“Well, let’s hope so,” Zina muttered.
“Anyway, look!” Trent leaned forward, jabbing at the ancient stereo. “How can you say we got ripped off when it came with a cassette already in the tape deck?”
“Acassette?Has anyone actually seen one of those in the last century?” Zina asked.
“Let’s see what’s on it,” Trent said, shooting her a grin. “I promise we can turn it off if it’s – aw, what? No way! Chisels!”
“Whatis this exactly?” Zina asked, staring at him, asFlame Treesstarted blaring tinnily out of the speakers. “Although I’m not totally sure I really want to know.”
“What? No!No!I refuse to let you come to Australia and leave without learning about our culture. Come on – I’ll tell you all about Cold Chisel as we go,” Trent said, as Jimmy Barnes wailed about returning to the hometown of his lost love.
“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to do that. I think I’m picking up what I need to know from the song itself,” Zina said – and despite her seeming lack of interest, Trent could hear the slight smile in her voice.
“So, it’s all tragic love, go-nowhere towns, shitty jobs, nostalgia and heartbreak,” she said when the song had finished. “I told you my mom used to make me listen to a lot of country and western songs, and I guess this is just kind of the same thing with a different accent.”
“You kind of have a point there,” Trent admitted. “One day I’ll have to let you tell me all about the songs your mum used to play for you.”
I want to know everything about you,he thought as he glanced across at her.Or as much as you want to tell me, anyway.
He knew Zina was ridiculously competent, cool in a crisis, and had a strong enough sense of her own morality that she was willing to put herself at great risk to keep defenseless baby shifters who hadn’t even hatched yet out of Hargreaves’s hands. He knew she was beautiful. He knew she was hismate. But she hadn’t exactly been very forthcoming with many details about her life, and Trent had to say he kind of understood why – coming off a long-term deep cover mission the way she had couldn’t have been easy.
But I do need to make sure I sort things out between us, as soon as I can,he thought. He couldn’t let the question of what they were to each other drag out for much longer.As soon as we’re at Tahnee’s sanctuary and we know the eggs are safe and sound, then we can talk.
He just hoped his kangaroo would let him keep things to himself that long – it was already twitching impatiently at the thought ofmoredelays.
It’s just a couple of days of driving,Trent told it soothingly.You can be patient.
The kangaroo gave off a vague sense ofCan I, though?But it otherwise ignored him. Which really, Trent thought, was kind of a relief.
“Hey, this one kind of rocks,” Zina said, reaching forward to twist the volume knob of the tape deckrightup. “What’s it called?”
Trent laughed. “It’s calledCheap Wine.”
“Oh, well – that’s something we can all get behind,” Zina said, joining in with his laughter. “The man knows what he’s singing about.”
It did Trent’s heart good to hear Zina laughing. Maybe when this mission was behind them, he could hear her laugh more often, he thought – he certainly hoped so.
“Pretty desolate out here, isn’t it?” Zina said, looking out of the window at the passing scenery. It was all pale brown scrub and sandy earth now that they were out of town – a few stubby trees rose up here and there, but that was it. “I can see why you wanted to get the extra gas.”
“Yeah – you wanna make sure you don’t run out, because once you get past the towns, there’s nothing out here for miles and miles,” Trent said. “And believe me, this is pretty scenic compared to where we’re headed.”
“Nice.” Zina made a face. “And this sanctuary is in the middle of it?”
“Best place for it,” Trent said. “The middle of nowhere. Hard to get to, hard to find. No reason to come out here unless you know what you’re looking for.”
“Point taken.” Zina rested her chin on her palm, looking out of the window. Trent could tell she was thinking about something, and as much as he wanted to know what it was, he also didn’t really feel like quizzing her too much. She still looked tired – and Trent could well imagine that she was. And now that the adrenaline of the last few weeks would be wearing off, she’d need as much of a break as she could get.
“Hey, if you wanna get some sleep, now’s probably the time,” he said, glancing across at her. “I promise you won’t be missing much in terms of the view, and I’ll wake you up if anything happens. You should just relax as much as you can, yeah?”
Zina licked her lips as she looked across at him. “I’m not tired, you know. I can stay awake as long as I need to.”
“I know,” Trent said. “But youdon’tneed to right now. I’m driving, and the eggs are here with us, safe. You can take a little snooze.”
Zina looked conflicted for a moment longer, but then she nodded. “Okay. I will. Or at least I’ll try.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Thanks – I mean for everything. Everything you’ve done for me. And for them.”
“No worries,” Trent said, doing his best to keep his voice level, even as his kangaroo rose up within him.
Tell her we’re devoted to her unto death,it insisted.Tell her that this is the least of the things we’d do to keep her and hers safe. Tell her we’d fly to the moon and back if it would show her how much she means to us.
