“I can’t believe the vacation has come to an end,” she says, closing her eyes and letting the sun hit her face. “Back to reality. I’m going to have to find another job now, and save money until I can afford my next adventure.”
“You could go to college,” I suggest, adjusting myself against the tree trunk.
“Maybe,” she says, shrugging her shoulders.
Another girl from the tour, Jane, spots us, and comes to sit down. “Hey, Cam. Hey, Lizzy. Am I the only one feeling sad that this is our last day?”
I grin, knowing how much she hates being called Lizzy. I tell her that her name’s too long, so she can’t blame people for shortening it, but she says she doesn’t care. Her mother named her Elizabeth after her grandmother who died in childbirth, and that’s what she likes to be called.
“You’re definitely not the only one,” Elizabeth replies, sighing deeply. “All we’ll have are our memories.” She smirks in my direction. “And maybe an STD for Cam.”
“Hey,” I say, swatting at her leg. “I can’t help it if the women think I’m fuckin’ irresistible.”
“They definitely think you’re something,” she mutters under her breath, but a smile plays on her face. She never brings up my reputation from high school, and I appreciate that. Half the women here wouldn’t want me if they knew where I came from. They see who I am now, not who I was, and I like that. I thrive off it. I like Elizabeth. In fact, I wish we’d been friends back in school. I could have used a friend like her. Then again, maybe I’d have dragged her down with me, ruined her reputation around town. Yeah—I guess things happen for a reason. We were meant to be on this trip together. I’ve learned from her, and I hope she’s learned from me.
“Yes, they think I’m good-looking, and amazing in bed.”
Jane stands up, brushing the grass off her ass, and says, “Well, I’ll leave you guys to it, then.”
We watch as she departs. “We scared her off.”
“You did, you mean,” she says, laughing. “I hardly spoke.”
“Maybe your silence intimidated her.”
“Maybe your talk of how amazing you are in bed made her feel awkward,” she fires back, nudging me with her foot. “Or maybe you already slept with her, and that’s why she wanted to run away.”
I haven’t.
At least I think I haven’t.
“Yeah, yeah. We should probably pack our shit and get ready to fly out,” I say, standing up and offering her my hand. She takes it, and I pull her up. “The end of this adventure.”
“But the start of another one,” she says, smiling.
She’s always smiling.
Elizabeth Chase is sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies, and I’m not used to that. Sometimes I don’t know how to deal with it. I’ve never been friends with someone like her. A good girl. Someone who sees the positive in everything. I hope we remain friends after this. She lives several hours away from me, but we can still keep in contact.
“Let’s go,” she says, nodding her head toward the hostel.
I follow behind her.
SEVEN
Johanna
I ORDER room service for dinner and assume that Ranger does the same, because I don’t hear from him again for the night. I feel so embarrassed when I replay the flight in my mind. I’ve never been a good flier, but that flight was a whole other level. My head felt like it was going to burst, the migraine and nausea were that bad. Why did it have to happen in front of him? I don’t want him to see me as weak. I don’t want anyone to see me as weak. I cradle my head in my hands and groan. Oh well—it happened, and Ranger was infuriatingly sweet about it. No one has looked after me like that. No one. Handed me some painkillers and rubbed my back or something? Sure. Picked me up and cradled me like I was fucking precious? Like he wanted to take the pain away for me? Like he was experiencing my pain—that’s how much it felt like he didn’t want me to suffer?
Definitely not.
He’s a take-control kind of guy, this Ranger. I’m used to being around alpha males—in my line of work it’s kind of a given, but there’s something about Ranger that takes it to a new level. He’s just . . . silently powerful. I don’t even know how to explain it, or him. Even in my short time around him, I can tell he’s different from any biker I’ve ever met. He’s nothing like I thought he was going to be.
When I found out I was going to be working alongside bikers, I have to admit that I was confused and angry. I didn’t see how bikers could help me in any way, probably because all the ones I’ve met have been good-for-nothing criminals, and I didn’t understand why they’d have anything to do with Elizabeth’s case. It makes sense that Faye was brought in, because of her connections with the feds, but it’s almost like these guys are the exceptions to every rule I’ve been taught as a police officer.
Ranger though, I didn’t see him coming. When I’m around him I forget who he is . . . and to be honest, I kind of forget who I am too. I shake my head, as if that will clear my mind of his craziness. Ranger is going to have to act as my partner while we’re here, working together to find Elizabeth, and that’s it. Look at me, overthinking things just because he did something nice for me. Travis would have looked after me. Maybe not pulled me into his arms, but he would have made sure I was okay. At least I think he would have.