Page 83 of It Runs in the Family

What in the world? But I walked to the backdoor and opened it, pausing in surprise when I saw a second child in the backseat—a preschool-aged kid strapped into a booster.

“Get in,” the woman said. “We don’t have all day.”

“You’re an Uber?” I asked in confusion, but I still slid into the backseat and shut the door.

“You picked the multi-ride Uber,” she said as she pulled away from the curb. “That’s why your fare was so cheap. Just think of me as a minibus.

I didn’t consider twenty dollars cheap for a ten-minute drive, but the bus reference might explain the children who were staring at me with wide eyes. The toddler clutched a small blanket with one hand while he sucked his thumb on the other.

“So, what’s your story?” the driver asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but she was already talking.

“Why do you need an Uber this morning? Morris here,” she thumbed to the guy next to her. “His car’s in the shop again, so he needs a ride to work. And Dominic back there, he’s getting dropped off at preschool.”

I glanced down at Dominic, who had his finger stuffed up his nose. “You can order an Uber for children?”

“Heck no,” the driver said with a laugh. “That’s my sister’s kid. She pays me five dollars to run him to school every morning, and since I’m already out, I figure I might as well make some money while doin’ it.”

“Are you dropping off the toddler too?” I asked.

“Shoot no, that’s my kid.”

She was still talking when she turned into my parking lot.

Thankfully, I was her first stop. As soon as she stopped at the curb in front of my apartment, I had the door open and was climbing out.

“You have a blessed day!” she said. “And don’t forget to give me five stars!”

“Will do.” I shut the door and breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled away.

But as soon as I turned around to climb the steps to my apartment, I realized how careless I’d been. I should have looked for unusual cars in the parking lot, because standing in front of me was none other than Boone.

He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, paired with a light jacket. Dammit, he looked pretty good in the morning light. It seemed so unfair that my stomach was full of butterflies when I didn’t trust him.

I gave him a dark look. “What the hell are you doin’ at my apartment at seven in the morning?”

“Waitin’ for you.” He shoved his hands into his front jeans’ pockets. “I was gettin’ worried.”

I shook my head. “Why would you be worried about me?”

“Your cousin’s missin’, Iris, and she’s mixed up with some bad people. I was worried they might have come after you.”

I glared at him. “How do you know she’s mixed up with bad people? And why do you think your brother is with her?”

He glanced around, then his gaze landed on me. “We really shouldn’t talk about this here.”

I snorted. “Let me guess—you want to come up to my apartment?”

He turned serious. “Or we could sit in my truck.”

Which would be safer? If I let him into my apartment, he could murder me, and no one would find me until at least tonight. But if I got in his truck, he could drive off with me…

“Iris,” he said, a teasing glint filling his eyes. “You’ve already been in my truck, and I’ve been in your apartment. If I was going to do something to you, I would have already done it.”

He had a point. Besides, he claimed to know more than I did about Selena. I should at least hear him out.

I groaned. “I need to take a shower and change. You wait out here. We’ll talk when I’m done.”