“It’d also defeat the purpose of being unpredictable if I was the one who rented the vehicle.” He kept his eyes on the dark roads, watchful for deer.
Pennsylvania had deer problems all year round, and the last thing they needed was to bump into one. Literally. He’d seen a deer get up and walk away from a collision that’d left the car completely undrivable. It would be very bad for him to get too distracted by her reflection in the rearview.
“Ah.” She sounded more satisfied with that answer. Blankets rustled as she stirred. “So who did you get to rent this car, then? And I guess it’s just a detail that you’re not listed as a driver?”
He clicked his tongue. “Tch. Such a lawfully obedient lady.”
She sighed. “I shouldn’t ask about the details.”
No. She probably shouldn’t. He’d explain to her if he had to, though. It was a part of the trust they’d built in the more recent years after he’d started the kennels. They had a deal. When it mattered, she’d do as he directed immediately with no questions asked. Later, after the initial threat had been addressed, he’d answer all her questions. She’d been careful to specify, because if they’d only agreed for him to explain things, she’d get a much shorter “need to know” version of the situation.
Originally, he hadn’t thought it would ever come up in anything more serious than a dog training moment. Once in a while, a pair of new dogs could get into it with each other, and he’d wanted to be able to tell Sophie to get clear while he dealt with it. But in the past year, the scenarios had been more serious and nothing he could’ve anticipated.
If he was going to keep her whole and healthy, the trust between them was going to need to stay every bit as solid as it had been to date.
“One of the students at Revolution MMA owed us a favor. We worked it out for this trip, and there’ll be no worries about consequences for him. Cruz and Rojas are keeping an eye out just to be sure.” He might sound unusually cheerful about it, but he was actually looking forward to this road trip. It was a change of pace, got Sophie out of harm’s way, and offered an opportunity to travel with her.
A whole lot of win as far as he was concerned, so long as he could keep her safe.
He drew in a deep breath and caught a more pleasant smell than the remnants of detailing. She’d showered before leaving, and the scent of her mint and rosemary shampoo was a light tease in the closed space of the SUV. It was just as well she was behind him and not sitting within easy reach. He might not be able to resist reaching out to tug a stray bit of her hair.
“Leaving in the middle of the night makes sense.” She punctuated that statement with a yawn. “But I feel bad being back here instead of sitting up with you to help keep you company.”
He smiled. She always thought about other people. Her warm consideration was something that’d never changed, or if it did, it’d only grown in her capacity to care for people. “Go to sleep. I tucked you back there so you could get some real rest.”
She could sleep snug while he had driving to keep him busy. The memory of her in his arms, the softness of her lips as he’d kissed her…yeah, it was a really good thing for him to be busy driving for the next few hours.
“It’s been a long day.” She yawned again. “I’m glad you decided to bring Haydn.”
The big dog lifted his head from the back of the rented SUV at the sound of his name. He whined briefly, then dropped back below line of sight. They couldn’t install a kennel in the back of the SUV the way Forte’s had been outfitted, but they’d put in canvas to make riding in the back safer for him.
Forte could’ve brought one of the other dogs in training. But Taz was working with Raul Sa, and either Rojas or Cruz could oversee any of the other dogs currently at the kennels. Haydn required special physical therapy and attention. Plus, Sophie was comfortable with Haydn.
Besides, Haydn had at least met the lightning puff cat on board.
“Is your new friend doing okay back there?” He was amazed at her cat. It had the most laid-back attitude toward being in a cat carrier. Luckily, it also didn’t get car sick. A carsick animal was never a fun time on a road trip, and he was going to be driving for a decent number of hours.
“I think so.” More blankets rustled as Sophie leaned to check on the cat carrier nestled into the footwell of the backseat.
Forte heard a faint meow.
“She’s fine.” Sophie’s voice warmed with affection. “I need to give her a name, though. I might be the worst owner in the world, not giving her a name by now.”
Forte chuckled. “Oh yeah. You are the worst. How could you not give your new cat a name?”
There was silence in the back of the car.
Shit. She was too easy to tease right now and probably half-convinced he was being serious. Oy.
He continued in the same dry tone, “You’ve only been blown up, stuck in the hospital, fired from your job, and had your home invaded. That’s not a lot to have going on in your life.”
More silence.