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I laugh and rub a hand over my eyes, half wishing I’d taken out the contacts, half vain enough that I’m wearing them. “Glad you’ve narrowed it down there, Mack.”
“Okay, here’s what I think. Loaded to the eyeballs, and something happened that you suddenly switched to all cash. I think you were running, anyway, but to a destination you had planned since you had only one case. And you’ve got a fancy job that you don’t need but do to feel good. Close?”
The happy spark fizzles. It’s annoying because he’s both close to the truth and far from it. I’m not the princess he thinks I am, but I’m weak and I ran because I couldn’t face Mom.
“Or are you running from Victor?”
I sigh. “I work remotely, and I have a job because I like making a living.”
“Like.” He laughs softly, like he’s pegged me again.
“And Vic’s my shining light, so no to that one.”
Mack falls silent as the highway stretches out, leaving the edges of Norhill Tops behind us. “So, you and Victor . . .”
“Do you interrogate everyone you meet?”
I don’t have a real reason to hide from him who Vic is. Except it makes me feel a little safer, which is weird. He doesn’t threaten me, not in any traditional sense, but something whispers he’s the scariest thing I’ve met. Maybe the most thrilling.
“Just you.” He shrugs and changes lanes. “What can I say? You’re real fuckin’ fun to interrogate. I think it’s because you’re an open book.”
I nod. “What if I turned the tables?”
“You know where I work, what I do. You know my twin’s the sheriff, and his wife owns the lodge you’re staying at. I have a sister named Rose who’s in her last year of residency. Let’s see . . . don’t fool around. If I’m fu—sleeping with a lady, then it’s just her. I don’t tend to just fall into bed after meeting someone, but let’s keep that one between us.” He laughs.
“And,” he adds, “apart from that, I’m not looking to get hitched any time. Just in case you were gonna pop the question.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“It’s all true. They all think I sleep around more than I do, and I just don’t dissuade anyone of that. I like flirting. I like women. I could have a new partner way more than I do. I just . . . don’t.”
“Standards?”
“Something like that,” he mutters, sounding like he wishes he didn’t start this conversation.
“I don’t sleep around either,” I say. “Of course, it’s not like they’re trying to batter down my door.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Now that, I don’t fuckin’ believe.” He falls silent as we start to pass what looks like driveways to ranches or properties every now and then. “You can trust me, Princess, if you’re in trouble or need help.”
“I need to know how long I’ll be here for.”
Mack pauses a little too long before he answers. “Another day, at least.”
Shit. He means longer than that, I know it.
“Problem?”
“No. No, I just . . . I’m going to have to find something a little more long-term or buy a car from you, if you have one.”
Another pause. “And yours?”
“Sell it? Leave it? Get it later?” I twist my fingers together on my lap as the landscape changes again. A scrapyard, a few scattered buildings.
I haven’t thought this through. I can’t afford to buy something without using my account. And even if staying here seems like a good idea while my car’s fixed and I wait things out a little, at least until I can work out my next move, I still need to pay to live and get out of town.
“I could sell you a car. How much do you have?”
“About three thousand.”
