Brian and the girl and I won’t hurt any of you.” Dominic didn’t raise his voice or add extra drama. I caught the underlying words he’d kept to himself. He meant the non-voiced threat and I understood.
“Got it. Tell Brian where we’re going. This is getting old and I’d like to be done.” I gripped my upper thigh as tight as I could. He was the same as me. I couldn’t kill him unless… wait. I totally could kill him. But he’d have to let me get close enough to try. And there was no way he trusted me like that anymore.
Could I get his trust back?
I passed the phone to Brian.
He nodded and repeated directions back to Dominic. He’d better remember how to get wherever the hell we were going. I wasn’t talking to Dominic again. Not until we were face-to-face, and even then, I couldn’t guarantee I would hold it together.
Brian clicked off. “Okay. We’re going to the YMCA in northern Boise. The directions are fairly straight-forward.”
I motioned to James. “We need to pull over and switch seats. If this is going to work, we need to start out convincing him we’re following his rules. And he doesn’t know you’re with us. Yet.”
James pulled to the right of the dead highway. The quarantine had gone into effect hours ago and it spread as far north as we’d been. Spokane and Coeur d’Alene may or may not be affected, but a lot of Idaho was, judging by the empty roads and lightless towns.
“Brian, you’re going to switch with me and sit beside Heather. I’ll sit by James. Brian, train your gun on Heather when we get close in case Dominic wants to check the situation.” I grabbed his shoulder, my fingers biting with meaning. “And if you hurt her, or do anything that will put her in danger, you’ll be like me in less than a second.”
He didn’t need to nod. I know he got my meaning. Everyone got my meaning. I hoped Heather didn’t think I was a pussy for crushing on her, but things were closing down to where there might not be another chance to tell her. Brian climbed from the SUV and judging by the whir of his zipper, he’d be a minute.
I turned to Heather, over-flowing with my need to tell her, make her understand. She’d moved close to my side. She placed her hand over mine and leaned into me. The left half of my body ached with her touch. I breathed her in and raised my free hand to her cheek, grazing my thumb on her silky skin from her cheekbone to her jaw line. “I’m sorry. I wish you would’ve let me handle this. You can’t get hurt. You can’t.”
She pressed her fingertip to my lips, the tingle instantaneous and jarring, zinging to places I was glad to discover weren’t dead. Her large eyes softened. “Don’t worry.”
I kissed her finger and then nudged it to the side of my face. I leaned in, her breath hot on my chin. Our lips met, this time, more hunger, more need, but I stopped it before our mouths could open. I couldn’t take the chance. Not with her. She meant more to me than my damn sick need to consume her. I pulled back. “I’ll get you out. I promise.”
She nodded, clasping my hand until I slid from the seat, the distance between us forcing the release. Cold spread across my skin. We’d be there in an hour and I had to get Heather to safety which meant back to her grandma and my mom. James, too.
I claimed Brian’s seat and Heather scooted as far from him as she could, up against the door. James avoided my gaze. I stared out the front windshield and watched the miles fly by. The wheels rolled us closer and closer to who the hell knew what? There was nothing worth more to me than two of the people in the car. Nothing.
~~~
We parked in the empty lot, dead center between the street and the building. I asked Brian, without turning to him or moving much at all, “Now what?”
He repositioned the gun, the metal parts of the action tinkling on each other in the nervous silence. “He said he’d be watching and would retrieve us when he was
“Got it. Tell Brian where we’re going. This is getting old and I’d like to be done.” I gripped my upper thigh as tight as I could. He was the same as me. I couldn’t kill him unless… wait. I totally could kill him. But he’d have to let me get close enough to try. And there was no way he trusted me like that anymore.
Could I get his trust back?
I passed the phone to Brian.
He nodded and repeated directions back to Dominic. He’d better remember how to get wherever the hell we were going. I wasn’t talking to Dominic again. Not until we were face-to-face, and even then, I couldn’t guarantee I would hold it together.
Brian clicked off. “Okay. We’re going to the YMCA in northern Boise. The directions are fairly straight-forward.”
I motioned to James. “We need to pull over and switch seats. If this is going to work, we need to start out convincing him we’re following his rules. And he doesn’t know you’re with us. Yet.”
James pulled to the right of the dead highway. The quarantine had gone into effect hours ago and it spread as far north as we’d been. Spokane and Coeur d’Alene may or may not be affected, but a lot of Idaho was, judging by the empty roads and lightless towns.
“Brian, you’re going to switch with me and sit beside Heather. I’ll sit by James. Brian, train your gun on Heather when we get close in case Dominic wants to check the situation.” I grabbed his shoulder, my fingers biting with meaning. “And if you hurt her, or do anything that will put her in danger, you’ll be like me in less than a second.”
He didn’t need to nod. I know he got my meaning. Everyone got my meaning. I hoped Heather didn’t think I was a pussy for crushing on her, but things were closing down to where there might not be another chance to tell her. Brian climbed from the SUV and judging by the whir of his zipper, he’d be a minute.
I turned to Heather, over-flowing with my need to tell her, make her understand. She’d moved close to my side. She placed her hand over mine and leaned into me. The left half of my body ached with her touch. I breathed her in and raised my free hand to her cheek, grazing my thumb on her silky skin from her cheekbone to her jaw line. “I’m sorry. I wish you would’ve let me handle this. You can’t get hurt. You can’t.”
She pressed her fingertip to my lips, the tingle instantaneous and jarring, zinging to places I was glad to discover weren’t dead. Her large eyes softened. “Don’t worry.”
I kissed her finger and then nudged it to the side of my face. I leaned in, her breath hot on my chin. Our lips met, this time, more hunger, more need, but I stopped it before our mouths could open. I couldn’t take the chance. Not with her. She meant more to me than my damn sick need to consume her. I pulled back. “I’ll get you out. I promise.”
She nodded, clasping my hand until I slid from the seat, the distance between us forcing the release. Cold spread across my skin. We’d be there in an hour and I had to get Heather to safety which meant back to her grandma and my mom. James, too.
I claimed Brian’s seat and Heather scooted as far from him as she could, up against the door. James avoided my gaze. I stared out the front windshield and watched the miles fly by. The wheels rolled us closer and closer to who the hell knew what? There was nothing worth more to me than two of the people in the car. Nothing.
~~~
We parked in the empty lot, dead center between the street and the building. I asked Brian, without turning to him or moving much at all, “Now what?”
He repositioned the gun, the metal parts of the action tinkling on each other in the nervous silence. “He said he’d be watching and would retrieve us when he was
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