“Don’t worry, I know all the best ways to avoid traffic,” he said firmly. “The question is, what the heck was your plan? You were going to steal the truck and take it to the competition? Just you and Rose?”
“Well. Yes.”
“Oh my God.”
“What?” I stuck my chin out.
“It’s just… the worst plan, that’s all.”
Hamlet drove across three lanes until we landed in the ExpressLane. I looked at him in surprise. “You have a FasTrak?”
“No.”
“I’m really into this Jason Bourne side of you.”
Again, he slowed down. “Don’t get used to it. Is your seat belt on?” he barked.
“Yes, sir,” I said with a wink, which only flustered him further.
We flew by some gridlock, but I kept my glee to myself. There’s this LA curse—if you actually express your smugness at passing traffic, you will immediately hit some. It happens every single time.
“This is going to be the best surprise!”Hamlet exclaimed, slapping his hands on the steering wheel happily. “Rose kind of hates you right now, though. Just FYI.”
“I’m counting on it.” The thought of being stuck in that stuffy truck bickering with Rose filled me with the most intense relief. I found myself missing the weirdest stuff lately.
And, like with Hamlet, I knew the first thing I needed to do when I saw her was apologize.
We were quiet for a few seconds, long enough for the car to be filled with a huge elephant. His love confession and my non-reciprocation. I chewed my lip down to bits trying to decide if this was the right time to bring it up.
Hamlet’s phone buzzed with a barrage of texts. THANK GOD! I picked it up gratefully. “Rose is freaking out.”
“Ignore it,” he said, speeding up again.
“You got it, Bryan Mills.”
“Who’sthat?”
“You know, Liam Neeson’s character from theTakenmovies?”
He shook his head and turned on the radio. Loud.
The rest of the drive was quick—there was no traffic, and we found a parking spot in a secret lot that Hamlet knew about. I found this competence very attractive.
Taking a few trails off the main path shaded by ancient live oak trees, I could hear and smell the trucks before we arrived. They were parked in a giant lot bordered by the gnarled old trees and gently sloping hills of brush. As we got closer, my nerves finally caught up with me and I was filled with trepidation.
When I saw the KoBra, I took a deep breath.Here we go.
CHAPTER 34
Rose stared at me, frowning.
For normal friends, it would have been a moment ripe for a hug. But I was me and she was Rose. So we stood there awkwardly without speaking. I punched her arm. “Hi.”
She punched my arm back. Hard. “Hi.”
“Sorry for leaving you,” I said, the words whooshing out of me. And I was surprised by how easy and natural it was. Words that usually had to be yanked out of my insides with a crowbar.
Her delicate chin quivered. I was mortified. Seeing Rose cry would be like breaking the seventh seal to bring on the apocalypse or something.
