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He doesn’t say anything as he climbs behind the wheel, so I busy myself with pulling the promised snacks from my purse.
“Any fruit snacks, Aunt Mila?” Luca asks with hope in his voice.
I move stuff around my purse until I see blue, and luckily enough, there are two packs of gummy fruits, one for each of the boys.
“Hand one back to Jace,” I urge as I pass both bags back.
“He got to press the elevator button,” Luca whines.
“And you got to press it on the way down,” Vincent reminds him. “Jace needs a snack too.”
Huffing like only an irritated child can, Luca hands the treat over his head to his brother.
“Are we good?” I ask when Vincent’s backing out of the parking spot.
“It’s looking that way, but we’re going to have to do a little zigging and zagging today to make sure.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, feeling horrible for possibly putting us in more danger.
“Wren said there hasn’t been any movement from the clubhouse, and it’s been seventeen hours since we left town, so that’s a good sign.”
I nod, accepting him at his word as I watch out the window. I wish I had more to offer.
“Will we make it to New Mexico today?” Jace asks from his seat in the back.
“Not today, bud,” Vincent says. “Tomorrow though.”
Jace doesn’t argue or get huffy.
Vincent’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, drawing nearly every ounce of my attention there.
He didn’t say a word while I cried last night. He simply took my hand in his and held it while I did my best to work through those emotions. I got sleep, but I’m still tired. My mind is as tired as my body, and I hate the way it makes me feel. I’m drained, incapable of just sitting down and relaxing because there’s always just so much to do. I can’t turn my mind off, and with everything since my sister and Carlen died, I now have a million other things to worry about. Add on top of it realizing that I haven’t been as safe as I thought I was being, and I’m a nervous damn wreck.
I attempt to clear my mind of all the things I can’t control at the moment, but that leaves room for the things I wish I had.
His hand shifts, the right one releasing the steering wheel to make a slight adjustment to the air conditioner vent.
I can easily recall how those fingers felt on me three years ago. They never stuttered or stammered. His touch was sure, just as needy as mine was. We were both all-in in the hours we spent together. Maybe it’s something he does often, but it was an eye-opening experience for me. There hasn’t been a man who’s compared since. I haven’t even gotten past the first kiss with anyone since that night. I went on one blind date that Janet encouraged me to go on with a single dad from Jace’s kindergarten class before Sutton even turned one, but it was a disaster. I don’t think the guy was a jerk, but he was overly eager, and it left me feeling a little turned off. I never attempted to date again after that.
“Unless you’re not,” Vincent says, pulling my attention back to him.
“I’m sorry. What?”
“Lunch? Are you hungry?”
“I love chicken nuggets,” Luca says, never afraid to express his needs the way his older brother is.
“I like chicken nuggets, too,” I add with a smile.
“We’re going to drive to the next town, which is half an hour away, and then we’ll find lunch,” he explains to the kids.
I don’t bother pulling my eyes from him when he darts a look my way. Maybe I should. I have no business thinking anything about this man. I shouldn’t let in thoughts and ideas of what a future would look like with him involved, and I sure as hell shouldn’t let my mind wander back to the night we spent together.
The man hasn’t made any type of overture, not that I’d expect him to with three kids with us. Hell, I can’t even think that way because my mind will quickly try and create a situation where we’re completely alone and it’s exactly what he’s been waiting for to pounce on me.
I settle back into that familiar voice that tells me he hates me, but he’s a nice guy so he’s tolerating me. It’s the same voice that infiltrated my head in my dreams last night where he was getting us all on his turf before kicking me to the curb. He carried us to New Mexico just so he had a group of people supporting him before he made me leave.
That dream is why I was so out of sorts when I woke up and found the kids gone. I was in a full-blown panic before I found the note. The voice in my head told me it was just a distraction, a way for him to get me to let my guard down so he could get away easier. If the vehicle keys weren’t on the little desk in the room, I would’ve been in tears by the time I made it back down to the lobby.
