Chapter 16
16
JO
We drive for a while longer, and I can’t stop shifting. My panties are soaked, I’m hungry, my cuts hurt, and I need to go to the bathroom.
“You that bad off?” Cole chuckles.
“I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Okay, I’ll pull over.” Cole looks around.
“No. I will not be squatting on the side of the road. I want a normal bathroom.”
Jayden snorts. “So you can run?”
“Just where do you think I’m going to go?” I sink further into my seat. “I don’t even know where we are.”
“No.”
Embarrassment fills me. I don’t want to explain the details to them, but if I don’t get out of this car for a minute, I think I’ll crawl out of my skin. Plus, I have to take a shit. “I have to go bad. And I need a shower.” I haven’t bathed since Rosemarry’s house, and I’ve done a lot of running and fucking since then. I feel disgusting.
Cole glances over his shoulder at Jayden. “We do need gas.”
A spark of hope runs through me.
“It’s the middle of the day.”
Cole shrugs. “Easy to blend in with everyone else. No one will notice us if we’re just part of the group.”
Jayden grunts. “I don’t like it.”
“I’m hungry,” I say. “I want something fresh. Fruit, cheese, something other than fast food.”
“Any other requests, princess?”
Yes, I want to come too. But I don’t say that.
After a moment’s silence, when Jayden probably thinks of every reason to say no, he sighs. “Cole, look for a Loves. Park in the trucker’s lot, away from the building.”
“Got it.”
It takes us about thirty minutes to find one on the side of the interstate. In that time, I shift excitedly. I need to get out of this car more than I need my next breath. I’m so tired, overstimulated, and under-stimulated at the same time.
People! We’ll be back around people. My stomach knots in conflict.
Cole drops his hand on my thigh as if he can sense my thoughts. “You thinking about running?”
I freeze.
Cole squeezes—hard. “You’re going to stay by my side the whole time. We came this whole way to get you. Don’t think for a second that we’ll do something stupid like let you get away.”
I swallow. Cole’s demeanor has changed. He’s serious. I throw a glance back at Jayden. He’s sitting up straight—alert. When he’s sitting up, I remember just how big he is.
Fuck. I clear my throat. “I won’t try anything. I just want to go to the bathroom.”
We stop to get gas in the front lot. Cole tells me to wait and fills up the car while I gaze at the building. I sit patiently as Cole gets back in and pulls into the backlot. Our SUV feels small compared to the rest of the semis. Cole pulls into one of the long parking spots meant for a truck.
“I’ll stay here,” Jayden says.
Cole just nods and turns to me. “We’re going to take this off. Just for now.”
I hold still as Cole takes the collar off. When it’s off, I pull in a deep breath of relief. Fuck, I can breathe. Excitement runs through me.
“Wait.” Cole gets out and rounds the car. He’s being bossy, but I’ll accept it if he lets me out. Cole pops open the door with a flourish of his hand. “Let’s go.”
I don’t even argue with him. My bladder hurts. I step out of the car and suck in a breath of fresh air. Fuck, yes!
Cole grabs my hand. I hiss as his hand squeezes a scrape on my palm. He immediately lets go and grabs my wrist instead. He jerks me closer to him. “Don’t fuck with me right now, Jo. In and out, then we’re leaving.”
I let him pull me along. The lot is nothing but asphalt, semis, and oil stains, but it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen.
When we walk into the store, the bell dings. It’s moderately busy with people getting snacks and taking bathroom breaks before they get back on the road again. It all feels so…normal.
Cole asks something, but I don’t hear him. He squeezes my wrist so tight that I snap my gaze to his. He looks pleasant, but I see the glint of warning in his eyes. “Grab what you want.”
“Bathroom.” My bladder twinges.
“It’s in the shower. First, food.”
I think about arguing, but I don’t. I glance around, orienting myself. I go to the food section, grabbing a fruit container, some nuts, and some yogurt. My mouth waters. It all looks good.
Cole doesn’t stop me, so I go to the drinks. My stomach churns at the sight of the waters. I have to use my other hand to grab a juice, and it looks weird with him clinging to me. Cole reluctantly lets go.
“Deodorant.” I move to the health section.
“No.” Cole herds me toward the counter. “You can use mine.”
I look around him. “Toothbrush?”
“You can use mine.”
I frown at him. “Gross.”
He smirks at me. “I think it’s hot.”
“Of course you do,” I mutter and move with him, grabbing some more snacks off the racks. “Wait! Pain pills.” I turn again. My arm is throbbing like a bitch against the groceries piled up in it.
“Have those too, little one. I’ll give you another when we get back.”
“Fine.” I huff. Cole goes to pay for the items, putting on his usual charisma. There’s a pretty cashier behind the counter, and immediately, I stiffen. Cole makes easy small talk with her. Nothing about his body language suggests he’s flirting, but still, irrational anger fills me.
“Can we get a shower too?” Cole asks, smiling at the cashier. I smile sweetly and stomp on his foot.
The puff of air Cole lets out makes a victorious thrill run through me. He grabs our stuff and chuckles in my ear, “I’m just getting you your shower, lemon drop.”
I huff.
“You jealous?”
“No,” I scoff.
Cole laughs softly. He herds me toward the bathrooms and showers. “Liar.”
Cole opens the shower door with the code on our receipt. I step in, curious. There’s a toilet against one wall and a shower beside it.
The door clicks shut behind us.
“Wait.” I turn. “There’s no stall. Get out.”
Cole crosses his arms. “No way.”
“Cole!” Seeing the toilet makes me need to go really bad. “I need to go!”
“Then go.”
Anger fills me, and I turn and shove him. “There’s nowhere for me to go. You have the code. Give me two minutes.”
He stares at me.
“Please,” I plead, hesitating. My face burns. “I have to take a shit.” I want to keep this one piece of me to myself.
Cole’s gaze softens. “Okay. Two minutes.” He drops the groceries and steps out.
I bolt over in relief and relieve myself.
Once I’m done, I wash my hands and rip into the snacks. Cole steps back into the room. I groan, popping peanuts into my mouth.
Cole strips off his shirt and turns on the water. The sound of it hitting the ground in a wet stream makes me jump.
Water.
Can’t breathe.
I suck in a breath. What the fuck is wrong with me? My stomach sours immediately.
Grow up, Jo. It’s just a shower.
I glance at the shower. Cole is checking the temp, his upper body completely bare and rippling with muscles. He looks like he did when he hunted me down—dangerous and powerful.
Cole glances at me. “Those good?”
“Fine.” I drop the peanuts back into the bag. I can’t eat anything else. Cole hums and turns back to the shower, kicking off his shoes.
I won’t be able to breathe in there.
My throat tightens at the thought, and panic slams into me. I won’t be able to breathe. Pain tightens in my chest. I try to take a deep breath in, but I can’t take a full breath.
This is all in my head. It’s just a shower. I’ve showered before.
“Jesus, that’s hot.” Cole hisses, yanking his hand back out.
I blink slowly, gaze fixed on him.
He did this to me. They did this to me.
Suddenly, I have the urge to run as fast and as far as I can. To get away from the person who’s trying to drown me with him.
And he will. I have no doubt he will. It won’t be much longer before I’m fully under their control. For fucks sake, they’ve done all kinds of horrible things to me, and somehow I’m still here?
I take a single step back.
Cole glances at me. “You ready?”
I swallow.
Cole runs his gaze over me, and he immediately stiffens. “Jo…”
I turn and run. If I don’t hide, I’ll stay. And I’m not sure I’ll survive that.