell me all about themselves and their past and it’s cliché as fuck but the air of mystery surrounding her turns me on.

“God, I can’t believe I slept so long.”

I smirk. “To be fair, you did warn me that you weren’t an early bird.”

“Actually, I haven’t been sleeping all that well lately and I think it all just caught up with me.” Her eyes are full of pain as she turns away from me to stare out of the window and my heart seizes in my chest. I hate that sadness in her eyes.

“What’s keeping you up at night?”

She shakes her head. “Just can’t get my head to shut up some nights.”

I study her for a second before nodding and turning the truck off. As much as I want to ask about her comment, if our breakfast conversation taught me anything this morning, it’s that she has her secrets and she has no intention on revealing them to me. Fuck. That just intrigues me even more though. I know it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I met her but the urge to help her and keep her safe is stronger than I’ve ever felt and I can’t do that if she won’t open up to me.

My phone rings and I sigh as I dig it out of my pocket. Blaze’s name pops up on the screen and I show it to Juliette.

“Why don’t you run inside and grab us a table? I’ve got to take this.”

She nods as she grabs her bag and opens the door of the truck. “Sure. Want me to order you something to drink?”

“I’ll take a Coke,” I answer and she nods again before hopping out of the truck. As soon as she closes the door, I accept the call. “What’s up, boss?”

“Just checkin’ in. How’s the drive?” he asks as I watch Juliette walk around the truck to the front door of the restaurant, my gaze glued to her ass as it sways with each step she takes and I imagine gripping her hips and pulling her into me.

“Good. We’re just outside Gainesville now and stopping for lunch.”

“Everything go well with Cora yesterday?”

I nod as she slips into the restaurant. “Yep. She’s safe and sound with her sister. We still got an eye on Freddie?”

“Oh, yeah.” Blaze laughs. “Boy is straight up losing his shit over Cora.”

“Has he made any moves?”

Blaze scoffs. “Besides sitting outside her old apartment and talking to a few of her neighbors, no.”

“I guess it’s good we moved her stuff out in the middle of the night then.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. Juliette meets my gaze through the window as a waitress leads her to one of the booths along the windows and I nod to let her know I’m almost done. “What do you know about Juliette?”

“Mercedes’ friend?” he asks. “Nothing more than I’ve already told you. Why?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Just get the feeling that she’s running from something.”

“We talked about this, Moose. You gotta stop searching for danger in every scenario and live sometimes. I appreciate your dedication to the club’s mission but I don’t want it taking over your life.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I hear you, boss.”

“Hold on.” His voice drifts away from the phone for a second. “Oh, for the love of God… Streak wants me to ask you if she’s as hot as she looks online.”

“He looked her up?” I growl, my chest burning. I swear to God, I’ll rip that little fucker limb from limb if he tries anything with her. “Tell him…”

“Oh, for the love of God,” Blaze says, his voice fading. “I’m not a goddamn secretary.”

“So,” Streak cuts in. “Is she hot?”

“None of your fucking business,” I snap and his laughter fills the line.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes, Moosey-boy,” Streak says and I shake my head. “Maybe I should introduce myself once y’all get to town.”