"Riley," Is the only word I manage to breathe out. His hand trails down my arm to my cheek and then his body lifts away from me and he turns me around until my back is against the door of the truck.

"Who else?" He's grinning, his face only inches from mine.

"Zac? Jordan? Kieran? Carl?" I say softly. "Any of them would be better—"

"Shhh." His finger presses harshly against my lips. "Don't lie, Kayla." They trail downwards, parting them. "Lying is a sin." I can't respond, his finger pressing against the entrance of my mouth. "You're too pure to sin," he adds before his finger drops.

"You're full of shit," I murmur, unable to stop myself from smiling.

Riley grins, shrugging. "As long as it makes you smile."

"That's going a bit far, isn't it?" I reply.

Riley shifts on his feet before his hands are on my hips, pressing me into the vehicle with his body and holding me in place. "Well," he murmurs, tilting his head ever so slightly to the left. His tribal style neck tattoo that stretches up the side of his neck is visible in the moonlight. The sight of the ink does something to me. I'm weak in the knees. "I suppose you don't always have to smile."

"Oh?"

Riley's nose brushes against mine. "There are other expressions I'd prefer to see."

"There are?"

Riley nods, our noses side by side as his lips hover, inches away from mine. I can feel his breath against my lips, the scent of peppermint saturating my senses. "And I'll see them too."

"What?"

"When I get back," he murmurs.

"What—" I'm cut off when his lips meet mine. They're gentle, pressing against mine as though he's worried that I don't want this. Nothing could be further from the truth. The stir of anticipation that stirs in my stomach is enough to prove that to me. In surprise, my lips part, a breath slipping past them.

Riley smiles against my mouth, the sound spurring him on. His lips are suddenly rougher, harsher, igniting something darker. The stirs in my stomach whip into desire, coiling their way through my body. Riley's tongue slips past my lips and grazes against my own. Lust jumps into action, flooding my veins. My hands land on his arms, holding him to me as I tilt my head sideways, opening more of myself up to him. Riley's tattooed hand clutches at the back of my neck, holding us together as he gently bites my lip. I moan, softly, my eyes fluttering open. His are staring back, but for the first time ever, there's not a single hint of amusement in his expression.

The sight captivates me further. Leaning in, I smash our lips together all over again, taking control this time as I force him to deepen the kiss and move my hands to trail down his muscular chest. He exhales — something between a rush of oxygen and a groan — and I lift my hands, knotting them into his blonde hair and pressing my entire body against him as I lean up, our mouths dancing together.

"Riley!" Zac's loud, brash voice cuts through the night air and we separate, both breathing heavily.

Riley grins against my lips before pulling away. "I'll be right there," he hollers back. A door slams, and I can only assume that Zac's gotten back inside the truck cab. Riley lifts his hand, reaching for the loose strand of hair that's hanging over my cheek and tucking it behind my ear. "I've been wanting to do that for a while."

"You have?" I'm surprised.

"You haven't?" he counters. My skin tingles at the question and giddiness leaps in my chest.

I suppose, maybe, I've considered it.

"No comment."

Riley smirks before leaning in once more, and caressing my cheek with his hand. Gently, he pecks my lips before pulling away. "That isn't going to be the last one of those I have."

I cock a brow and let my hands intertwine with the bottom of his top. "Is that so?"

He nods before leaning closer and resting his lips at my ear. "Those expressions I was on about?" he pauses. "They're the ones you'll make in bed. The ones when you're lying beneath me, legs spread as my cock thrusts inside you," he promises.

"Riley!" My exclamation is quiet, despite the surprise that leaks into my tone.

"I'll see you soon, my little truck driver," he promises before stepping back. His hand slips from my waist and cheek and I suck in a breath at the tingles it leaves behind. He gives me one final grin before he's whirling around and heading for the other truck.

Zac calls out once more and Riley curses at his friend before I hear the door slam again and silence reigns.

Feeling warm inside, I wrap my arms around myself and let a smile spread across my face. What a perfect goodbye. Goodbye for now, anyway.

Now I have to do my part, and ensure they're able to get past the Enforcers and travel down South.

Inhaling, I nod to myself. I'm full of the confidence that I was lacking five minutes ago. Riley's hyped me up, and I'm anything but mad.

Turning, I reach up and grab the door handle, yanking it open and climbing inside the cab. Lyla and Carl are sitting in the passenger seats, staring at me with smirks on their faces.

"What?" I exclaim. Their expressions tell me everything. "Whatever," I grumble, securing my seat belt over my body and pressing down on the clutch. Only then do I notice the necklace that's hanging beside the keys. Furrowing my brow, I let the silver chain slip through my fingers, hesitating when I reach the metal dog tags at the end.

I know who put them there.

With Lyla and Carl staring at me, I unhook the chain from the keys and quickly shove the tags into my pocket, trying to ignore the giddy happiness that's pounding in my chest all over again.

With a final deep breath, I turn the truck on, letting the rumble spread through my body.

Already in first gear, I lift the clutch and left the truck inch forward before I swing wide, driving past the first truck and back onto the main road. It's still empty and I'm grateful for the lack of chaos as we drive, inching over sixty miles per hour down the relatively straight road.

It's ten minutes before we reach our destination and I pull onto the dirt track beside us, bringing the truck to a slow meander and letting it trundle slowly over the bumps and divots. I pull to a stop beside a pylon and cut the power, leaving the keys in the ignition and jumping out.

A huge, dark building stands tall beside us and I grimace at the stench of petrol. Riley's crew were here earlier today, saturating the place ready to be annihilated this evening.

Lyla and Carl follow suit, the two of them instantly jumping into action at the back of the truck as they unfurl a long length of rope.

Peering upwards, I listen to the hum of the wires.

We were right. The State use this stretch of power lines. Our distraction is going to work, and it'll take out more of their assets. It's a win-win situation.

Tearing my eyes to the back of the truck, I watch as Carl climbs the ladder before balancing his feet on top of the tanker. I walk towards them, taking the end of the rope from Lyla. Carl unscrews the lid before taking the rope from me and dunking it inside, saturating the fabric with petrol.

We'd saved over three thousand litres of petrol these past few months for when the time came, but luck was on our side when we found this truck, already more than half full of fuel.

Leaving the end of the rope inside the liquid, Carl positions the lid on top of it, securing it in place before chucking the remainder towards us. I pull the spare rope away from the truck, dragging it as far as I can while Carl climbs down the ladder. Over two metres away from the tanker, I reach the end of the rope, Lyla stepping beside me as we wait for Carl to us.

Digging the lighter out of my pocket, my heart races with nerves. I glance at them.

"Ready to run?" I ask. Both of them nod and I take a deep breath before dropping to my haunches and flicking the lighter open. Flicking the spark wheel, an orange hue illuminates the rope and the muddy ground beneath me. It's warm, blowing sideways in the wind and taunting me.

Come on, Kayla.

You've gotten this far. Finish it.

Sucking in a breath, I lower the flame to the fuel-soaked rope. It takes hold instantly and my eyes widen as the fire whips up the length of the rope.

"Come on!" Carl's at my side, yanking my arm and tugging me away from the danger. Stumbling onto my feet, he lets go and we turn, sprinting away as fast as we can. My lungs are on fire before we dive off the dirt track, flying through the corn field and heading into the tall vegetation. I'm gasping for breath, not even daring to look backwards as I force my legs forward, the muscles begging me to stop.

The loudest boom sounds from behind us and I throw myself into the corn, huddling down on the ground and closing my eyes. My ears ring from the noise and I grimace, hands curled around my head.

In seconds, the noise settles into a significantly lower scuffle and hesitantly, I move my hands lower before turning over. The night sky is full of ash and burning embers, illuminating the air as though we're in a fantasy land, full of fairies.

Slowly, I stumble back to my feet and peer over the tops of the corn. My breath gets sucked out of me.

The fire is still spreading across the building, only the front door currently blossoming with inescapable flame. But it's roaring, fast and furious. It's getting more ferocious with every passing second. Flames lick the pylon beside it, the power lines hissing and spitting as they weaken. Below, what was once the first vehicle that I ever drove is unrecognisable, a ball of orange danger that lights up the night sky more than I ever knew was possible.

I watch as the flames spread to the upper floor of the abandoned hospital as one of the power lines snaps, the flailing end dropping to the ground underneath it. It's insane. It's incredible. It's powerful, what we've done.

This is enough to garner the attention of every Enforcer within a three mile radius.

We did it. I did it.

Now, it's their time to freaking shine. Time for them to travel South.

Digging my hand in my pocket, my fingers curl around the metal inside and I pull it out before looking down at the metal tags.

RR. Rivert, Riley. is displayed proudly at the top, along with a blood group and service number below it. My fingers trace the indents of his name and I smile before lifting it to my head and dropping the metal around my neck. The tags fall onto my skin, warm and comforting.

"I'll keep them safe for you," I promise in a whisper. "Until you return."

"Kayla, we have to go!" Carl calls out from behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I see Lyla and Carl watching me, ready to run once more. We have to get out of here before the Enforcers arrive.

I take one last look at the burning building, the sizzling power lines and smile.

Riley would be proud. I know it — even though he'd never admit it.

And despite the fact that I would never admit a thing to his face, I meant the words that I just whispered into the night.

Before tonight we'd never even kissed before. But even if we hadn't, I think something inside me would have imagined that someday... maybe... there could have been something between us. The way we always seemed to find one another at the farmhouse, spitting insults and annoying the daylights out of one another. It spurred me on, motivated me every time he was around.

Not to mention how nervous I was when he tattooed the rose onto my stomach in the back of a truck just over a week ago. The way his fingers trailed over my bare skin, the anticipation from his touch.

There's something there.

And even if it isn't much, I'm intrigued to see whether it could be more.

So I have to wait.

Wait for news. Wait for them to return to us.

Stepping away from the disaster that we've caused, I nod my head at Carl and Lyla before we head deeper into the field, sprinting to escape the Enforcers that will arrive any minute.

And now... now it's time for me to lead.