Lock and Key Read Online Free PDF

glared at me. I could barely make out the words “Road Captain.”
    He had most definitely been under the radar last night. If he had only unzipped that hoodie in the bar, if I had seen the cut, I would have run like hell on the spot. But no, I had to kiss him back, I had to suck on his beautiful tongue, I had to push my tits into his chest.
    Stupid.
    I bit down on my trembling lip as I slowly zipped my duffel bag closed. I nabbed my car keys and the room key, slipped on my creased leather jacket, and swung my large studded suede handbag over my shoulder. My fingers gripped the door frame as I turned to take one last look at Miller. The incognito biker’s magnificent naked body lay face down on our snarled sheets.
    His sleek tattooed back rose with every deep and even breath of sleep. The hard angle of his jaw jutted forward on the smashed pillow. His fingers were curled around the edges of the pillowcase. The silver eagle ring glinted in the soft light of dawn sifting through the drapes.
    That gorgeous hard ass my hands couldn’t get enough of last night mocked me now. The sleek, powerful body that had held me, moved inside me, and gave me so much pleasure for hours was now only a menacing presence and left me numb.
    “Get gone,” I whispered.
    I carefully turned the knob and pulled opened the door. I stepped out of the room into the cold cloudiness of a day that I had dreaded dawning for a long, long time. Now it was here, and I had even more reasons to dread it.

 
     
    “Grace, you made it!”
    Alex, my sister’s husband of five years, took a last long drag on his cigarette and tossed it in a sand-filled can at the entrance of Rapid City Regional Hospital. The collar of his gabardine overcoat was turned up against the early morning chill in the air. He pushed back from the wall and took me in his arms.
    Alex’s eyes narrowed over me. “You look like shit, Gracie.”
    “Thanks, jerk.” I scowled at him. “Smoking again?”
    “Insane, I know.” He raked a hand through his mussed waves of dark blonde hair. “I’ve been here most of the night.” His weary brown eyes rested on me. “What’s your excuse?” he asked.
    “I’ve been driving for over two hours straight since before six this morning. And without coffee, by the way.” I put my arm through Alex’s. “How is she?”
    He shrugged. “The same. Not in any pain, thank God. It’s the waiting that’s the bitch right now. For this test and that one,” he said. “They’re putting off the next round of chemo until these new test results come in. They don’t let Jake come too often. That’s ticking her off, but he’s only four. They have rules.”
    “He’s staying with your aunt?”
    He nodded and led me into the lobby.
    “I can’t wait to see him,” I said. “So what’s the story, can I get tested today?”
    “Yeah, if you don’t scare the doctor away first!” He let out a laugh.
    I elbowed Alex in the chest. He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side again. “You can tell me, Gracie. Did you go clubbing and hook up with some badass who kept you up all night?”
    I crossed my arms. “Actually, I did indulge in the minibar at the motel last night, so I’ll have to schedule the testing for tomorrow.”
    “Minibar?” Alex smirked.
    I caught my reflection in a large mirrored memorial plaque behind Alex in the foyer. My strained eyes were slightly swollen and red with black smudges of mascara smeared under them. My face was pale, my hair had frizzed out from the knotted band. Definitely spooky. Definitely spooked.
    I exhaled and let out a little laugh. “Shut it, Alexander.”
    “Come on, party girl. Let’s get some caffeine in your veins, put you in front of a bathroom mirror, and I’ll find the doctor. Then we’ll see Ruby.”
    “Sounds good.”
     

     
    “Mrs. Quillen, your sister’s small cell lung cancer is extremely difficult to treat in general. There was some initial responsiveness to the chemo