Grabbing Hold (The Motorcycle Kid #1)

65. City Lights and Cigarettes

Thank me later :-) Yes, a double update ❤

Emma Daniel had never been good at being sneaky. Sure, she'd mastered masking her emotions and pretending to be okay, but when it came to things like this - that is, sneaking out of a motel to meet a boy she may or may not have very strong feelings for - Emma was very much a novice.

Her heart thudded violently in her chest as she pulled the door ever so slowly towards the door-frame, biting back a squeal and wincing as the old hinge let out yet another of its loud squeals. Quickly, before she could be discovered and sent whining and wailing back to bed at Charlotte's hands, Emma darted down the deserted but surprisingly well lit corridor of the motel. 

It was after eleven at night, and the night had a bite to it despite the fact that it was the middle of summer. Rubbing her arms to generate some sort of warmth, Emma checked her phone again, making sure Ryder hadn't suddenly changed his mind about meeting her. The smarter part of her wondered why on earth they couldn't just meet up during the day. 

Then again, it was Emma and Ryder. They specialized in Puerto Rican pastries, Snickers and chicken nuggets with the honey dip. A midnight tryst outside a relatively upscale motel was right up their alley.

Sure enough, Ryder hadn't said anything further, so with bated breath, Emma carefully made her way down the stairs to the ground floor. The night was unusually silent except for the residual noise from the city a few minutes away, and Emma was seriously re-evaluating her life choices when she noticed one of the few lights around the place started to flicker.

For a dude? Really, Emma? What happened to you? You're going to get killed outside a bummy motel over a guy? What if he's seriously a serial killer and he's been grooming you all this time? Luring you back to his domain so he can chop your body into tiny little pieces and feed it to his pet snake? You crazy idiot-

As if the poor girl wasn't traumatized enough by her own thoughts, out of nowhere, a bright light shone in her direction. Letting out a string of words that would've made Charlotte blush, Emma panicked, the light dizzying her already messy vision. She hadn't even thought to walk with her glasses.

Think!

On instinct, she threw her hands in the air in surrender. It didn't help her case that she was dressed in fairly dark clothing, and her blonde locks were tucked under the hood of her sweater. Internally, Emma was a mess of anxiety, feeling the panic crawl up her throat. 

Idiot, why didn't you take your pills?!

"Oh my God, oh my God, please! I wasn't doing anything, I swear!" Emma yelled, hoping confession would save her from whatever fate had waiting for her. So much for playing badass.

The light took form in a matter of seconds as her eyes adjusted, and she made out the silhouette of a stocky man in what looked like a guard's uniform approaching her with a flashlight in one hand and a baton in the other.

"What do you think you're doing, kid?" he asked, and Emma was about to bite out a response, but she had clammed up. She had spotted a gun in the man's belt, and she watched enough news to know he wouldn't hesitate to use it if he deemed it necessary. 

Plus, Emma was nowhere near physically capable of overpowering him if he decided to use brute force against her.

"N-nothing, Sir," she sputtered out. "I was just trying to get out of here."

"Come here."

At that, Emma raised a brow. Sure, she was terrified, but not that terrified.

The man scoffed, coming even closer to the basically frozen girl.

He searched her blue-grey irises with the flashlight, and Emma foolishly backed up against the wall. The man was heavily bearded, and on closer inspection, looked far different from the guard she'd seen earlier that night in the lobby of the motel.