Chapter 4
Chapter Four
KILLIAN
Not sure what the hell is happening, but there is no turning back at this point.
“May I?” She points to the screen on the dashboard.
“It’s all yours,” I tell her because I want to see what she’ll do next. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. She piqued my curiosity, which I didn’t even know could happen.
What music will she put on? Will she sing? Will it be terrible? I don't care if it's terrible or not. I'm adapting swiftly to the situation. It's one of my better skill sets.
I pulled up her messages, texted back the person who was supposed to pick her up, and then blocked them before deleting the conversation.
Then I scrolled through the rest of her messages.
There weren’t many, but the name Lily Pad told me all I needed to know.
Teddy is the mystery person who’s been in contact with Tristan’s girl.
I'll need to check why her name wasn't showing up on the property, but right now, all I want to know is what the hell this tiny, curvy girl is up to.
She takes to the screen, flipping through a few selections before landing on a station labeled "Retro Hip-Hop," and Coolio's “Gangsta's Paradise” fills the inside of the vehicle.
"Seat belt," I order her as she starts to sing along, knowing all the words. This girl gets more and more intriguing.
"Ope, sorry." She quickly clicks it into place as snowflakes start to fall. The road back down the mountain has a lot of twists and turns.
It's hard to keep my attention on the road when I want to simply watch this fascinating creature. People say that nowadays you can’t identify a fake diamond with the naked eye, but I would bet my left nut, which is currently aching along with the other one and my dick, that the crown on her head is real.
"The airport is an hour away, right? I have a flight, and I can't miss it.
I need to get to my best friend," she starts to tell me, and I slightly turn down the music from my steering wheel, not wanting to miss a word.
"Can I tell you a secret?" She gives a small bounce in her seat, not waiting for me to answer.
"I'm on a mission." Her tone becomes serious for the first time.
"That explains the lightsaber." She snorts a laugh. Did I just try to crack a joke? What is happening to me? I don’t make jokes. I kill people for money.
"I don't think it will be much help in the city. I'm going to break my friend out."
"Really?” I say so that she keeps going.
“Yeppers. Grumpy Tristan is in for a rude awakening.” She rubs her hands together over what she believes to be an evil plot. "He's going to come home and—" She makes an explosion with her hand. "Poof! Gone. Sucker."
"Interesting." I didn't know Tristan had resorted to kidnapping.
He's a lot more ethical than I am. I'd definitely kidnap Teddy to keep her for myself.
My hands are tight on the steering wheel.
I'm not taking her to the airport. I need to come up with another plan.
One hits me as I put together Tristan's and my last conversation.
"Then she'll come live with me." Teddy's place might be secluded, but it's easy to access. There is no way it would keep Tristan out, and it wouldn't keep me out either.
"And she's ready for you?" I ask. To my understanding, Lily has been taken out of the country. Guess Tristan was losing it over believing someone was after his girl. I just don't think he knows it's a tiny girl named Teddy. None of us saw that coming.
"Ope, I need to text her." That was easier than I thought it would be. "Oh no." Her shoulders drop; I can see the hint of a frown pull at her plump lips. I bet they're soft. They fucking look it. I can’t help but wonder how they would feel against mine. Did I really just think that?
"What's wrong?" I have the urge to fix it even though this was part of my plan of keeping her away from the airport for the time being. The disappointment that has taken over her doesn't settle well inside of me. "Maybe I can help," I offer.
"You're really nice, you know that?" No, neither I nor anyone else on this planet thinks that. It’s not a word that has ever been used to describe me.
Cold-hearted, asshole, grumpy, and moody are more along the adjectives that people use when my name is mentioned.
Of course, they never say them to my face.
"Thank you." I try out the two words. Easy enough. I'll be polite and welcoming. That should keep her guard down. I want to be as unintimidating as possible.
"He took her with him on his trip. She doesn't think they'll be back for a few days."
"That's not too bad," I offer to try to perk her back up.
"I thought we'd be back by then. I can't go back home."
"Why not?" My dumbass just clocked that she came stumbling off the property and was not simply picked up from her front door. She snuck out. Is there a threat at home? I could eliminate it quickly.
"Roland.” I grit my teeth. "He's all protective, and he'll talk me out of this plan."
"Who is Roland?" The mention of the man’s name has my blood boiling. I shuffle through the information I had in the file and quickly piece things together. Teddy's name wasn't on the house because the old woman died and left it to her.
"If you asked him, he'd say the butler. If you asked me, I'd say he's like an older uncle.
" I relax at her answer. This Roland wants to keep her safe because he believes she is not capable of making this trip.
She's not. Alone, at least. Without questions or hesitation, she got into my vehicle. She needs to be protected.
The more I rethink everything that has happened, the more I start to get pissed. I shouldn't give a fuck. I got the answer Tristan wanted. I'm done here. Except now I'm not.
"I'm going to see if I can change my flight."
"Probably not. A snowstorm is rolling in," I point out and nod toward the windshield and the snowflakes hitting it. "I'm sure they'll ground flights for the next few days.” I doubt it, but it's worth a shot.
"Oh man." She puffs out a breath, believing me. Na?ve. "I guess I could get a hotel and wait it out."
"We could drive it," I offer.
"Drive it?" She sounds confused.
"Sure. If we drive, we'll outrun the snowstorm, and it would only take a few days. You've got the time now."
Teddy turns partly toward me. "Are you saying you'll drive me?"
I glance over at her; the moon gives me enough light to make out the hopeful expression on her beautiful face. Beautiful. Don't think I have ever thought that word about anything before. I suppose because I haven't seen it until now.
When she stares at me this way, I bet I'd agree to anything she asked, even if it wasn't my new plan.
"I mean, I'm a driver," I remind her, shrugging, trying to downplay it. "Driving is what I do."
"Wait, how do you know it would be a few days' drive? I didn't tell you where I was going." Na?ve but not stupid.
"I just figured that since you're flying, and it takes about three to four days to drive across the country."
"Right, duh." A small laugh leaves her. "But you'd do it for me?"
"If you wanted."
"It could be fun." She pauses, thinking over what she is about to say next. "We could maybe stop a few places along the way. Make it more of an adventure.”
I should say no. Turn around and take her back home and hand her over to this Roland, but I know me. He'd end up dead. I don't think my ball of sweet energy would be too happy about that, and keeping her happy is all I want to do right now.