She hadn’t meant to question his solvency. “It’s not that. I just don’t like to be in debt.” Of course, there were all kinds of debt. She’d never be able to repay Scott for protecting her.
“Let’s get through this first, and then we can square up, okay?”
“What’s going on?” Alan asked with a yawn as he approached from the restroom and moved past her toward his bed.
Scott hesitated.
She understood, but silently encouraged him to trust Alan as she did. If nothing else, they needed him.
“We have a flight out of Fort Worth tonight,” Scott said, finally. “Can you still take us that far?”
“Of course.”
They hit the road an hour later, getting breakfast from a drive-through in El Paso, their last chance for a major town until Odessa.
Valerie told Alan about getting access to Meseret’s computer. “How’d you do?” she asked him.
“I put out a bunch of feelers. I’ll let you know if I get anything useful.”
She did her best to ignore the growing tightness in her chest and her prickling skin and let the monotony of bleached earth and sage-colored scrub passing outside her window put her to sleep.
As the bright sun passed overhead, the three of them took turns driving and napping, and made it to the outskirts of Fort Worth just after five. Alan was at the wheel, and he pulled into a busy, brightly lit gas station off Interstate 20 as the sun dipped toward the horizon.
Valerie twisted in her seat to look at Scott, who sat in the back scanning their surroundings through the windows while Alan set the gas pump and started washing bugs off the windshield with a squeegee.
Scott had been even quieter than usual the entire day, resorting to one-word answers, initiating no unnecessary conversation, and staying out of any discussions between her and Alan.
“Is something bothering you?” she asked, happy to turn her focus outward.
His gaze strayed reluctantly in her direction. “Besides being on the run?”
“Yeah.” She swallowed hard, not sure how to ask her question, not sure she wanted the answer. “Are you mad at me for—”
“No.” His gaze moved beyond her, out the window.
Relief mingled with irritation. She would almost prefer anger to his indifference and complete lack of communication. “Then what?”
His fingers curled into a fist. “Someone went after my mom,” he finally said, his voice low and hard with the leashed fury of a bear in a cage.
“Oh, no.” Fear skittered through Valerie’s stomach. “Is she okay?”
Scott’s head dipped slightly. “So far. Jason—one of Kurt’s guys—was there.”
“I’m sorry she got dragged into this. I’m glad she’s okay.” She tugged at the heavy sweatshirt she still hadn’t returned. “You’re lucky to have such a good boss.”
“Doesn’t take much to top yours.”
“True.” Her half-smile faded. “Why didn’t you tell me about your mom earlier?”
“Because there’s nothing you can do about it, it’s being taken care of, and you have enough to worry about.”
“And you don’t? Talking about it can help, you know.”
He didn’t respond.
“Oh, yeah,” she said, feeling far more petulant than the situation required. “That would imply we have some kind of relationship. God forbid.” She faced the front again and crossed her arms. Why was she letting him get to her like this?
A long sigh emanated from the back seat. “Valerie.” Her name was tired and achy on his lips. A burden. “Last night—”
