I really wish he’d stop using words like “all the women” so often.
His words were like a balm to my soul, but a few of them continued to rattle. “You really have to stop saying of all the women.”
Cyrus laughed. “I’ve always been the fun, carefree twin, but you’ve shown me how much I’m missing in life. Living the life of grandeur doesn’t seem enough anymore.”
Kidnapping did that to a man, but I still wanted clarification. “What does that mean?” What wasn’t enough anymore? Did he want to join the service and become a missionary to help more people? Or was he talking about something else?
Cyrus stared at me as our gazes locked on one another. My breathing slowed, but my heart rate picked up as I met his gaze.
One side of his lips tipped up, and he shook his head a fraction. “I’m not sure.”
Oh no.
My eyes went wide as he finished his sentence, but not for the reasons he probably assumed. My hands shook as I held it high and pointed toward the parking lot at the car pulling into the front parking spot, taking up a handicap space. “Cyrus, look,” I said, my words shaky as he spun around to look at the lot as well. “Isn’t that the men?”
But I didn’t need his confirmation. They were the same ones who followed us from Florida.
How?
Cyrus dropped the pickle spear he’d been eating. “Shit.”
CHAPTER 12
CYRUS
Shit.
Shit.
“Shit. Shit,” I mumbled to myself, but from the look on Imogen’s face, she heard.
How in the hell did they find us so soon? Considering we escaped from Florida, it wasn’t a stretch to guess we’d head north, but stopping at the same place as us barely three hours later was too much coincidence. Did the trucker who brought us here tell? But how did they know who to tell and why? None of it made logical sense. I considered myself a fairly decent judge of character. Bird sounded honest.
But if not him, why couldn’t we shake these assholes?
We didn’t have time to waste for me to sit around and figure out who betrayed our trust. Every second we hesitated was a second closer to our recapture. The same two men we’d seen before loitered next to their vehicle. Their gaze searching every which direction as if they contemplated where to search for us first. It was a good sign, meaning they didn’t know our exact location.
I slid from the booth and held my hand out for Imogen, intertwining our fingers tightly. We came this far, and I couldn’t allow us to fail now. I promised her safety, and I’d deliver.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said when she stopped beside me, looking back at our table of food like I asked her to leave a puppy on the side of the road.
She reached out and grabbed one last cheese fry. “We need to pay.”
“We have a tab. Remember?” And even if we didn’t, I wouldn’t wait for someone to find us. We’d send a check later. It was more important to get Imogen to safety. She was the only thing that mattered. If it came to it, I’d lay my life on the line for her.
“Oh yeah,” she said before shoving the cheese fry in her mouth and letting me lead her through the restaurant.
She came so willingly and followed me without a second thought that if we hadn’t been on the run for our lives, I would’ve sported a hard-on. Imogen was one of the sweetest, most caring people I’d ever met, and I’d only known her for a few days. Her giving nature did not make her weak but strong. She had a definite fierceness underneath her top layers. The strength she used to survive our situation helped me realize she’d have the strength to carry on once this was done.
That didn’t mean I planned to let her go.
It was too early to make decisions that would affect the rest of our lives, but my head told me something my heart had screamed for the last day. I wanted Imogen as mine. Forever.
Also, I wasn’t as sweet and kind as the woman I’d fallen for. I wouldn’t take her against her will, but I planned to pull out all the stops to make sure she became mine.
But first we had to survive.
A large neon-lit restroom sign blinked at the back of the restaurant, and I led us in that direction, grateful to find an exit door at the end of the hall.
