“We are.”
The man shook our hands again, and we left. Ozrik was silent as we drove away. The adrenaline of the chase had waned. My phone regained a connection and chimed repeatedly with incoming texts.
“Good grief. They’re all from Olivia.”
“I’m sure mine’s pinging like crazy too. Don’t answer her yet. Let them stew.”
Somewhere along a dirt sideroad, Ozrik pulled into a short turnaround that must have been meant for tractors. He parked and shut off the engine. Night was falling, and the clouds were breaking up.
“What are we doing?” I asked.
“I don’t want to go back yet. You know we’ll catch hell.”
“I bet Charles shows up tomorrow.”
“No doubt. This might be the only freedom we have for the next few days. Let’s enjoy it.”
He popped his door open and got out. Ozrik climbed onto the hood of the car and peered into the windshield, tapping the glass and waving for me to join him, then shifted and leaned against the window, hands cradled behind his head.
I followed suit, lying close enough that our bodies connected. Ozrik took my hand and weaved our fingers together. We lay like that for a few minutes, neither of us speaking. The night was warm, and the clouds broke up as they took a languid journey across the sky, no longer rushing, no longer angry. The sharp scent of ozone hung in the air.
When Ozrik rolled his head to glance in my direction, I copied, mirroring his smile.
“No cameras. No people,” he said. “We are all alone.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
He leaned in and pecked a soft kiss on my lips. “It means I can kiss you without worrying anyone will suddenly walk in on us.”
At the reminder, my stomach muscles tightened.
Ozrik kissed me again before sighing contentedly. “This morning was brutal.”
“It could have ended better. The night before was…”
“Amazing?”
“Yes.” Another kiss.
Ozrik brushed his nose against mine. “So, Olivia knows, huh?”
“Yes.” I turned my head and took in the darkening sky, still squirmy that the truth was out.
“Was she cool?”
I nodded. “Only mad I didn’t tell her sooner.”
“I bet she’ll be jealous you got to see a tornado today.”
I laughed. “I bet she yells for an hour straight because we took off.”
“They could have turned around. How many times did I have to say they were doing the wrong thing? Fucking Vern. I don’t know what he was thinking. He knows better.”
“I think Maggie has his brain scrambled.”
Ozrik’s brows rose. “You’ve noticed them too? I thought it was just me.”
“Nope. Something is definitely going on there.”
