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“I- I don’t follow,” Brynn says, sounding suddenly exhausted from the whole ordeal.
“I mean we’ll do what he wants. We’ll get out of town for a few days… Do you need a new wardrobe to spend a few days away?” I ask, suddenly feeling pressed for time and not wanting to be seen around town myself so much now.
Brynn creases her mouth, jerking her thumb to the back seat.
“I got a change for all seasons back there. I’ll manage,” she says with a braver face.
I lean over and kiss her.
“Anything you need, just ask. We can get it on the way. But right now we need to get away from Whitman and whatever he’s up to,” I tell her.
“What to do for days on end in a cabin in the country?” she asks, suddenly flashing a grin that makes me feel better instantly.
“Oh, there’s a lake. And a trail…” I tell her, trying to make it sound like we’ll be doing everything but the one thing I know we both want.
“And does this place have a bedroom?” Brynn asks, leaning over to me, resting her hand on my leg.
“Oh, an old one,” I kid her. Hamming it up, making the old place sound more like a smelly old barn than a home away from home.
“I’m just teasing,” I finally confess after a few blocks.
“You’ll see,” I explain, watching the rearview and double-checking my mirrors.
Feeling like I should be doing more, but like I said, letting whoever’s behind all this think they have the upper hand is the plan Whitman himself suggested.
Whitman said it himself ‘…I’ve made it look like they got a little something from us, found a way in…’
I wonder just how much of a little something he’s already taken for himself.
I doubt he hasn’t taken a little something using the phony secretary for the investigation.
The pair of them looked into each other as much as they’re in all of this together.
Balls deep.
Asshole.
My reflex is to call Mack, tell him everything. But I’ve had enough double-crossing for one day and decide I’ll do things my way until I can see a clearer, bigger picture.
And I’ll only do it once I’ve done what needs doing first, Brynn.
It’s a good half hour before we even see the turn off out of the city, and another half before we’re clear of the bridge seeing the buildings thin out, giving way to narrower roads and way more trees.
The effect on both of us is dramatic.
I confess to Brynn I haven’t been out of town like this for almost a year.
She confides in me this is her first real trip anywhere, which makes me sad, almost angry in a way but glad when I remind us both that she couldn’t be in better company.
“You sure you wanna just take off like this though?” she asks. “I mean, it sounds like your whole business is on the line. Isn’t it?” she asks, looking concerned after thinking quietly for a few miles.
I’d give it all up in a second if it meant I could claim you, keep you forever…
It’s the most natural thing for me to think, but telling her? Not so easy right now.
I’d rather show her by example exactly how I feel about her.
For a guy who runs his mouth off for a living, I’m suddenly tongue-tied when it comes to telling Brynn just how strongly I feel about her.
About just how much she means to me already.
Chapter Fifteen
Brynn
If Pearce is stressed about his business, about everything that’s happened so far, then he’s doing an excellent job of disguising it.
Anyone would think he’d let it all go if it meant we could just get away together like this, which I’m sure couldn’t be true.
I ask him point-blank. Hoping he isn’t risking too much just for my sake.
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
I think he already has…
His smoldering glances are enough to tell me as the miles between us and the city get longer and longer that he’s made his choice.
No pressure though. I’m sure as an eighteen year old, total virgin with zero experience except for squealing on a desk so far… I’m sure I’ve totally got this.
“I asked you earlier if you believed in destiny, Brynn,” he says knowingly. Smiling to himself as he takes the country roads as easily as I know he handles everything else.
His confidence, his self-assuredness were annoying when we first met.
Now?
Now I get a shiver from it, eager to learn a lesson from the master of self-confidence.
Getting what you want for once instead of shying away from it.
“I think I do,” I answer, not realizing at first he actually wanted me to answer.
“I do believe in destiny, fate. Whatever you wanna call it,” I confirm.
A day like this couldn’t happen any other way or for any other reason.
“And what do you see for your future, Brynn? What do you really want?” he asks next, making me look at him askance.
