I shrugged. “Okay. Put it up.”
Cass hissed, “You didn’t have to stop here.”
My lips twitched.
I waved at the guys on the corner. “Hello over there! Are you guys friends of Cassander’s? He’s in the backseat if you want to join us!”
Like a bullet, they raced…away…from us.
I glanced at the man in the backseat. “I’m guessing they weren’t friends, huh?”
His middle finger rose.
I snorted and turned back around. “So how do I put this top up?”
Alaric’s shoulders were shaking so hard, but he was silent, attempting not to laugh out loud. He choked and pointed a finger at the console. Through snorts, he sputtered, “Just press that. It’ll bring it up.”
I hit the button, and my eyes widened. I jerked around in my seat to stare at the top as it came from the back of the car, starting to rise up into the air.
I mumbled, “It’s kind of slow.”
“Cops!” Cass shouted. He pointed into the air where a train was headed for us. “Drive! Drive!”
I didn’t know what a ‘cop’ was, but his frantic holler was enough for me to take my finger off the button, grab the wheel, and slam on the gas. We banged back against our seats as we raced forward through the streets, only slightly swerving from one side to the other.
Alaric bellowed, “No, no! The top isn’t—”
I glanced in the rearview mirror just as the top, that was halfway up into the air, tore off the back of the car, and went flying into the street in our wake.
I cleared my throat. “Um, sorry?”
Alaric groaned and relaxed back into his seat. “Well, that just happened.”
“Want me to go back for it?” I asked, turning another corner. “I can turn around. I think.”
Cass snorted. “Concentrate on driving forward first—in a straight line. Reverse is for experts.” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “We lost the CA, by the way.”
“The CA?” I asked dumbly.
Alaric chuckled quietly. “Would you keep driving if you knew this was illegal as hell?”
I slowed down. “Uh…”
“Then don’t ask.” Alaric’s left hand landed on my right thigh, rubbing to keep me warm. “Just keep driving, beauty. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”
I pressed harder on the gas. And grinned.
The starry night twinkled down on us, and the winter wind whipped at our hair, but we were together.
The fisherman.
The bear.
The fox.
We were having fun.Together.
