I push to my feet and move closer to take a better look.
“Dex… You look so different,” I say in awe.
“I look like me again!” he says happily, running his hands down the front of his shirt.
He’s wearing a navy fitted T-shirt that stretches across his ample chest, showing way more muscle than the previous shirt did. Instead of joggers, he’s now sporting dark gray cargo pants and a black belt. He’s shaved the sides of his head and trimmed his beard, giving him a cleaner, more intense look. On his feet are black boots that suit him way better than the shoes he borrowed.
Pete runs into the bathroom with his arms full and closes the door as I smile up at Dex.
“Do you like it?” he asks, sounding nervous.
“I love it, you look better, more at ease. You shaved the sides of your head, too. I like it.” I reach up, and he ducks his head to let me run my fingers over the stubble.
I let my hand trail across his shoulder and down his bicep, getting a little feel of him, before it drops to my side.
“Dex, come get your weapons,” Sly says, pointing to the bed.
Dex rubs his hands together excitedly and moves to the pile. I look at Jagger and Sly, still in jogging pants, running shoes, and T-shirts, as something starts to niggle at my mind.
“Didn’t you have to wear prison uniforms?” They all turn to look at me in question, probably wondering where that train of thought came from.
“Yes,” Sly says as he reaches for a pair of black gloves and drops them in his pile of possessions.
“Then where did you get those?” I ask, pointing at his pants.
He glances at Jagger before looking back at me. “Did we never explain how we got the SUV and the clothes?”
I frown, trying to remember. But I shake my head. Why had I not even wondered where the SUV came from? I hadn’t even considered that it was stolen. “You stole it?”
“Sort of.”
“How do you sort of steal a car?” I ask, moving back to lie across the bed on my side as they continue to separate their new belongings.
“We found it on the side of the road, unlocked with the key inside. There was a bag in it with four sets of clothes and shoes, and the cell phone.”
His answer has me sitting upright. “Wait—four sets of perfectly fitting clothes were just waiting for you?”
“I wouldn’t say perfectly fitting,” Sly says, adjusting the waistband of his sweatpants.
“But close enough, you were all able to change?”
He nods slowly, frowning at me.
“Don’t you think that’s a little strange?” I ask him, wondering why they weren’t worried.
“It is. But we had no choice. We were in the middle of nowhere.”
“I’m not criticizing your decision, Sly. I would have done the same, I'm sure. I’m just wondering who left it there. It sounds like they knew you were coming.”
“But nobody knew we were going to escape, not even us.”
“What do you mean? You never explained how you got out. It wasn’t planned?”
“All done!” Pete says, exiting the bathroom as Jagger grabs his stuff to take his place.
He’s wearing a thin black hoodie pushed up to the elbows. Dark cargo pants fit him perfectly, and the knife strapped to his thigh only adds to his appeal for some reason. He has fingerless gloves on, and I look up and see the mischievous glint in his green eyes as his blond hair falls in his face. He uses one hand to push it back, and my core clenches. Why does that action make him more attractive?
“What are you thinking, angel cake? You like?” he asks, trailing his palms down his chest.
