Kit felt like cheering, but her battered senses wouldn’t allow it. “I have an idea.”
“I’m all ears.”
She thought it over again. What would it hurt if it failed? They were barely alive as it was. But if it succeeded ... “Buckle up, Cullen.”
He raised a brow. “Can you drive this thing? Oh wait. Dumb question.”
“Yes, it was, but you’re forgiven, and yes, I can drive this. I can drive anything.”
“Your knee?”
“Painful, but it’s better now that I’m warmer.” Despite the heat beginning to seep into her frozen flesh and Tot fingering Cullen’s scruffy chin, they were still far from safe. The bus was only a respite until they could find moresignificant shelter. She put the vehicle in gear and eased it across the lot and through the gate, then turned left in the direction of the tunnel.
“Retrieving our gear?”
“Practical, right? Before we check out the trailer park?”
He gave her a thumbs-up. “Beats me having to hike back and do it.”
No doubt his body was depleted after hauling her and Tot to the transportation yard, but new hope laced his tone. She felt it too. With heat and wheels, they had a slim chance. Gratitude buoyed her spirit as she forced her bruised legs to work the gas and brake.
The bus rattled along the grass, kicking up rocks and clouds of ash. When they arrived back at the salvage yard, Cullen extracted Tot from under the sweatshirt and delivered her to Kit while he retrieved the supplies.
She propped Tot on the seat next to her since her jeans were soaked, thrilled that Tot was more her animated, baby self. “You are a tough customer, Tot. Like your mother.” Annette was a survivor. Maybe she’d been able to elude Nico, find someone to help her, someone who wouldn’t turn away when things got hard.
Someone like Cullen. That she depended on Cullen was scary. That he might have come to depend on her was terrifying.
He interrupted her thoughts with his return.
“It’s all wet, but the duffel bag’s contents are okay.” Cullen removed an outfit from Tot’s supply and slid the bag underneath one of the seats before he took over her care. “I’ll change her while you see if you can find something dry for yourself.”
She wanted to say she could wait, but he was right. Wet clothes in these circumstances could be a death sentence. With the engine running, she pulled the last bagged items from her pack, sweats and a long-sleeve tee, a pair of undies and socks.
Cullen sat next to Tot and waved Kit down the aisle. In the wider back seat, she managed to pull on the clothes. Honestly, was there anything more comforting than dry clothes and socks? It made it palatable for her to ease on her wet boots again.
“Your turn,” she said to Cullen as she returned to the baby.
She heard his stifled groan as he pulled on his clothes in the same rear area.
“If this bus had a hot shower, I’d pay rent to live in it,” he said.
“That’s why I have a sleeping setup in my rig.”Had, her brain silently corrected with a slice of fresh pain. “I’ll start over again,” she muttered savagely.
“What?” Cullen said.
“Nothing. I’ll drive us to the trailers, see how far we get. There’s a solid half tank of gas, thank goodness.”
He fiddled, one handed, with his phone.
“What do you think Gideon caught of your conversation?”
“Enough to know I called him a big galoot.”
She giggled. “And he heard our location. That’s a biggie for a galoot.” Someone knew where they were. One other living soul, but it was enough to comfort her, somehow.
Cullen sniffed. “So now that we’re out in the open, we got no signal. I will never understand all these invisibleWi-Fi and satellite beams. At least the bus runs without ethernet technology or whatever they call it.”
“Yes. Give me a good old-fashioned combustion engine any day.”
