Fleur
Another small town.
Another day of angst.
Another day of wondering about the future and whether my brother’s body was being handled with grace.
But we were nearing the end of our journey and when Montgomery had to stop at a traffic light, I casually glanced in his direction. The four days we’d been together on the road had been stressful, at least at first, but I’d found myself enjoying certain aspects of our trip. Maybe I’d look back and realize how ridiculous that seemed, but with radio reception shitty almost the entire way, not being able to eat in a restaurant, and remaining sequestered for every meal, I’d learned a lot about him.
What I’d found was confusing as well as thrilling. I liked him genuinely as a person. He was funny and had no issue makingfun of himself. He was even playful when he wasn’t staring out the hotel window, remaining a powerful guard dog.
He adored junk food, even though I had a feeling he’d never admit the truth to anyone. That meant now I had something to hold over his head.
“What is that look all about?” he asked, chuckling as he glanced into the rearview mirror.
“If I had a nickel for every time you’ve looked into that mirror, I don’t think we’d have any issue with watching our funds.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, I am trying to keep us alive.”
“Ah, that.” I waved my hand at him, biting back a smile. He was also meticulous in everything he did, including checking the locks, the windows, and after every stay at a hotel, he had some contraption to make sure no listening devices or bombs had been attached to the vehicle.
Certainly nothing Tilly and Bart had managed to come up with.
“So, the look?”
“You’re demanding as hell. The look is that you’re different than a few days ago.”
He scrunched his face, another moment that highlighted the sexiness of the creases in his face. One disguise he had adhered to was growing his beard. Now it was long enough I could and had run my fingers through it.
“How so?” He made a turn, heading for a gas station.
“This might sound crazy, but you’re more at ease. Do you realize that other than the first day, you haven’t used your cane?”
The look of surprise in his eyes was followed by a series of grunts. While he rubbed his thigh, almost instantly he pulled his hand away, fisting his fingers. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Your pain was a result of the tension you were experiencing.”
As he pulled into the parking lot, forced to wait behind a car getting gas, he grinned in the evilest of ways. “And I’m not tense now? Keeping you safe is a very important job.”
“Yeah, I know. But you don’t need to worry about winning friends and influencing people.” His face scrunched again and I snorted. “You rich people are all alike. What I’m saying is that living off junk food and staying in shitty motels has brought out the real man who was already right there deep inside. Fighting to be freed.”
While the passion was sparse, mostly because of his fear of being unaware of an attack, the tension between us remained completely electric. So much so I remained in a constant state of arousal.
Reaching over, he squeezed my leg. “Money doesn’t create tension, Fleur. The people involved do.”
“Then that means you’ve not very good at handling people.” I pressed my fingers across my lips, unable to keep from laughing. “You’re too easy to toy with.”
“And you’re a brat. Stay in the vehicle. I need to make a phone call.”
“What if I need to pee?”
He shook his head as if never having heard a woman use the word ‘pee’ before. “Then by all means go to the restroom.”
“Can I get a Snickers bar, Daddy? I’ve been very good.”
My testy little comment brought a finger to my face. “You’ve changed too. No longer the lady I met, the girl in the gauzy skirts and with a love of all things fortune cookie.”
I grabbed the ballcap, gently placing it on his head. Being so close to him was even more thrilling than I’d felt before. Maybe because we’d grown closer, so much so I longed to kiss him. Nope. We were on the road and had to keep a watchful eye.
