I sneer so I don’t let myself smile. “Now let’s get going before the corpse starts liquifying in my trunk. I parked around the barn.”
Visibly amused, Rust leaves the bottle of bourbon on the window sill. “I meant to ask… how attached are you to that car?”
“Not attached at all. I bought it used cause it lets me move around low-key.”
“Then we should get rid of it, too. Safer than cleaning.”
I take my Stetson from the coffee table and plop it on my head. “Okay. And what’s your genius plan for that? The swamp, too?” I mock while I sling my purse over my shoulder.
“I know a guy who’ll crush the thing into a neat cube of metal and ship it overseas. Nobody’s ever gonna find it, which means nobody can use it as evidence against you. No body plus no evidence equals no crime.”
God, fine. I’m more than impressed with how calmly he’s handling this catastrophe I dropped at his doorstep.
As I follow Rust through the hallway, a familiar guitar case leaning against the wall gives me pause.
Does he still play?
“You comin’?” he asks, holding the door open for me.
I rush past him, stuffing my feelings somewhere into the furthest corner of my brain. Why should I care if he still plays the guitar? Cause I don’t. It’s probably just the stress catching up with me and making meemotional.
When it comes to Rust, I already learned my lesson. Swooning over my ex-husband again would be like touching lightning a second time to see if it still hurts.
Clearly, this is a teaching moment, courtesy of the universe. A chance to learn about burying a body—and how to let go of my past.
Any moment now, he’s gonna stop being so fucking perfect and sweet and handsome. Then come evening, I’ll drive off into the sunset, glad I dodged a bullet.
When this is over, I’ll be happy he broke up with me.
7
TALLY
“A Chevrolet Sparkwouldn’t be my first choice for a getaway car from a crime scene,” Rust says as he puts on a pair of work gloves and opens the trunk. “As evident, there ain’t enough space for bodies. Looks like a tight fit.”
“Thankssomuch for the advice. Next time I plan toaccidentallykill someone I’ll get a bigger car first,” I sass.
“How did you even get him in there? You played some real corpse Tetris.”
Frustration stabs at my insides. “And I won! Look, it’s all kind of a blur. Pretty sure I was in shock. I slammed the trunk door down until something cracked and he fit!”
“Why didn’t you fold the rear seats forward? Much easier.”
I groan. “I lost the fucking manual, okay? And driving around with a suspiciously body-shaped object visible through the windows wouldn’t be peachy, either. Now stop riding my ass!”
“If I’dactuallyrideyour ass, you’d love it. And for the record, that beautiful rear of yours isn’t just deliciously plump and perfectly shaped. It’s a genuine work of art. Itdeserves its own velvet rope and bodyguard. I volunteer for the job.”
My panties dampen as I struggle to lift my jaw from my boots. Who gave that man a mouth like this? What happened to the boy who barely dared to ask for a kiss?
I put a hand on my waist, pretending I’m not flustered. “Unless you got something constructive to say, I recommend you tuck your tongue behind your teeth.”
He smirks. “Best I can do is tuckin’ it behindyourteeth.”
“Last warning. Shut up or I’m gonna kickyouinyour genuine work of art.”
“To be clear, you’re using my analogy to subtly hint that you think I have a nice ass, too?” He rolls his hips exaggeratedly. “A museum-worthy ass, even?”
“I—what? No! That’s ridiculous. You’re twisting my words!” I cross my arms defensively.
