Page 129 of Privilege

Lucia chose not to ask Renzo how he came up with the idea.

It took Renzo a couple of minutes to get the correct license plate on the SUV before he came around the front. Diego was just finishing his sandwich and milk, holding the trash from the food out for Lucia to take.

“I gotsa pee real bad,” Diego said.

She helped him down, and he headed around the other side of the SUV to do his business.

“Drive to the other side of the field once he’s done,” Renzo said, holding tight to the gas can, “and then I’ll run across and meet you.”

She eyed the can he held. “Are you going to burn the car?”

“Yep.”

Well, then.

“Okay.”

• • •

“Home sweet home for the night,” Renzo muttered.

Lucia eyed the small motel room for anything unsavory, but found the place was comfortable, and clean, if not a little out of date. She could deal with the aging furniture and awful wallpaper as long as the bedsheets were clean.

After driving a good portion of the day, and most of the night, they needed to rest.

Renzo shifted a sleeping Diego into the bed—directly in the middle—and pulled the blanket up over the boy. Lucia set the few bags she had brought in from the vehicle to the floor, and let out a sigh. Renzo did a quick check of the room, including pulling open the sliding doors that led out to a small deck.

“Hey,” he murmured over his shoulder.

Lucia was tired.

Damn tired.

She had been running on adrenaline for hours. That, and the shitty energy drink she’d picked up at the store. What she really needed to do was get in the bed, and go to sleep like Diego.

She still went to him when he said, “Come look at this, baby.”

Renzo slipped out onto the deck, and Lucia followed. He was already climbing up what looked to be a fire escape ladder when she exited the sliding double doors. “What are you doing?”

“Breathing.”

Lucia blinked. “What?”

“I feel like I haven’t breathed in hours, Lucia. Come on.”

Unquestioningly, she followed him up to the roof of the motel. It was only two floors high, with them being on the second. Once she pulled herself over the top edge, Lucia found Renzo had already threw his leather jacket down on the pebbled roof, and sat his ass down. He stared up at the sky for a long while, saying nothing. Lucia simply went over, crawled into his lap, and hid her face in his chest when he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

She found her happy place like that, her legs wrapped around his waist, arms tucked in close, and pretending like the rest of the world didn’t exist. She needed a lot of things—a change of clothes, a shower, and a bed.

Right then, though, she found she only needed him.

“You can see the stars,” he murmured against her hair. “Can’t ever see the stars in the city.”

She glanced up, and found he was right.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Mmm, no. Pretty, maybe. Interesting, sure. Not beautiful.” His hand came up to find her chin, and then he tipped her head down so her gaze met his. “You are beautiful. The sky does not compare.”