Cam rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not. It’s Zebulon, just like you andallof our brothers.”
“Your middle name is Zebulon?” Ria smiled, trying for levity. “Good to finally getthatimportant information.”
Cam started to roll his eyes again, but winked at her instead. She couldn’t help responding with a goofy grin.
The interplay appeared to amuse Axel, who divided a sly grin between his brother and Ria. The grin faded. “I haven’t told Diesel, yet.”
“Why not?”
Axel shrugged. “Mostly because he wasn’t here earlier when I found out, but also because I wanted to talk to you about how this should be handled. This is more in your wheelhouse, yes?”
“Yes.” Cam closed his eyes and tilted his head back as if thinking through a weighty problem. Ria figured she was the largest problem he faced and her guilt settled back on her shoulders heavier than ever.
“I’ll tell him,” she said. “This is all my fault anyway. I caused all of this by leaving the ship without permission.”
Axel nodded slowly in understanding, but Cam’s head snapped forward, his eyes popped open and she fell silent under the furious shock in his gaze. “No. Absolutely not. This isn’t your fault.” His hand tightened on hers while he brushed his fingers along her cheek, and whispered, “I’m glad you escaped the ship to check off your bucket list.”
Axel’s brows furrowed. “Seriously, Cam? Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”
“Shut it, Axel,” he said, staring deeply into Ria’s eyes with the warmest look of love and understanding she’d ever witnessed. A look she held and cherished, but she didn’t deserve it.
“I love you, Cam, but it’s time for me to…well, face the music.”
“I disagree.”
Axel said, “Does anyone care what I think?”
Cam’s emphatic, “No,” almost drowned out Ria’s, “Sure. What do you think?”
“I really like her, Cam,” Axel said, then startled when two workers passed them in an intersecting corridor. Lowering his voice, he said, “Let’s move to a quieter place.”
He gestured for them to go into the office he’d come out of. His name was stenciled on the door over the words, Chief of Communication. When they didn’t move fast enough for his liking, he crowded behind them, practically stepping on their heels in his effort to herd them inside. Equipment, some of it familiar to Ria, more of it less so, filled the shelves in tidy rows.
Shutting the door, Axel said to Cam, “So, here’s what we’ll do. The two of us can go assess the situation, see if anything has changed and decide the best course of action. Ria can hide out in my office, so no one will know she’s here.”
Ria nodded. “He’s right. I’ve never met Prudence’s family, but they may have seen me in pictures.” She shrugged. “I should stay out of sight.”
“Aside from that,” Axel said, “we don’t have so many people working here that they won’t notice a new Alpha wandering around. If anyone sees you with us, they might assume you’re a new employee, but then they’d also expect us to introduce you.”
“And when we didn’t, that would only fuel their curiosity. Any chance of containing speculation about you would be nil,” Cam said. “We’ll be as quick as we can, Ria.”
Cam kissed her hard, hugged her harder and then he and Axel left her to her own devices. Aside from the organized shelves of equipment, his walls featured several interesting drawings and a painting. Ria occupied herself studying them. The moniker W. Grey graced the lower right corner of each piece.Must be another brother.
A clock on Axel’s desk helped her track how long they had been gone. After five minutes, she ran out of things to look at. She sat on Axel’s small two-person sofa, then got up and paced for another five minutes. The clock seemed to tick the time by very slowly. Maybe it was broken.
Just when she was about to go stir crazy after less than twelve minutes alone, the door opened. A large figure, head down as he studied a sheaf of papers in his hand, spoke as he closed the door with a firm click. “Axel—” He looked up.
Ria felt the blood drain from her cheeks as she stared at Diesel.
“Pardon me,” he said in an amused tone. “Where’s Axel?”
She opened her mouth. Before she could say a word, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Wait. Weren’t you with Cam at the Road Rash?”
Ria figured brazening it out was worth a try. She grinned, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Fearless Leader finding her in Axel’s office in the super-secret extraterrestrial facility under the Big Bang Truck Stop. “Yes. That was me.”
Diesel nodded, pulled the Defender off his belt and pulled the trigger in one smooth motion. Ria gaped for a count of three, shocked at the speed with which he decided to shoot her and implemented that decision. Belatedly, she remembered she was supposed to be an earthling. “Oh,” she said, trying to sound weary and drained. Even she thought she sounded unconvincing as she dropped to the floor with her eyes squeezed shut.
“Nice try,” he said.
