I guess this is the first normal morning we’ve shared. Maybe she needs some caffeine after that mind-blowing orgasm.
Once we ease out of the motel lot, I head toward the closest gas station. With coffee in our stomachs and donut holes in the console between us, we hit the interstate.
After a few minutes on the road with nothing but the radio to keep us company, Trinity starts talking.
She spills all her plans to move to Texas and continue studying in Austin while working at a crisis center. To live a normal life and help those in need.
Frowning, I flex my hands on the wheel. “If you wanted a normal life, why the hell did you go digging and compile that drive?”
In my periphery, Trinity chews on her bottom lip and gazes out the window.
I don’t like that one bit. “What didn’t you tell me yesterday?”
She finishes her coffee and sets the empty cup in the pocket on the door. Then she cranks her seat back and closes her eyes, effectively shutting me out.
I stare straight ahead at the gray highway flanked by dry brown dirt.
My phone GPS shows eighteen hours and change.
Great. This will be a long trip.
Chapter 28
Trinity
For the next few hours, I keep my eyes shut and pretend to sleep. Last night, though incredible, left me exposed in ways I never anticipated. I’ve struggled to speak with Brody all damn day.
As night falls, I realize I can study his profile without fear of being caught. I drink him in, wondering what else there is to Brody Gallagher.
What don’t I know?
My analysis took a couple days, but I’ve finally concluded that he’s actually a decent man when he’s not all full of bravado and mafia machismo.
But is he decent enough? Can I trust him with my secret?
I wish I knew for sure.
Lightning dances across the sky, radiating cracks across the black dome. A peal of thunder follows. I jump in my seat, releasing an unintentional yelp.
Brody’s hand flies over reflexively, as if to shelter me from a flying bullet while blinding rain falls from the sky, pattering the minivan with a pounding rhythm.
I sit up on my elbows. “That came out of nowhere.”
“No kidding.” Brody nods as rain waterfalls across the windshield. “The sun’s been beating on us all day.”
The wipers swish so quickly, I think they might fly off any second.
We can’t keep driving in this. “Uh, Brody…”
He clicks on his hazards and presses the brake. “I’m going to pull over as soon as I can.” He steers us off onto an access road, driving far enough into the desert that no one will see the van in the downpour.
After he cuts the engine and the lights, we both listen to the rain drum on the roof. Without the wipers on, blue and black watercolor-like streaks paint the night sky through the windshield.
I chew on my bottom lip. This is…awkward. “How’s your thigh?”
He shifts, sighing. “It’s okay, but I need to stretch out.”
A job. Something to do. Excellent. “I’ll put the seats down.” I crawl into the back of the van, lowering the second and third rows of seating. I even find an old camping blanket in the cargo hold behind the third row and spread it out over the empty space.
