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“Fuck me…” With a sigh, he marched back to the front of the RV, flipped on every light, dragged out his tools, and in a handful of minutes installed the lock he’d bought to secure the door from the inside. “There. No cuffs. But you’re not going anywhere.”
“I will not try.”
“Trust is a two-way street, honey. So excuse me if I don’t believe you. Go to sleep.”
Trees turned away, utterly ignoring her as he doffed his boots, shirt, and jeans, then settled into the bed, turned out the lights, and rolled away.
Laila stayed awake, listening to his even, raspy breaths, drowning in regret and guilt. Sleep was a long time coming.
Trees couldn’t remember a shittier night of sleep. Or a more tense day as he drove a circuitous route through parts of Alabama and Mississippi, avoiding highways and cities, before finally approaching Lafayette. When he had stopped for gas earlier, he’d called Zy and asked if there was anywhere besides his place to drop Laila off.
Of course there wasn’t. He was stuck with a woman whose finger he’d mentally put a ring on, impregnated twice, and pledged his undying love to while she had merely fucked him to get away.
Good job reading the room, moron.
Worse, except when she was talking to Valeria about Jorge’s worsening condition, she was too quiet. Not sulky but withdrawn. Remorseful? He didn’t know. He didn’t exactly make the effort to strike up a conversation. The stupid-ass part of him wanted to hold her, talk to her, resolve their strife. But he’d been too angry to handle last night well, and she was too damaged to believe anything he said.
They were a recipe for disaster. He needed to stop obsessing about her and move on.
A few miles from his place, he sent a text to Zy. There in ten. Everything ready?
Yep, Zy wrote back.
Thank god. I need to be more than a foot away from this woman.
It was late when he finally steered the lumbering RV down the dirt road to his house outside of town. The gate was open, the lights on, and the security relaxed. Zy stepped onto the front porch with a wave just before he pulled around the back of the house so no one could see the RV from the road. Then he cut the engine and heaved a huge sigh.
One trial down, a whole new tribulation about to begin. Laila would be staying here indefinitely.
As Trees stood and pocketed the keys, Zy jogged around his brick ranch house. Trees opened the RV door. Despite the chilly breeze, he stepped out happily and stretched. “Hey. So fucking glad that’s over.”
“I’m glad for you, man. Good to have you back.”
It was good to be back, especially with his best friend, who would understand how rough it had been with Laila since he’d had problems of his own with Tessa. But when he looked at Zy, it was obvious something was wrong. “You look like shit.”
“Well, stress, lack of sleep, and your girlfriend looking for the politest way possible to tell you to fuck off will do that.”
Hadn’t they just recently—finally—gotten together? And everything had already gone to hell? Trees hated to keep thinking the worst, but Tessa didn’t seem like the kind of head case who would sabotage a new relationship with someone as awesome as Zy…unless she was guilty of something. Spying for the enemy, maybe? “No shit?”
Zy nodded. “It’s been one of the worst weeks ever.”
“Sorry, man.” Trees clapped his arm, not sure what else to say. Bad-mouthing Tessa to Zy wouldn’t make his friend see her as a suspect, so he bit his tongue.
Behind him, he sensed Laila and glanced over his shoulder to find her staring out the window over the dining table. She was a silhouette in the near dark. Her coffee-colored hair flowed past the satiny ribbon wrapped around her slender neck he hadn’t seen her wear before. The tails of her choker and her abundant tresses floated down to her tits, barely covered by a pink tank. Half her damn midriff was bare. Beneath the tight, ought-to-be-illegal shorts, she flashed sleek legs. Yeah, he needed to fucking stop staring. His head and his heart both knew that. His cock wasn’t on board with logic yet. It just wanted her.
“Did you bring everything I asked for?” he asked Zy.
“Yeah,” Zy confirmed. “I had a little trouble. It took a couple of stores to find the right clothes, but it worked out.”
Trees breathed a sigh of relief. “I owe you.”
Behind him, he heard Laila’s soft footfalls. Automatically, he held his hand out to her to assist her down. He told himself it was because of her injuries. But he was bullshitting himself and he knew it.
She laid her small fingers across his meaty ones and seemed to float down the steps, despite being barefoot. But she was gorgeous everywhere, even her dainty, polished toes as she scanned his property.
