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He swallows and looks away from me, staring at the parking lot, empty except for our cars. “No.”
“Shawn, I’m serious.”
“So am I. I don’t owe you anything. Now let go of me. I’m leaving.”
I release him because I’m not a total asshole, but I also turn and follow him out of the cemetery. He doesn’t look back once as he makes his way to his car, but he has to know I’m following him.
When he reaches the beat-up SUV, he jerks the driver’s side door open and gets in the car.
“You’re really doing this?” I ask. “How many times have you been here in all the years?”
“Tonight was the first,” he replies. “And the last. I’m out of town next week, so don’t worry.”
He closes his door and sticks the key in the ignition. But instead of roaring to life, the engine simply sputters repeatedly.
I stand at the side of his car and watch him through his window as he turns the key harder, like that’s going to help anything. I almost feel bad for him until I remember how Natalie cried when she learned he’d disappeared. Then I just get pissed all over again.
He finally stops trying to force the car to work and jerks the key from the ignition. Still in the car, he pulls his phone out, and I watch him stare at his lit-up screen, searching for a mechanic or towing company he can call for help.
But I already know he’s not going to find one. Not at this hour.
The door opens, and Shawn steps out of the car. Without a word, he opens the back door and grabs an expensive-looking camera case, then locks the car. He slides the strap of the case over his shoulder and turns for the gravel road that leads into the parking lot of the cemetery.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Walking. My hotel’s about ten miles from here.”
“Let me give you a ride.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. I don’t want to be around him, but my heart just doesn’t want to listen to reason. Despite everything, I still want him. And that irritates the fuck out of me.
“I’m fine,” Shawn replies.
“Come on, just get in the car.”
Thunder rumbles overhead, and Shawn pauses to glance up at the dark sky. The lightning is too close. There’s no way he’ll reach his hotel before the clouds open and pour the rain out.
Still, he doesn’t make a move toward my car. Because if there’s anything that Shawn’s good at other than leaving is surviving. He doesn’t need me or anyone else taking care of him.
So I use the only thing I know he’ll respond to.
“You owe me, Shawn.”
He turns to scowl at me over his shoulder. When he first came to live with us, some guys at school were messing with him, and I made them stop. Later, I’d joked about how he owed me. He’d turned so serious instantly. Wanted to know what I expected in return. He was prepared to give me anything I wanted if it cleared the supposed debt.
It was the first time I got a glimpse at how bad life must’ve been for him before that.
“Fine,” he says, his voice clipped. “You can give me a ride to my hotel.”
I unlock my car and get inside as thunder rumbles again. When he gets in beside me, he puts his camera case carefully at his feet before tugging his seatbelt on.
Then he doesn’t say a word the entire drive to his hotel. It’s not a long ride, but we seem to hit every red light along the way.
When I finally steer the car into the lot of the hotel he pointed to, I’m relieved to see it’s not a bad place. For some reason, I was picturing one of those pay-by-the-hour things.
He takes a breath as he reaches down for the camera case. “Are you coming in?”
I lift my eyebrows, surprised and more than a little irritated at the question. “Are you serious?”
“What? You’re the one who said I owed you something. You drove me to the hotel. I thought that’s what you were aiming for.” Annoyance slips into his tone before he can hide it. I can’t tell if he’s doing this because it’s what he really expects or he’s just trying to get a rise out of me.
