Chapter 14
Trinity
Once again, I find myself stuck in this godforsaken car, staring out the windshield at a dark and lonely highway.
He let those men attack me…
I can explain away my body’s reaction to him. Lust is a biological process he triggers whenever he gives into his own sexual depravity. All those times desire caused my body to surrender to his? Pure biological imperatives. Nothing more, nothing less.
But when I saw him watching while those men closed in on me…
My stomach swooped out, like I stepped off a cliff into empty air and spiraled into the abyss. Somewhere over the course of this batshit day, I started believing that Brody might be partly human. That, buried deep inside that rigid body, he might possess some semblance of morality.
But this isn’t a Disney movie. This is real life.
A man who kills for money, kidnaps innocent women at another man’s will, and does nothing when other men attack those women possesses no redeeming qualities.
Except, he intervened before things went too far.
I cut off the little voice that insists on defending him. Trusting Brody would be a monumental mistake. Even when he saved my life back at the construction site, he did so for his own gain. To keep his boss happy, finish his job, and get a pat on the back.
He doesn’t care about me. So I won’t care about him either.
For the millionth time, memories of how his mouth pressed against mine, along with the burn of his hands on my skin and how they twisted in my hair, flicker behind my eyes. I do my best to shake them off because Brody’s a horrible person.
But if I enjoyed being in his arms, even just for a few nanoseconds, what kind of person does that mean I am?
This error in my psychological judgment, this failure of my rational mind—my best and only tool—is equal parts humiliating and infuriating.
That’s why I fought him when he first kissed me. Then I started kissing him back…
Just physiological response to stimuli. That’s all.
Cut yourself a break, Trini.Our biology makes us all susceptible to the intimacy of moments like that, fucked up or not. It’s a natural reaction to pleasant stimuli.
I repeat those words to myself as we survive the last bit of this road trip from hell in stifling quiet. By the time Brody pulls off the highway and onto a strip of dirt, I’m resigned to my fate.
If he brought me out into this desert to use me as a sacrifice in some sort of West Coast Gallagher ritual, so be it. I’m gross, exhausted, and as done with today as I can possibly be. I no longer have the energy to fear what comes next.
As Brody drives us down the long, darkened driveway that leads up to a two-story farmhouse in the middle of actual nowhere, I realize maybe I don’t have to bethatafraid.
The safe house, as he calls it, isn’t some abandoned warehouse or old murder shack out in some completelyunreachable part of the desert. We drove through the edge of a little town to get to this prison that looks more suitable for a cozy weekend hideaway.
The property, wide, symmetrical, and relatively new, boasts modern accents on the classic wrap-around porch. As we approach, recessed motion-sensor lights blink on, revealing the soft gray paint on the siding and blue shutters on each window.
Brody shifts the BMW into park and climbs out. Now that the dick has removed the child locks, I do the same.
“You can run away if you want, but you won’t last an hour in the desert.” Fatigue deepens Brody’s voice as he locks the car and heads toward the wooden stairs. “The nearest main road is more than an hour away, and there are coyotes.”
“Coyotes don’t hurt people.” My gaze slides in his direction. “Not the wayhumansdo.” I don’t follow him. “Anyway. Thanks for the tip, but I think this issayonara.”
“Cool.” He lifts an arm and gestures to the open expanse. “Go ahead.”
Is he really so out of it that he’ll let me leave? Well, I don’t plan to stick around to find out.
Even though I’m tired enough to drop onto the driveway and sleep twelve straight hours, I spin on my heel and hurry back the way we came.
So what if there’s barely any signs of life out here? Anywhere is better than with Brody.
