I could feel the heat of him through my jacket.
Even when I tried to pull away, he wouldn’t let me go. He tightened his grip, but not in a way that made me uncomfortable. “Which car is yours?” he asked when we made it to the gravel parking lot.
I flung my hand in the direction of my beat-up car, wincing when I saw it. He unlocked the passenger side and opened the door for me. I climbed in and immediately removed my heels. I tossed them into the back of the car and then turned around and rummaged on the floor for a pair of black flip-flops.
Slash got into the driver’s side and adjusted the seat and mirrors for his tall frame.
“You know where we’re going?” I asked.
“No.”
“No?”
“I’m not from here.” He glanced at me and put the car into drive.
“But you’re—aren’t you a member of the Blue Angels?” I looked at his leather cut. It was like the one Duke and Savage were wearing.
He didn’t say anything until after we’d driven through the gate and hit the main road. “Nomad.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m a Nomad.”
I frowned. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”
“It means I’m a member of the Blue Angels, but I don’t belong to a specific chapter.”
“So, you’re not from here,” I concluded. “Got it.” I took out my phone and searched for the clinic’s address. I plugged it into GPS and let the maps program guide us.
“Slash is an interesting nickname,” I said, just to disrupt the quiet.
“Not a nickname. A road name.”
“What’s your real name?”
He glanced at me for a moment and then back to the street. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Your real name doesn’t matter? Why not?”
He clenched his jaw, and I thought for sure that was the end of the conversation. But he surprised me when he rumbled out, “I haven’t been called by my real name in fifteen years. Besides, I’m not that man anymore.”
Chapter2
We drovein silence for a few minutes after his pronouncement, and finally, I asked, “Why weren’t you drinking at the party?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m curious by nature.”
“You know what they say about curiosity, don’t you?”
“It killed the cat. Yeah, I know. But the cat had nine lives. I have a few left.”
A ghost of a smile flitted across his face.
Ah, I’m getting somewhere.
“I don’t drink.”