Page 90 of Jonas

“Any stores or banks or anything like that coming up?”

“Yeah, in a few miles there’s a post office and a few banks.”

“I see them on the map,” Nebraska confirmed. “There’s a stoplight at the Walker Road intersection but no camera. I’ll see if I can get anything, but all the businesses are set off the road.”

Well fuck me.

“Hopefully, they’re headed to four-ninety-five. We’ll get a clear shot of them from the on-ramp there,” Derrika said.

That was if they didn’t make me before then and keep to back roads.

“Got a call coming in,” Zane announced and disconnected.

“Is the word ‘goodbye’ not in his vocabulary?”

I smiled at Derrika’s disgruntled tone. “You heard him earlier. He’s not a man to waste time,” I reminded her.

“Unless he’s talking about pussy,” she mumbled.

My shoulders rocked with the chuckle that tore from my chest.

“You have a great laugh.”

Fuck me.

I didn’t know what to say to that but I sure as fuck knew how to feel. I let her off-handed compliment scorch through me before I refocused on the road.

“Can I ask you something?”

My neck started to itch. No good ever came from a woman asking if she could ask something instead of just coming out and asking.

“Sure.”

“You don’t sound sure,” she noted. “You sound like you’re preparing to have your fingernails pulled out.”

“I’m as sure as I can be when all men know ‘can I ask a question’ is the runner-up to a woman saying, ‘I’m fine.’ The former means entrapment, the latter means we fucked up and better move to fix it or all hell’s gonna break loose.”

“You’re probably not wrong on either account,” she muttered. “But you should know I’ve already prepared myself for not liking your answer.”

Fucking great.

“Ask, Dee Dee.”

There were a few beats of silence, which only made the inching intensify.

“Back in the basement…”

I knew where she was going with her question, still I prompted, “Yeah?”

“You said, either way we were good.”

Right.

Fuck.

She went where I thought she was going.

“I spent a decade overseas,” I started. “That’s not to say I didn’t have sex, I did, but it was rare. Since I’ve been back, I haven’t abstained. What I have been is safe. Always. By that I mean, I’ve never had sex without protection. We also have quarterly physicals. I haven’t been with anyone since. Which means, you’re good on my end.”