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“Let’s go find Diane,” Lando murmured. “Last I saw she was downstairs.”
Violet remained quiet as she got out of the bed. Lando could only hope when they found Diane that she didn’t have her tongue down someone’s throat because that would be a disaster, but for Lando, the possibility of a storm outweighed the possibility of revealing secrets.
Luckily, Diane was alone on the deck still, sipping coffee as she sat on the swing and stared out at the horizon. Lando shoved her hands in her pockets and let Violet take the lead on this one.
“There’s a storm northwest of us.”
“A promising one?” Diane raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.”
“When do we need to leave?”
“In thirty.”
“Then let’s go.” Diane actually looked interested.
Lando breathed a sigh of relief as she walked back into the house. That was likely the least confrontational conversation she’d ever witnessed the two of them have. It’d been nice, but also like there was something simmering under the surface that was about to explode. Lando really didn’t want to be present for that.
* * *
Lando had her gear ready as she sat in the back seat of the car while Diane drove. She’d barely had a chance to wave goodbye to Eli as they piled into the Hummer and took off. Violet was oddly sitting in the back seat with her, again. Something had shifted in the last week, but Lando hadn’t been able to put her finger on it.
Violet had her laptop open and on her thighs as she read out directions. The initial part of the drive was made relatively in the quiet, but once they got closer to the storm and were surrounded by dark clouds, the vehicle came alive with excitement. The adrenaline pumped through her body, every muscle ready to go as soon as Violet said the word.
Yet they were still stuck in the backseat while Diane drove. Violet’s nose was buried in the computer, and she was missing the best parts of the storm, the lightning from a distance, the clouds as they rolled in. Shivering against the sudden thought, Lando looked her over. Violet was more relaxed than before, but there was still an intense tension riding in her body. The lines around her mouth and eyes were deep as her neck was bent and her face was down.
No idea why she did it, Lando reached out and wrapped her fingers around Violet’s forearm. Violet jerked with a start, her eyes wide as she looked up to find Lando staring at her oddly. It took Lando a second to form words, to let her voice do the work without her mind.
“Let me give directions.”
“What?” Violet looked absolutely confused, and Lando couldn’t blame her. But if she could give directions while Diane drove, that would free up Violet to do something else that could earn them money, something Lando instinctively knew she was far better at.
“Let me give the directions. Come on.” Lando held her free hand out for the computer, not taking her other hand off Violet’s arm.
“Why?” Violet shook her head, glancing from Lando to Diane to the storm outside to the computer and back to Lando. “I always give directions.”
“So change it up.” Lando’s lips barely quirked up into a smile. “Let’s have it.”
Reluctantly, Violet handed the computer over. “Don’t get us lost.”
“I’m very good with directions, thank you.” She stared at the computer, figuring out easily where they were and where they were headed. With one last look at Violet, Lando reached between the seats and grabbed Eli’s old camera and shoved it into Violet’s empty hands. “Here. Be useful.”
“I…” Violet stared down at the sleek black device that had definitely seen better days. She turned it over in her palms and fiddled with the lens. “Is this the only lens?”
“Yeah, sorry. She couldn’t find the others, but she said she’d look.”
Violet’s lips pressed tightly together as she stared dumbfounded at the camera. “Get us as close to the center of the storm as possible.”
“I know the drill, teach. You’ve taught it to me well.”
Violet finally flipped the camera on and checked all the settings. She lifted it, took a sample shot, and adjusted it. Lando tried to pry her eyes away, back to the computer sitting in her lap and warming her legs, but she couldn’t stop looking at Violet’s adept fingers.
“Hey! Where we going?”
Lando bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced at the computer screen when Violet sent her a sharp look. She should have paid closer attention and not gotten so distracted. “Keep going straight. We’ve got another ten miles before I think we should turn off.”
Violet leaned over the center of the seat and looked at the map, no doubt double-checking what Lando had just said. She kept her mouth shut as she shifted back to sitting upright and pointing the camera out the window. Violet didn’t take too many photos until Lando guided Diane off into the back roads.
