Topaz starts laughing, “He’s there isn’t he.”
“Yep.”
“Count it as a compliment, but Jackson and him were scared to tell y’all that there was really one plan and right now, it's the right one. It’s the quicker scenario. I promise.”
“He’s scared of me?” I raise my eyebrow.
Keola mouthshang up the phone. She doesn’t have to confirm because it’s obvious.
“Good to know,” I ended the call. I stood up to meet his stance. “Anything else to say?” I curl up in his chest. My fingers playfully tracing the outlines of his abdomen, his toned, muscular body, the epitome of strength and power and even sinful lust.
“Seven.” he growls.
“Make it an even eight and I’ll add sir at the end,” I wink, raising to kiss him, softly but tempting.
He pulls me tighter, resting on my thigh is his hard length. We’re interrupted by the sounds of Finn coming around the corner with the prospects. “Lottie’s always looking for more mentors. Maybe you all could come do it.”
That’s my recruiter boy.
“Are we going back to the compound?” he asks.
I want to say no, that we’ll be able to sleep in our own bed, but with the severity of the situation, it’s one thing that Keola will not give in about.
“I don’t think so, buddy.”
“It’s better to have you all back at the compound. Until we can handle the problem, you’ll have round the clock protection.” Keola adds in.
Finn’s face drops. The once happy smiling boy turns into him being upset, the downside of the smile, the worry in his eyes, the slumped shoulders. I don’t like the look on his face. I just hope by the end of this I won't have to see that face again. He's been through so much between losing his grandfather and now this.
“I'll tell you what bud we'll spend the night at the compound and then tomorrow we'll take a look at things and see if we can go back home for a bit,” I suggest walking closer to him.
He shrugs his shoulders but doesn't respond. His focus turns back to Keola waiting for an answer. Keola nods, giving into a compromise which I know is not easy for him as his mind is dead set on protecting and keeping us alive.
“Are we ready to roll out or not?” Greer asks.
Keola nods with a straight face as we head back out to the parking lot. Finn jumps into the truck and buckles himself in. He reaches over for my phone, tapping in the code and starting to scroll through songs. Part of his own coping was music hence why he had an obsession with Elvis Presley. It’s not until I hear Are You Lonesome Tonight by Elvis that he’s more worried than he lets on.
He starts to hum the melody with his knees brought to his chest as he stares out the window as the sun starts to set.
“We can use a vacation after this, huh?” I asked, trying to get him to open up.
He shrugs his shoulders, still looking outside the window.
“Maybe we can go back to New Orleans and see Lilly, maybe around Mardi Gras?” I ask again, trying to tempt him by drawing the words out. “Or maybe we can go to Tennessee and go to Graceland,” anywhere but home honestly.
“You don't have to do this,” he softly says.
“Yeah I do kid. I don't want you to feel like this is going to be forever either,” I say. He doesn't say anything. I can take the hint for now, “Alright, bud when you're ready I'm here. But don't ever think that you have to be okay because you think that's what I want. You're allowed to feel what you feel and voice it. I'm not asking you to be completely brave or put together. I need you to be you.”
He just nods his head scrolling through my phone again to pick another song. He picks a song that I didn't think he knew. He plays She's Somebody's Hero, and it starts to break my heart.
We got ourselves through the mountains, I can see Keola and the prospects in my rearview mirror. They haven't left our side.
As we get closer one of them rides past us to get in front of us. My mind starts to wonder and hope that Topaz is able to get all the families on board and out of danger. It starts to wonder about Cedric hoping that his healing is coming along. I know it's only been a couple of days but some people can be resilient and bounce right back.
We approach the gate and they open it up for us as we go over the makeshift speed bump I hear aclank. I know my Bronco is vintage but the sound I've never heard before. I can't afford it to break down on me now. Almost sounds like something was scraping for a brief second and then popped back into place. I'll have Memphis take a look at it.
The gravel hits underneath the truck. I put it in park and there's still a strange noise that comes from underneath. It has me concerned, I'm not taking any chances. I tell Finn to get out of the truck as soon as possible, grabbing his stuff. I keep the truck running just in case because when you've seen too many documentaries or dark TV shows you learn a thing or two.
