“I’ll be right back,” he said finally, not waiting for an answer before he hopped up and walked toward the front doors.
He had finished his food, but she was still working on hers, so she sat and ate. She could see him pacing back and forth on the phone with someone and looking more than a little agitated. It would seem she wasn’t the only one with problems if the scowl on his face was indicative of anything.
“Everything okay?” she asked as he returned and sat back down, taking a big drink of his coffee and chasing it back with the last of his orange juice.
“Fine. You all finished there?” he said.
“Yeah. You ready to head out?” she asked.
“Almost. Let me get the check and we’ll get moving.”
He summoned a waitress over and asked her for their bill. She told him she’d be right back with it and disappeared for a moment. Autumn could hear a slight buzzing from his phone, and he pulled it from his pocket to look at it, typing a response and putting it back in. The waitress returned with the bill and he glanced at it, tossing some cash down on the table and standing.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
Autumn’s heart was in her throat. This was it. He would take her down to the highway and let her off with her duffle, and then she’d be on her own to manage however she could. There was no more putting off what was to come next—a struggle like she’d never known in her life.
Outside the diner, they put on their helmets and climbed on the bike. They were headed only a few miles down. There was a small shopping center there where she could get some snacks and then walk out to the highway to get on the move, but as they drove, she found him passing by the shopping center and continuing onto the highway on the bike. She tapped him on the shoulder as if to ask what he was doing and he waved her off, speeding for miles without a word.
Finally, a few towns over, he pulled into what looked like an abandoned parking lot of an old brick building and drove around the side to the back-parking area where employees probably used to park. He stopped the bike and got off, removing his helmet and reaching out to help her off.
“Malcolm, what is going on? You were supposed to let me get some things and go down to the highway miles ago.”
Instead of responding, he pulled her to him and kissed her so hard that she was breathless when he finally let her go.
“I can’t do it,” he said.
“What? You can’t do what?” she asked, confused and still a little dizzy from the kiss.
“I can’t just leave you out here like this to fend for yourself.”
“Of course, you can, Malcolm. I’m not yours to protect. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re terrified, Autumn. I can smell your fear, and I could feel your heart pounding against my back as we rode. Maybe I can let you go and try to manage however best you can, but what if I don’t want to? What if I don’t want to leave you like this?”
“You’re just being an Alpha. It’s in your nature to be protective. You don’t owe me anything.”
“I know I don’t, but I’m going to make sure you are okay before we say any goodbyes.”
“I can’t go back north with you, Malcolm. It’s too risky for me. I need to get out of Canada. We’re on two different paths.”
“You’re no safer going south alone. They’re already on your trail here, Autumn.”
“What?” she asked, feeling a certain sense of dread now.
“The phone call. It was the guy at the shop. The local police had been there. One of them was a bear. He could smell him. They were asking about your bike, if anyone had brought one in for repair.”
“Oh, God. Did they find it?”
“No. He said it had already been stripped down for parts and delivered to a chop shop where it would never be seen. He lied for us; told them he hadn’t seen it. They said they’d gotten a report about it on the side of the road, but it was gone when they got there, so we’re lucky they didn’t go to his place any earlier than they did.”
“Still, if he turned them away.”
“It won’t matter. They know the bike was here, that it was wrecked. They know that you’re in the area, so they’ll be hot on your trail. The policemen, the beat, there’s no doubt he’s in contact with them. They’ll be in contact with any bears they know that might be able to help them.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit.”
“Still, it’s not your problem.”
He reached for her, taking both shoulders in his hands and looking into her eyes.