Cooper wasn't lying when he said that he was good at hot-wiring cars. As soon as we located a vehicle with it's doors unlocked in a nearby parking garage, Cooper got to work, and within seconds, the crappy Toyota sparked to life.
Cooper drove and Chance sat in the front, leaving the backseat to myself. I stuck to one side of it. There were suspicious stains on the other side, and the whole thing reeked.
"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to hide the disgust in my voice. Every time I took a breath, the rancid scent flooded my nostrils, making me gag. It smelled like cat piss mixed with rotting trash.
"I have some friends who live in the area," Cooper said and changed lanes. There was hardly any traffic on the road except for an occasional car or stray dog.
"How do you know them?"
"I've done business with them in the past. They'll be cool with us crashing at their place until all of this blows over."
The term "blows over" implied that the situation would rectify itself, but I knew that wasn't the case.
Even after we finished Miguel, Chance would still be hunted by the law. He'd have to go in hiding, or flee to a country with no extradition. The same rules applied to Cooper. Pretty soon they would apply to me too. My old life was gone. All of my old goals were obliterated along with my hopes and dreams. I was a different person now with different motives.
We were currently traveling along the back roads considering the main roads were flooded with police cars and search points. Most of the roads were dirt, and the few that were paved had large potholes in them. Fields stretched for miles around us. I hadn't seen any source of civilization for miles now.
It seemed as if every person in the state of Florida had their eyes peeled for Chance Burke. According to the radio, the police were still looking for us at the cruise ship port. It would only be a matter of time until they figured out we stole a car, though.
As soon as they figured out what kind of car we stole, we would need to ditch the Toyota and find another set of wheels. But as of right now, we had gotten away. Temporarily—that is.
Still, we hadn't relaxed at all. The atmosphere was still tense in the car. Cooper never went one mile over the speed limit, and on the rare occasion when we did pass another car, Cooper would turn his head the other way and Chance would duck.
Both of the boys were quiet, and I knew that Chance was thinking deep, most likely planning out our next move. That, or he was thinking about where he would disappear to once this whole thing was over.
I tried to get some sleep, but it was no use. I was too wired to get an ounce of shut eye. Or, I was too uncomfortable. The adrenaline was starting to fade from my blood stream and I began to feel again.
The first thing I was aware of was the cold. The waves on the boat ride had soaked my clothes and chilled me to the bone. Fingers numb, I shucked off Chance's hoodie and threw it to the floor. It did little to warm me up because my clothes underneath the hoodie were wet too.
"Can you turn the heat on?" I asked.
"Why? It's hotter than hell in here," Cooper chuckled.
"Yeah but you're not soaking wet," I muttered and crossed my arms, trying to preserve some type of heat.
Chance turned around. His eyes looked me up and down. Before I could further explain my predicament, he shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to me. His other hand reached out and turned on the heat despite Cooper's incessant protests.
"Thanks," I smiled. "Now turn around."
Chance looked surprised, but faced the other way.
I took off my shirt, leaving me in only my bra. It was plain black and I wore the matching underwear underneath my jean shorts. I left my bra on, even though it was wet, and put the jacket over it.
For a moment I debated if I should take my shorts off too. I knew that Chance's jacket would reach mid-thigh on me. Screw it, I thought, and tugged the soaked fabric off. Immediately, I felt warmer.
The sun was beginning to set in the west and it would be dark soon. The faintest dusting of stars started to appear, and the moon rose in the east. Still, I couldn't bring myself to fall asleep.
"Is the attack plan on Miguel finalized?" I asked.
I saw Chance's jaws clench at the mention of our enemy. "Yes. We're going to plant the bombs in his shipment trucks. He'll have no choice but to check out his base after the attack to check on his workers and supplies. As soon as he steps foot on the base, Cooper and I will take him out."
"Won't Miguel's men come after you once their leader is dead?"
Cooper shook his head. "I sincerely doubt it. Most of his men hate him these days anyway. We have very few to worry about, and when those men do come after us, Chance and I won't hesitate to put them out of their misery."
His tone was calm—even. Yet there was a razor-sharp edge to his words that chilled my blood. The reality that this would all be over soon started to sink in.
Pretty soon our only worry would the authorities and the rest of our lives ahead of us. It made me wonder what the future had in store for me.
~
The sky was completely dark by the time we reached Cooper's friend's house. Technically it wasn't a house, but a run-down barn that we pulled out too. We traveled on a dirt road to get here, and the only other house we saw was ten miles down the road.
There were no artificial lights outside. Moonlight was our only guide as we navigated to the front doors. Cooper took the lead and I hung back by Chance.
Somewhere between the car and the barn, Chance's arm wrapped around my waist. I could feel the warmth of his skin, even through his jacket. His long fingers rested on my hip. It took intense concentration to focus on anything but him when we were in such close proximity.
Cooper didn't bother to knock when we reached the barn, and barged right through the doors. It was even darker inside. The hairs on the back of neck rose and I shuffled closer to Chance.
Cooper fumbled for for a light switch against the wall. I heard him swear lightly when I couldn't find it. I was about to step forward and offer him some assistance, but a sharp click-clack made me freeze.
Something cold and sharp was pressed painfully into my scalp. It only took me a second to figure out what it was.
Chance's arms around me tightened and it took all my self-control to not scream. Just then, Cooper found the switch. Light flooded through the air, temporarily blinding me.
When my eyes did adjust, the first thing they noticed were the woman surrounding us. There were three, including the one with gun to my head. Each of them held some type of weapon that ranged from a machete to an assault rifle.
"Cooper?" the girl with the assault rifle asked. She looked to be around our age, maybe a little older. She had chocolate brown hair and beautiful dark skin.
"Kiara? I didn't think you would be here," Cooper stated. His body fidgeted uncomfortably which made me think that these two had a past together.
A different girl spoke. She was blond and pale, but she striking blue eyes. She looked like an angel--an angel of death that is. The machete that she held in her hands was as long as my arm and glinted evilly in the light.
"Who are these people?"
"They're friends of mine, Lucy. Tell Rae that she can remove the gun from my Piper's head," Cooper spoke, but his eyes never left Kiara.
Lucy nodded at the girl behind me whose name I now knew to be Rae. A moment later, the gun was removed from my temple and I blew out a sigh of relief. Chance looked equally relieved and he gave my hip a reassuring squeeze.
"Sorry. I was just being cautious." Rae smiled and came into view. She was surprisingly tiny, barely over five feet. Her hair was fiery red and freckles splattered her skin.
I forced out a smile. It was kind of hard to be cordial to someone who, up until now, was going to shoot you.
"We had a feeling that you would be here," Lucy smirked and walked towards Cooper.
It seemed like she was the leader of their small clan and Rae and Kiara gravitated towards her.
The barn was just as run-down on the inside as it was on the outside. Hay covered the floor. The rotten boards gave off a musty scent that tickled my nose. There was only one light, and it didn't illuminate the room very well. I had to squint slightly just to make out the girls' faces.
"What can I say? I'm a celebrity now. My face is on every channel," Cooper smiled, but the tone of his voice was off.
All three girls rolled their eyes a the same time.
"You haven't changed at all," Kiara muttered. Cooper just winked at her.
I felt like I was intruding on their little moment so I turned to face Chance instead. His gaze was already on me, irises swirling with emotions.
"Are you sure about this?" I whispered to him.
He shrugged. "Cooper seems to trust them, and right now, they're our only option. We'll be okay."
Spending the night in a barn with strangers wasn't exactly my first choice, but as of right now, it was the best we could do.
~
Rae and Lucy crashed on their beds, which were actually just makeshift cots with piles of ratty blankets. Cooper and Kiara had disappeared to some unknown place awhile ago which left Chance and I alone.
There was no room in the downstairs part of the barn, so Chance and I took the loft. It was small and modest--cozy.
Bails of hay were in the corner, along with a couple of saddles. There was only one window, but enough moonlight filtered through it to illuminate Chance's face. There was only one bed up here, and it was just a tattered twin-sized mattress with a sleeping bag on top.
"It's not exactly the Hilton," Chance cringed, but I knew that he was joking. He wasn't that much of a spoiled brat.
I shrugged, kicked off my flip flops and fell on the mattress. "It's comfy, though."
Chance didn't look convinced. "Really? I'll be the judge of that."
He slipped off his Nikes and laid down next to me. It was a tight fit and we had to squeeze our bodies together. How terrible...
"Mmm, it is cozy. Especially when I'm beside you," Chance murmured.
My cheeks heated and I was thankful that I was facing the other way.
"I'm still a little chilly," I whispered.
"I can fix that."
Chance's arms wrapped around me and pulled me against him. Our bodies molded together. His chest to my back. My ass to his...well yeah. Let's just say that he was a little excited.
I shivered and slid closer to him. Something inside me clicked, and I just knew. I knew that I was ready.
I wanted every piece of Chance Burke in that moment.
"How opposed are you to barn sex?" I whispered.
I felt Chance stiffen.His arm around me tightened. I knew that there as no going back at this point.
"I'm never opposed to sex. Especially with you."
********************************
So.....
Let's just say that next chapter is going to be steamy....
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please vote and comment your thoughts! Also, it would mean the world to me if you checked out my new story, A Pirate's Captive. It's about a girl who is kidnapped and held ransom by pirates:)
I just thought that I'd let you know that I entered this story in the Watty Awards, so every vote and comment matters! Also, I made a twitter! Feel free to follow me if you want to. My username is Pepperlicious1 I'll post news about updates and other things on it!
Thanks again for reading!
-Katherine