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“Amazing?” he offered, smirking at me as he ran a hand over the back of his head, obviously proud of himself.

  I shook my head. Amazing wasn’t exactly what I was going for. “Weird and scary more like,” I admitted.

  He laughed. “Yeah well, it saved me from a few weeks in a cast, so I’ll take weird and scary.”

  I winced as I thought about how badly I could have hurt him. I was so stupid to have driven Luke’s car. What was I even thinking? My parents were going to go crazy when they found out about this. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Should you even be driving? You smell like a damn brewery,” he stated, waving his hand in front of his face, looking at me disgusted.

  I shook my head. “No. I was at a party and I stole my boyfriend’s keys because I wanted to go home,” I admitted, crying again at the thought of Luke.

  He frowned. “He wouldn’t take you or something?” he asked, shifting on his feet as if he was uncomfortable having a conversation with me. Maybe he didn’t like crying girls, but then again, what guy did?

  I gulped, not wanting to get into this with a stranger. “We should get you to the hospital or something,” I replied, changing the subject.

  He snorted. “I’m fine. Not hurt at all, just chill. Next time don’t drive drunk.” He turned on his heel and started to walk off, leaving me there sitting on the floor against the car, crying helplessly. He stopped after a few steps, his shoulders stiff; he turned back to me and frowned. “Do you have someone that can come and get you?”

  I sniffed and shook my head. I couldn’t call my parents about this; I’d be in so much trouble. Alex was at the party. And Luke, well, even if I could call Luke, he wouldn’t be able to help me because he couldn’t even get his jeans on.

  The guy sighed. “How about I drive you home?” He looked slightly bored, as if this happened to him every day and was nothing out of the ordinary.

  Is he seriously offering to drive me home? I almost kill him, and he’s offering me a ride? He doesn’t even know me; shouldn’t he be reporting me to the police for DUI or something? “Really?” I asked, my voice croaky from all the crying.

  “Yeah. Unless you want me to leave you here on your own, this isn’t a nice area though so I wouldn’t recommend it,” he answered, shrugging as if it was no big deal. He got out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulling one out with his teeth before offering me the packet, one eyebrow raised. I shook my head quickly and frowned. I hated smoking. “Well, do you want a ride or not? I’m not waiting around all night,” he barked, his tone clearly annoyed that I hadn’t answered him.

  I nodded quickly and tried to push myself up using the car as leverage. My hand slipped and just as I was about to fall on my face, he gripped my elbow and righted me, pulling me to my feet. I smiled gratefully. “Thanks,” I mumbled, sniffing and noticing that my voice barely even worked because of all of the crying.

  “How much did you drink anyway?” he asked, wincing as he turned his face away as if he smelt something distasteful.

  I discreetly sniffed to see if I really smelt that strongly of alcohol, but I couldn’t smell anything at all. “I don’t know. A lot I think.”

  He nodded and let go of my arm. “My ride’s over here. You should lock your car otherwise it’ll get stolen. I’m already a little worried about what state it’ll be in if you leave it here all night,” he said, looking over Luke’s BMW M6 appreciatively.

  I shrugged. “I don’t care; it’s my ex-boyfriend’s.”

  He raised one eyebrow, looking at me curiously. “I thought you said your boyfriend wouldn’t take you home, now you have your ex’s car?”

  I shook my head. “Same guy. He’s now my ex because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants tonight,” I stated, feeling my lip tremble as I said the words. I didn’t want to think about it again, I didn’t want to think about the fact that the guy I was totally and utterly in love with had just cheated on me and thrown everything we had down the toilet for a one night stand.

  He frowned. “Stupid guy,” he mumbled so quietly I was barely even sure if I heard him right. Then he grinned at me, tossing his half smoked cigarette on the floor and stubbing it out with his toe. He had a wicked glint to his eye as he bent down and picked up a rock the size of a baseball, holding it out to me. “Want a little payback?” he offered, nodding at the car when I didn’t quite understand what he was getting at.

  “Payback? What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, shaking my head in confusion.

  He laughed. “Don’t you want to hit him in the worst place imaginable? Well, after a kick to the balls anyway.” When I still didn’t get it he sighed and stepped closer to me, taking my hand and putting the rock in my palm. “A guy’s car is important to him, if someone were to come along and smash his windscreen during the night… well, that would be very unfortunate, wouldn’t it?” he asked, smirking at me.

  I gulped, watching his face to see if he was serious. He wanted me to smash Luke’s windshield and then pretend it wasn’t me? I looked back at Luke’s car. It was his baby, but I didn’t think he would be that bothered if it got bashed up, his family had too much money to be concerned over a piece of glass that needed replacing. Besides, he had two cars, so this was really no big deal if it got a little damaged; he wouldn’t care so there was no point.

  “Don’t you want to pay him back for cheating on you? Don’t you want to hurt him like he hurt you?” he purred, his voice so seductive and encouraging that I actually shivered. It felt like he was the little devil that was sitting on my shoulder telling me to do bad things. “Cheating on you, while you were at the same party no less. The guy deserves something, doesn’t he?” he teased. I could hear the amusement in his voice.

  I turned to frown at him. I wasn’t smashing Luke’s windshield, it wouldn’t accomplish anything and would just leave his car open to thieves during the night. “I don’t want payback; I just want to go home.” I sniffed and wiped at my face again, noticing that the tears had finally stopped; maybe I’d finally ran out, who knows.

  He rolled his eyes as I dropped the rock down onto the floor. “Girls like you want to be walked all over. I wonder how many times he’s screwed some tramp and then done you straight after,” he mused as he turned to walk off.

  I felt the anger boiling in my system. His words hit me hard. Just how many times has Luke been with another girl and then had sex with me in the same night? Before I knew what I was doing I’d picked up the rock and thrown it as hard as I could at Luke’s car. I wasn’t standing very far away from it so the shot hit the middle of the glass, leaving a huge indented crack and the rest of the windshield crumbled and cracked too. Immediately the car alarm started wailing and the lights started flashing, lighting up my feet and legs. The sound was deafening in the silence of the deserted street and I couldn’t help the little scream that escaped out of my mouth.

  “Holy shit!” the guy cried next to me, then he burst out laughing, picked up the stone from the hood of the car, and grabbed my hand, starting to run down the street, dragging me along with him. As I ran, for some reason I started to laugh too. I felt a little good for doing that. Hopefully the car alarm would sound for so long that it would kill his battery too.

  We ran, holding hands, laughing. I enjoyed the sensation of my hair whipping back, and the wind blowing in my face. I liked the adrenalin and the fear of being caught. For some reason all of those things made my heart thrum in my chest and a smile stretch across my face. I felt kind of free, more alive somehow. We ran until I couldn’t do it anymore. When my lungs felt like they were on fire, I pulled him to a stop and put my hands on my knees, gasping for breath, and swaying a little on my feet from the alcohol. I looked up at him to see him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed casually. He looked the picture of ease as he smirked at me, not even a little out of breath even though we’d been running flat out for a good three minutes.

  “You need to get fitter, little rebel. If you’re going to be a good criminal then
you need to be able to make a quicker getaway than that,” he teased, raising one eyebrow at me.

  I laughed and stood up, clutching at my ribs as they burned from the effort of breathing. I honestly did need to get fitter, he wasn’t even breathing hard yet I was sweating like a turkey just before thanksgiving. “I think I’ll stick to that one act. I’ve never done anything even remotely bad in my life,” I replied, grinning like a mad woman. I was actually still on a high that I had done that to Luke’s car; payback certainly was going to be a bitch on this occasion.

  He grinned and shook his head, obviously amused. “Well then I’m glad I was there to witness your demise,” he teased, winking at me. “Come on then, let’s get you home so you can puke then sober up.” Before I could even answer, he turned and started walking back the way we came, not even bothering to wait for me.

  “I’m Maisie,” I said, trying to keep up with him as he walked quickly down the road. I stumbled every other step because I had no shoes on and was still feeling the effects of the alcohol. It was harder to keep in a straight line at this slower pace, with him not holding my hand and dragging me along.

  He turned his head and looked at me over his shoulder, as if he was deciding if he wanted to tell me his name or not. After a couple of seconds he obviously decided he did want to. “Zach,” he muttered, shrugging.

  I followed him down the road, wondering if I was about to be killed. This was a classic thing you should never do, go off with a stranger for a ride; this was what my parents had drummed into me since I could remember. ‘Never accept a ride from a stranger, no matter what they promise you’ but here I was, following a guy I had only just met to some unknown place. I really was stupid.

  Chapter 6

  As we walked down the street he tossed the rock I’d thrown at Luke’s car into the shrubs. “Why did you bring that?” I asked curiously as I jogged to catch him up.

  He smirked at me. “You wanted me to leave your fingerprints all over the rock that smashed his window? If you want we can just go back and slip a confession on there with your name and address, telling the cops where to find you,” he suggested, laughing quietly to himself.

  “I didn’t think about fingerprints. Oh my God, am I going to get into trouble for doing that?” My eyes widened as I started to feel nauseous. I’d just broken the law and vandalised someone else’s property and that fact was only just sinking in. My heart was racing in my chest as I stopped walking and started to panic.

  Zach laughed and grabbed my elbow, shaking his head. “Nah, no one was around, there’s no CCTV on that street, and I removed the evidence. As far as you’re concerned, the car was in perfect condition when you got out and left it.” He looked at me sternly as he started to drag me along again.

  I thought about what he said. No one else but him saw me do it, and after tonight I wouldn’t even see him again anyway, so there was no chance I was getting into trouble for this, at least, I hoped not anyway. The worry was starting to kill the buzz a little but deep down I was still glad I did it. That small payback did make me feel marginally better.

  He stopped after another couple of minutes and smiled at me. “Ever ridden on a bike before?” His voice held an amused twang to it.

  A bike? I looked at what he was standing next to, a huge black motorbike. Holy crap, is this his ‘ride’? Is he seriously expecting me to get on this death-trap? It didn’t even look like it was roadworthy, it was rusted and scratched up, the seat was a little torn and the stuffing was leaking out.

  “No way,” I whispered, shaking my head. There was no way I was getting on this bike with him at all. I had been in a car accident a couple of years ago with Alex, I knew how much it hurt, and that crash had been fully protected and encased in metal, this, this was pure exposure to the road if you fell off. There was not a chance in hell I was getting on this thing.

  “Yes way,” he countered, laughing at me as he swung his leg over it and fumbled in his pockets for his keys.

  I stood there with my mouth agape, just watching as he started the engine, well attempted to start the engine anyway because it took at least five tries before it roared to life. Even the sound of the engine screamed danger. It didn’t sound at all healthy; it was loud and whiney and threatened to give out at any minute.

  “I’m not getting on that thing. I’ll just, um,” I trailed off, thinking and weighing my options. I could call Alex and see if anyone at the party was sober enough to come and get me. Or maybe I could call a cab - but if I did that I wasn’t sure how I would pay for it because I didn’t have my purse. I could call my parents, but then how would I explain everything to them? I could walk home, but it was well over half an hour to walk to my house from here and I had no shoes…

  He grinned and shook his head. “Pussy,” he teased, cocking his head to the side, looking at me mockingly.

  I scowled at him. I didn’t like him calling me that, for some reason I felt like I wanted to prove myself to this stranger that I’d met less than twenty minutes ago. “I’m not, it’s just that thing doesn’t even look like it could hold my weight as well as yours, its wheels would probably fall off!” I answered. Then I flinched when I realised that I’d just made a bitchy comment about his bike when he was being nice and offering me a lift home. I opened my mouth to apologise, but he spoke first.

  “We can’t all ride around in our cheating boyfriend’s sports car!” He frowned and looked away from me, obviously annoyed.

  I chewed on my lip and felt a wave of guilt wash over me. I was being so horrible to him, and all he was doing was being nice to me. This wasn’t me, I wasn’t like this usually, I was Maisie Preston, sweet and kind to everyone, but Luke had turned me into this bitter, nasty person. This was another thing that was his fault.

  “Sorry, Zach. I was out of order saying that. I’d like a ride if you’re still offering it, but I understand if you want to tell me to jog on,” I said, looking at him apologetically.

  He chuckled quietly. “I’ve never said the words ‘jog on’ in my life, I’d usually go for something stronger,” he said, a grin stretching across his face. I smiled apologetically and he rolled his eyes, “Come on then, little miss DUI, let’s get you home, huh?” He patted the seat behind him for me to get on.

  I winced and looked longingly back up the road, contemplating my options again.

  “Get on, Maisie!” he ordered, grabbing the front of my playsuit and pulling me towards him. I squealed as my clothes moved. Where he pulled me, the top came away from my body, so I quickly clutched it to my chest again so he didn’t get an eyeful. He laughed and let go. “Almost got a flash then. Maybe next time.” He winked at me and I gasped. Maybe I really should walk home. “Get on the bike before I run out of gas from sitting here idle for so freaking long. I do have places to get to you know, I don’t just hang out on the streets waiting for random drunken girls to run me down!” I winced thinking about almost killing him and stepped closer, gripping his shoulders for support as I climbed, in an exceptionally unladylike fashion, onto the seat behind him. He laughed and stood up with his legs either side of the bike, and pulled off his hoodie, passing it to me. “It’ll be cold when we get going and you’re only in that slutty little outfit,” he said, nodding down at the flimsy clothes I was wearing.

  “I’m not a slut.” I frowned in protest but pulled on the offered sweater at the same time.

  He smirked at me and shrugged. “Tell that to your legs that are exposed almost to the pleasure zone which, coincidently, is pressed against a stranger’s ass,” he commented, laughing as I slapped his back.

  “Are you gonna drive me home or stand there making assumptions about me all night?” I asked, trying to sound stern but failing miserably, he was actually pretty funny.

  “Sure. Where to?” he asked, looking at me curiously over his shoulder. I told him my address, giving a few directions when he didn’t quite know where it was. “Yeah, I think I know it. If I go past it or miss a turn then just tell me and I
’ll turn around.” He took my hands and put them on his sides, signalling for me to hold on.

  I nodded and gripped his T-shirt. I could feel his toned muscles under my hands; I knew he would be in good shape because of the whole freerunning and jumping over a moving car thing. “Where’s my helmet anyway?” I asked, looking around for it hanging somewhere.

  “Don’t have one,” he answered as he pulled out. I jerked back in the seat from the take-off and screamed, throwing my arms around his waist and pressing my face into his back. My heart was beating out of my chest from the fear of it. This is such a stupid idea; I’m so going to die. Hopefully it’ll be quick and painless!

  When we didn’t immediately die, I pulled my face away from his back and looked over his shoulder. Then, before I knew what was happening, it started to feel nice. The wind was blowing across my face again like when we were running from Luke’s car. It was almost like flying. My heart slowed down as my stomach got a little fluttery as the adrenalin started to flow through my veins.

  I grinned and pressed my mouth and nose into his shoulder to make it easier to breathe, but I kept my eyes firmly forward as I wrapped my arms tighter around his waist. This was my first time on a motorbike, and I had to admit, I loved it. The fluid way that he mastered the bike and leant into the corners, it was almost sexual, and for some reason I felt a little weird to be doing this with him. This innocent ride home was actually sexy as hell.

  Way too soon, he pulled into my street, slowing down and eventually came to a stop outside of my house. I took a couple of deep breaths as I pushed myself off of the bike. My legs were a little wobbly from the vibrations of the journey, but even that was a gratifying feeling. I smiled and pulled off his hoodie, handing it back to him, trying not to grin like an idiot because the feeling riding on the bike caused in me. I didn’t want him to know how much I enjoyed it because then he’d be smirking at me again.

  “Thanks for the ride. Sorry again for almost killing you earlier,” I said, wincing sheepishly.