“God, Raide, I’m so sorry.”
He shrugs. “Justice will come to him.”
“In the right way, though—”
His jaw tics. “He killed my sister, Grace.”
“And if you kill him, you’ll go to prison for life. Is it worth that? Is that what she’d want for you?”
“Is she around to tell me what she fuckin’ wants?” he barks.
I stop talking. Right now is clearly not the time to lecture him about not killing the man who took his only family away. I can’t even begin to understand what he’s going through. He’s lived through a nightmare no one understands. My family might drive me crazy, but if they were ever taken away from me, it would destroy everything. His sister was the only person he had. I can’t pretend to understand his pain.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
He clenches his jaw, then his shoulders slowly relax. “Not your fault, Gracie. I’m sorry.”
I force a smile and we ride in comfortable silence for a while. I watch as the countryside changes and the trees start getting closer together, thicker, prettier.
“Tell me about your family,” Raide finally asks.
I sigh and stare out at the road whizzing by. “My dad is great. He’s the most important person in the world to me. He always understood me. He always supported me. I love my mom and two sisters, but they’re the beauty queen type.”
“Jesus,” Raide mutters.
“You’re telling me. From the day my sister Gretchen was born, she was enrolled in every pageant. She’s pretty, the perfect little showcase Barbie doll. Then my other sister, Stacy, decided to get involved, and suddenly Mom’s time was gone. I never fit in. I hated anything pretty. I was always out fishing with my dad, hanging with his friends, and playing with boys instead of girls.”
Raide chuckles. “I can see that. I’ve seen you take down a fully grown man.”
I smile for real this time. “I know how to protect myself.”
“What do you do?”
I flinch. Shit. I haven’t even thought of an answer to such an obvious question. My mind twists quickly for a lie, and I give him a job typical for most girls my age. “I’m a waitress.” Ugh.
He raises his brows. “A waitress?”
“Yeah.”
“A waitress?”
I laugh. “Yeah, Raide, a waitress. Is that so surprising?”
“Absolutely.”
It’s my turn to raise my brows. “Why?”
He shrugs. “You ain’t the waitressing type, lady.”
“There’s a type?”
He grins and my heart flutters. “Yeah, baby, there’s a type. You ain’t it.”
“Care to elaborate?” I ask, removing my foot from the open window and turning toward him.
“Nope, I just know it ain’t you.”
“Well, it’s what I am.” This guy knows how to read people. That’s scary. “Any reason we’re going away for a few days?” I ask after another long moment of silence.
“Need time away.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
I frown. “You don’t seem like the ‘go away for no reason’ kind of man.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say his jaw tightened. “I said that’s it,” he says low. “That’s it.”
Hmmmm. Interesting. I decide to change the subject because he doesn’t look happy.
“Okay, so tell me where we’re going.”
“Up into the mountains.”
My brows shoot up. “The mountains?”
“Yeah, the Colorado mountains.”
I let out a whoosh of air. “I’ve lived here my entire life, and yet I’ve never been into the mountains. I’ve seen them, they look amazing, but I just haven’t gone up into them.”
“You’ve been missin’ out. Prettiest mountains you’ve ever seen.”
“And we’re going into those mountains because…?”
He nods. “Got a cabin up there.”
“You do?” I squeak.
“Yep. Bought it about six years ago. Spent my free time fixin’ it up. Now I go up there when I can, just to get away.”
A cabin.
I bet that’s where he planned on hiding out when the heat started crashing down on him. A cabin. A secluded, hidden cabin. I shudder.
“It’s a good thing I trust you, Raide. I can trust you, right? Because don’t forget I have a gun.”
He laughs, and it’s a rich, beautiful sound that makes my skin tingle. “I’m still not sure a tiny thing like you can use a gun safely.”
“Hey, I’m not tiny,” I protest. “And I use it just fine.”
“Sure about that?”
I snort. “Of course I am. Probably better than you!”
He cocks a brow. “That a challenge?”
“Sure.”
He grins and murmurs low, “Accepted. I win, I get you for an entire night.”
I bite my lower lip.
“In the bath,” he rasps.
Oh man.
“On the table.”
I shiver.
“Bent over my couch.”
“And what exactly is this challenge?” I say, but my voice comes out breathy and lusty.
“Target shooting. Got a few targets set up on my land.”
I straighten and smile. “Challenge accepted—I rock at targets.”
“You haven’t stated what you want if you win.”