22. Vanya
Vanya
After we acquire new vehicle plates from one of my contacts the next morning, we head to the next safe house.
Paige races through intersections too quickly, turns too tightly, and changes lanes too abruptly.
She may even be more of a speed demon than I am.
Like a teenage boy who’s just gotten his first muscle car.
Last night, she all but rejected me outright, and now she’s driving like she can outrun her past.
But this isn’t a muscle car—it’s a Nissan Altima—and she’s old enough to know better.
Her sexy as hell transformation from careful little archivist to a raw, reckless woman fascinates and invigorates me.
But driving like this could also get us killed.
As the light ahead turns yellow, she accelerates.
“Paige.”
The light switches to red before we reach the intersection, and she glances at me as we blow through it. Cross-traffic lurches forward, horns blaring in our wake.
She releases a heady, breathless laugh. “That was close.”
“That was stupid.”
Her smile falters. “I had it under control.”
“You think you’re untouchable?” I keep my voice soft and sweet, with a bar of steel beneath.
“No.” She tries for defiant, but the word comes out shaky. “I just… For so long, I’ve lived a safe, boring life. I just want to feel alive again.”
I lean too close for her to ignore me. “There are other ways to feel alive that don’t involve driving like a maniac. I can make you feel alive, Paige. Last night—”
“I freaked out, okay?” A blush crawls up her neck and into her cheeks.
“You’re everything I’m not.”
A pickup truck cuts us off.
Paige is too distracted and going too fast to react in time.
But I’m not.
I throw the gearshift into neutral. The engine revs high, scaring the shit out of the driver in front of us, who honks and speeds away.
Paige gasps, finally hitting the brakes and slamming us to a stop on the side of the road while the truck disappears into the distance.
Paige checks her mirrors, shifts the car into drive, and eases back into traffic. Her shoulders hunch, and her eyes dart over to me before going right back to focusing on the road.
She says nothing, letting her body do all the talking.
“No one is untouchable.” I pin her with the same glare Max gives to the newbies. “Situational awareness is key. People routinely die from inattention. And that’s where your cockiness is leading you.”
She swallows hard and nods. Then, finally, she sits up properly and puts both hands on the wheel.
I care about her safety. Hell, I care about her happiness. So much so that she’s getting in my head and distracting me from the mission. In any other circumstance, I’d already have that book.
We don’t speak for the next twenty miles as we leave the city and venture into the suburbs.
But at least she stopped driving like she has an immortality complex.
When a gas station comes into view, Paige checks the dash.
We’re on empty. “Go ahead and pull in. We’ll fill up here.”
She does as directed, using her signal before turning, coasting up to the pump, and killing the engine.
“I’ll get gas. You go inside and get provisions for the next couple days.”
Paige glances at the convenience store. “What kind of provisions?”
“Food. Toiletries. Whatever you think you’ll need. Max and Alexei prepared the house, but they don’t know what you like. And the gas, of course.” I peel off a couple hundreds.
She stares at the bills like I’ve offered her a live snake.
After several seconds, she snatches the money, hops out of the car, and runs around to give me a kiss before she heads inside.
I watch her go, then turn my attention to pumping the gas. While the car fills up, I pretend to check my phone. In reality, I’m scoping the lot.
Two cars. One rusted sedan with a missing hubcap and a minivan with stick figure family decals similar to the ones on the Nissan.
A normal suburban parking lot.
No danger yet.
The door to the convenience store dings open.
Paige emerges, her eyes locking on me like I’m all she sees while she crosses the pavement, full bags swinging from each hand.
A black charger accelerates into the lot and parks close to the front door.
The driver’s door opens, and a man with a thick build, buzz cut, and plain clothes hops out.
Clearly a cop.
No matter what they wear or how they try to blend in, I can always tag them.
He eyes Paige as she hands me the change and climbs into the driver’s seat.
I recognize the moment she clocks him.
Twisted around stuffing the bags in the back, her whole body stiffens. She clumsily climbs over the console into the passenger seat and reaches for the glove compartment.
Where I put my spare gun.
Anyone else’s first instinct would be to sit still, act normal, and feign innocence.
Hers is to prepare for a fight.
Emotion twines in my chest, and anxiety burbles up. My mind races. The cop looks like a good-ole-boy type. Too law-abiding to be part of a militia, so he joined the force. No military backing. His eyes narrow on the stick figure decals on our bumper.
“What was that, honey?” I say the first words that pop in my head and lean down into the car.
Paige stops what she’s doing to stare at me.
I give her a silent order to close the glove box. Now. “Okay. I’ll take care of it.” My pulse ticks as I hunch my shoulders and stride toward the convenience store’s door.
The cop meets my gaze before I reach the entrance. After directing a casual nod his way, I pretend to peer inside and then pause, arranging my expression to display annoyance. “Excuse me, are you local?”
The suspicion has already slipped from his face. “Yeah, you lost?”
“Not lost.” I tip my chin toward the car where Paige waits. “Heading out to a romantic weekend getaway with my girlfriend.”
He snorts, entertained.
I can work with this.
“Despite just buying enough road snacks to feed eight people, she says she wants to have a nice sit-down dinner.” I end the sentence with a mocking tone, and he nods in agreement, already sympathizing. “My phone’s dead. Do you know of any place good?”
“A nice restaurant?” He sizes me up. Takes in the tailored suit, the Italian shoes, and the watch that costs more than his monthly salary. His eyes narrow, and I see his sympathy waning.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, as if I want to waste even more time after she insisted that we leave straight after work. Didn’t even give me a chance to get out of my monkey suit.
” I start to squirm, quickly stopping as if I don’t want to appear too obvious.
Next, I add a jerk of the shoulder, like my suit chafes.
“And she gets to be passenger princess. I just want to find something fast, so she won’t whine but we can still get back on the road and reach the cabin before the game starts. ”
The cop scoffs. “It’s the World Series, and she’s worried about dinner first?”
Got him.
“I know, right? Ridiculous.” I shrug.
The idea of fooling my girlfriend so I can engage in more manly pursuits draws a grin from him.
“There’s a place about ten miles up. Jake’s.
Nothing fancy-pants, but the burgers are solid.
If you start to wither from boredom, they’ve always got the game on.
Tell them Officer Brennan sent you. They’ll treat you right. ”
“Officer? You’re a cop?” I hold out my hand, and he shakes it out of habit. “Man, you really do protect and serve the community out here, don’t you? In Chicago, if I asked a cop for help, I’d probably just get ignored. If I’m lucky.”
Small-town pride flares bright, and his shoulders straighten. “Yeah, out here we like to take care of people. Even the ones just passing through.”
“Appreciate it, Officer Brennan.” I give his hand one last pump, then salute him before turning and strolling back to the car like he’s solved all my problems.
The door dings again as he goes inside, all suspicion washed away.
I climb in the car, click my seat belt on, and drive off.
Paige sits frozen against the passenger door, staring at me like I just performed a magic trick. “You charmed him.”
I flick her a smile. “I engaged him in guy talk.”
“You…” She shakes her head. “I’m sure he was about to run our plates, and you just…walked right up and made him like you.”
“It’s a gift.” I keep our speed reasonable. “Guns are last options, not first. The best way to live through a fight is to not get into one.”
Though I speak in a mild tone, she recognizes the criticism.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Only reacting. I was worried about you, and…” She slouches in her seat. “I can’t charm people the way you do.”
My hands flex on the wheel. She was trying to protect me?
A strange little fire curls in the bottom of my chest, warming my black heart.
I’m not sure what to do with that, so I do nothing.
“Like I said, it’s a gift. I can charm anyone.” I glance at her, half-expecting to still see that awe on her face.
Not awe, not anymore. Instead, her face shifts, her eyes narrow, and her lips purse.
I don’t like the response.
Then she wrinkles her nose. “You didn’t charm me.” Her tone comes out as a little superior and a lot smug.
I deliberately drag my gaze down her body. “No, maybe not at first. But I’ve done other things to you.”
She flushes red from her chest to her hairline. Then she laughs, full-throated and genuine.
This is the problem.
I’m good at winning over strangers.
But Paige? I couldn’t even begin to charm her. She sees through every mask I wear. And somewhere in the process of trying to find that damn book, I began to genuinely care for her.
Still, I’ve never let my Pakhan down, and I don’t intend to start now. I just need to regroup and figure out a way to coax Paige into giving me what I need.
“So what did you get?”
She twists around, digging through her haul with obvious pride. “Basic stuff. But also,” she pulls out a bag of extreme sour gummy worms. “These.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Those are going to destroy your teeth.”
“I know.” She tears open the bag and plucks one out. It’s coated in sour sugar crystals, bright green and yellow. She wraps her lips around the gummy, sucking it down slowly, her eyes locked on mine the whole time.
Heat shoots straight to my groin. Fuck me. “You’re going to get us killed.”
She reaches into the bag again and pulls out a box of condoms, holding them up with a wicked grin. “I got these too. You know, just in case we need them later.”
I nearly drive off the road.
“Situational awareness, Vanya!” She unleashes another throaty laugh.
I was right. She’s going to be the death of me.
I adjust my grip on the wheel and attempt to ignore the way my cock strains against my pants.
I want to pull over. To drag her into my lap and fuck her right here on the side of the highway until she can’t remember her own name.
She bends forward, slipping out of her seat belt. “Remember the dressing room?” Her fingers unbuckle my belt. “I think it’s time I reciprocate.”
I lift my arm out of the way so she can unzip my pants. I ease off the gas a little, hoping to lower the risk of a crash.
Tomorrow, I’ll devise a plan to get my hands on the book.
Her hot, wet lips wrap around my stiff dick.
Tomorrow.