Malcolm opens his mouth.
"Alone," I say again.
He closes it.
Chase gives a single nod, pushes back from the table, and retrieves his jacket from the chair behind him.
I follow him to the door.
Behind me I hear Malcolm say something low to Finn and Finn's quiet response. Then the sound of Rhys not saying anything at all, which means he's already decided this is right and is letting it be.
I get in Chase's car.
We drive.
Chapter 39
Vee
The motel is the kind of place that doesn't ask questions.
Single story. Parking lot half full. A vending machine humming outside the office window. Chase pulls in and cuts the engine and we sit.
"Room seven," he says. "End of the row."
I look at the door. Plain wood. Number seven in tarnished brass.
"Give me a minute with him first," Chase says.
I shake my head. "No."
He looks at me.
"No," I say again. "I'm not waiting in the car."
He considers this. Then he gets out.
I'm already ahead of him.
Chase knocks.
There’s a pause, then footsteps. Then the door opens and Alex stands there in jeans and no shirt with his hair slightly disheveled and the expression of a man who was not expecting company but has just realized he has no good options.
His eyes go from Chase to me.
I step forward and put my arms around him.
He freezes briefly, that familiar pause when he's processing surprise. Then he wraps me in his arms, face buried in my hair, holding on like a drowning man who's found shore.
I pull back and kiss him.
He kisses me back without hesitation. His hand cups the back of my head and there's nothing else. No motel, no Chase behind me or a flag that was and isn't anymore. There’s just this.
When I pull back his eyes are searching mine.
"Vee—"
"Marie," I say. "The flag. Chase, tell him."
