by Skyler Andra
Something about his manner, that smile on his lips, the one promising me more mystery, made me smile in return.
“How about the best breakfast in Illinois, love of my days?” he asked.
I was about to ask more questions when my stomach rumbled. It must have been close to dawn, and I figured I hadn’t eaten for hours. Fatigue also clawed at me, and I just wanted a good night’s sleep and some decent chow. I threw one hand in the air, shaking my head.
“All right,” I said. “But then talk. I’m not going to get led around like some kind of virgin sacrifice forever.”
To my surprise, Mads took my hand and swept it up to his lips for a kiss. It should have looked as corny as hell, but somehow he managed to pull it off. I felt a tingle on my skin where he kissed me, and I clutched my hand, running a thumb over it.
Here came that dazzling smile again. “You don’t have to be a virgin sacrifice if you don’t want to be. I can help you with that.”
I should have known better than to encourage him, but something about the way he flirted with me, the way his lips pursed with a wicked smile, his air of mystery, made my heart sigh. Okay, it had been a long time since I had gotten laid, and there was probably still too much adrenaline pumping in my system from the encounter with the creeps in my apartment and the cops back at the store. Well, that was my excuse at least.
“Get me fed,” I said, nudging him with my hip. “Then talk. And maybe dumb flirting.”
He looked delighted, escorting me back down to his car, and I wondered all over again what I had gotten myself into.
***
Mads promised me the best breakfast in Illinois, and I guessed that it was my fault for not asking exactly where he was talking about. Only forty minutes had passed, but it seemed like hours, and I sunk into the plush leather seat Mads had reclined for me. The combination of the smooth ride, Mads’ singing, and countless street lamps was all too much. Eventually, my wariness caught up with me. One moment my eyelids were heavy, the next I was waking up to the bright morning light.
I blinked at the clear blue sky and shielded my eyes until they adjusted. Rows and rows of ripe corn zoomed by on either side of the road. I could have been anywhere in the state. Where the hell was Mads taking me?
He sang along to some annoying pop song on the radio, but when he saw that I had woken, he turned the radio down and grinned at me. “Good morning, Locke my girl.”
How did he know my name? I didn’t have my wallet or ID on me.
“I didn’t tell you my name.” Unless I’d mumbled in my sleep.
He looked momentarily as if he had been caught out, and then he shrugged it off. “No. You didn’t. I got it off of those people in your apartment.”
I eyed him warily. “Look, this is all very cloak and dagger, spy versus spy stuff…”
“I know. I’m sorry.” The tone of his voice told me he was too.
But the truth was that you could do just about anything if you faked sincerity. I didn’t know Mads very well, but I already had a feeling he didn’t take things seriously, and he cheated his way through life. Like breaking and entering into someone’s apartment. Stealing the clothes…aided by me.
“Oh, god, is this even your car?” I rubbed my forehead. If we got caught, I was in deep shit.
“Relax,” he said, placing a hand on my thigh. “I won’t get caught.”
He said it so confidently, I almost bought it. “You’re really not giving me anything, are you?”
He squeezed my thigh. “Well, first breakfast.” He tapped me and returned his hand to the steering wheel. “Some things are better on the other side of a good meal.”
A part of me was inclined to be angry with him for being so secretive and enigmatic, but all that left my head when he screeched to a halt and swung in hard to a little truck stop off the freeway. Geez. He had a bad habit of doing that.
The large sign atop the building read Lita’s Diner. Great. Trucker food. Was this the kind of meal that impressed Mads? I wasn’t about to hold my breath. Usually, these types of dives served up meat patties from the box and stale chips and called it a hamburger and fries.
“What’s that look for?” Mads asked, as if reading my thoughts. “I promised you the best food in Illinois.”
The door clicked open, and he was out the car and at my side again, opening it for me. Damn. What he lacked in transparency, he sure made up for in manners.
When we walked into the diner I had a change of heart from my initial impressions. Despite the unimpressive exterior, dull browns, a flickering neon sign, and peeling paint, dear lord…the smells that hit us as we entered made my mouth water. About ten patrons were seated in the joint. Mostly truck drivers stopping off for a bite, but also a couple in their fifties and a young family.
Mads and I must have looked a pair in our fancy clothing. A few people certainly stared at us.
“Back in a minute,” Mads said, his fingertips pressing the sides of my waist for a second before he left to grab a few items from the adjoining convenience store.
I wandered over to a booth by the window. After being cooped up in the car, I wasn’t exactly keen on sitting again. My muscles were cramped and a little sore. But I was hungry as hell by now. From my vantage point in the booth, I spied plenty of perfectly fried eggs and real chorizo, and I knew this place was a winner.
After a few moments, Mads returned with a battered baseball cap, two pairs of crazy neon sunglasses, and a sunhat for me.
“Are we in disguise?” I joked as he took off his jacket and sat beside me.
“No,” he said a little too quickly for my liking, handing me the hot pink shades and hat. “Or maybe yes. But don’t worry.”
Suddenly, I had several sinking realizations hit at once. We had driven way out of town, who knew how far, but definitely a couple of hours from my apartment. Possibly to get as far away from my pursuers as practical? We hadn’t gone to Mads’ apartment. Why? Was it too dangerous? And finally, he’d parked the flashy car behind the building, out of sight of the freeway. All of this made me more than a little nervous at what we were running from. My desire for answers sparked again.
I twisted the cheap sunglasses in my fingers. “Who are we hiding…?”
My question was interrupted by the arrival of the gray-haired waitress with 1950s-style cat-eye glasses, which had come back into fashion.
“What can I get you folks?” she asked, readying her notepad to scribble down our orders.
Mads might have won a temporary reprieve, but he wasn’t getting out of this. Frustrated, I grabbed the standing menu from behind the salt and pepper shakers to peruse it.
“The lady and I will order the huevos rancheros and a breakfast torta.” There was a slight soft twang to Mads’ voice. “Oh, and some orange juice.”
“Coming up,” the waitress said, leaving to post the order behind the counter.
I just stared at him, unsure whether I liked a man to take charge like that and presume to know what I wanted. “What about a coffee?”
“Trust me.” Mads leaned back in his seat, resting his arm over the top of the seat behind my head. He looked ridiculously handsome in his suit pants and shirt. “They do the best orange juice.”
Okay. I sighed, leaning back into the booth, the heat from his arm bleeding into me. “Right. Food first. Answers later.”
Ten minutes later, plates full of steaming food arrived. Mads might have been an evasive bastard who liked to keep secrets, but his taste in breakfast was spot-on, and I couldn’t fault him for that. The food was delicious. They kept good hot sauce at the tables, and I ate every last bite, even burping, to Mads’ delight.
“Told you it was the best.” He grinned.
For some reason, my attention drifted back to the counter, where the waitress flirted with the man in the trucker hat at the counter. He in turn couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. I had to admit that the way he looked at her warmed even my decidedly cool heart.
From the corner of my eye, I ca
ught Mads following my gaze. “Well, that’s a good sign.”
“Is it?” I stared at him, wanting to know what he meant. “I mean, they probably barely know each other, and it’s definitely not very promising when she serves him a free donut with his coffee…”
“Oh… that.” Disappointment shone through in his tone. “No, that’s not what I meant at all.”
“What are you talking about?” I kept an eye on the two flirts, somehow fascinated by their interaction.
“There’s a lot going on that you need to understand.”
“Like what?” I turned to him, folding my fingers together and resting my elbows on the table.
Mads’ shirt buzzed as if he’d gotten a call on his phone. He frowned and pulled out his iPhone, suddenly all business as he rose from the booth.
I groaned. “You have got to be kidding me…”
Every time I tried to get an answer, something interrupted us. Was this the universe’s idea of some sick joke?
“No, I’m afraid not,” he said, lifting a finger to tell me he’d explain more in a minute.
Before stepping away for the call, he winked and grabbed his last chorizo. Eating it faster than I would have thought possible, he turned towards the door. He nodded a couple of times and mumbled something into the phone that I couldn’t overhear.
In a moment he returned, slipping his phone into his shirt pocket and grabbing his jacket. “Someone else is going to meet you here.”
I just barely managed to snag his sleeve, rising from the booth myself. “What? No! You promised me answers, Mads.”
He rubbed his chest as if pained. “Sorry, darling. I’ve got my orders.” His voice lost power on the last few words.
Suddenly, instead of pulling away from me, Mads was too close. I marveled at the gold flecks in his green eyes, enjoyed the smell of the chorizo he had just wolfed down, and felt how warm he was pressed against me.
I jabbed a finger at his chest. “You are not dumping me at a damned diner!”
He kissed me then, quick and hard, and I was too stunned to do much of anything besides kiss him back. If I were entirely honest with myself, I had wanted to do it ever since he had started bandaging up my scraped knee. No matter how ridiculous it was, no matter how much of a surprise it was, I fell into the kiss. He felt good, he tasted good, and I shaped myself to his body, suddenly wanting more. It was like there was something warm and bright inside me, and being close to him made it burn harder.
The sweet joining of our lips ended long before I was ready for it to.
Mads pushed me back into the booth with a regretful expression. “Sorry again, love of my days. But I really don’t get along with Ares.”
Somehow the words all made sense on their own, but they didn’t mean anything to me all together. I barely had time to shape a question when Mads collected his sunglasses and hat, put them on. A daze fell over me, and I blinked, wondering where I was. The chiming doorbell called me out of it.
Outside, I saw Mads striding away.
“Ares?” I said to myself. “What the hell is he on about?”
I don’t know what happened next, but my mind fogged over a second time, and my thoughts muddled. For a few moments I glanced around the strange diner, wondering where the hell I was, how I got there and what drugs I’d taken.
Screeching tires had me snap to attention as a black BMW tore out of the parking lot. The vehicle gunned as it headed onto the freeway.
Fogginess in my head instantly cleared, and I sat up.
Mads! You damn jerk.
I rose from my seat, pumped with the idea to run out of the diner with a raised fist and some choice words. But he wouldn’t even see it, and that wouldn’t bring him back. Arms folded over my chest, I sat back down with a scowl.
The bastard had tricked me and run out. Mads struck me as the here-today, gone-tomorrow type. That was certainly the shortest date I’d ever been on. It wasn’t as if I had never been dumped before, but the guys who had dumped me had never left me in a diner in the middle of nowhere with no money and no ID. The only things I had were the clothes on my back, and he had left without paying the bill.
God damn it. I wanted to kill him. Not like I’d get the chance. I’d probably never see the jerk again.
I took a deep breath and shoved aside my plate, pulling Mads’ over in front of me. If I was going to be arrested for not being able to pay, then I may as well enjoy his remaining food. Taking my fork, I jabbed at his chorizo, taking a bite of it. Maybe by the time I finished the leftovers, I would have a solution for what to do next.
By the time I’d polished off his last egg, I still didn’t have a plan, and at any moment, the waitress was going to come by with a check that I couldn’t pay. My stomach filled with a sourness that made me feel like vomiting.
It might take the waitress a while, as she now whispered something into the ear of the man at the counter. A faint blush rose on her cheeks, along with the stunned look on his face. Both of them looked as if they were in their own world, but I didn’t think that would translate to letting me out of my bill. When the waitress licked the man’s earlobe, I shuddered at how weird that was. But maybe it was the chance I needed to sneak away while she remained preoccupied.
I hashed out a plan to pretend to go the bathroom, duck out the door, and get a ride from someone passing by on the freeway. And then after I’d hitched a ride with some anonymous trucker while wearing what I knew were stolen clothes, I would have to decide what to do about the fact that I couldn’t go home because dangerous people with Tasers were pursuing me.
Adrenaline pumped through me as I stood, preparing my getaway. I slipped out of the booth to put my not-very-cunning-at-all plan into effect just as the door opened again.
I’ll be fucking damned when two cops entered the diner, blocking my escape. I swore everything I’d eaten lurched up my throat. Hands shaking, I grabbed the hat and sunglasses Mads had bought me and sunk back into my seat. There was no way I’d get out of there without going past the two police officers.
Chapter 5
Could my day get any worse? Seriously. The impulse to freeze in place latched on to me. But my shaking hands gave me away. Thankfully, the police paid me no notice and strut in like they owned the joint. Both of them ordered coffee and donuts at the counter. Typical and so cliché.
Time for me to make my move to the bathroom and do my disappearing act. I put on the ridiculous disguise Mads had brought me, hoping no one noticed me sneak out.
This time as I rose to leave, another person entered the diner, someone who took my breath away. I pushed down my glasses to get a better look at him. Tall and thick through the chest and shoulders. Dressed like any man coming off the road—jeans, boots, and a tight T-shirt that showed me exactly how well-muscled his arms were. A blurry tattoo on one bicep struck me as oddly perfect. Olive skin combined with his dark hair made his blue eyes a surprise. I had to shut down the part of my brain that whispered that that was exactly what I liked.
Where was all this damned libido coming from?
He looked around in a way that was at once demanding and speculative, and when he saw me, he shook his head as if something about this entire situation exasperated him.
Well, you and me both, buddy. Pity I didn’t have the time to stick around and admire him from afar. The more customers distracting the waitress, the better.
Leaving the hunk behind, I snuck into the ladies bathroom. Yes! A window awaited at the back wall. I pushed it open, testing how wide it went, and if my chunky hips could make it through. Damn. It only budged about half an inch and would require me to bust the hinge to slip out. And I’d need a crate or something to stand on to climb out that thing.
The door squeaked behind me and I winced. Now was not the right time for witnesses.
“Going somewhere?” a dark male voice asked.
Slowly, I spun to face the speaker.
The hunk who’d entered the diner stood with his hands jammed in his
pockets.
Fear spiked in my stomach. What was he doing in here?
“A little rude to follow me into the ladies’ room, isn’t it?” I said, trying my best to keep my voice level. I’d gotten good at throwing desperate callers off my tail when they dug for information on my relationship status. I hoped my words might deter this guy too.
His boots rapped on the tiled floor as came closer. Instead of fearing him, though, I was intensely aware of a strange attraction deep in my core. Something about this man made me want to be near him, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with how good he looked or how good he smelled.
“Well?” His voice had a rasp to it, as if he were more used to barking out orders than making requests.
Well, guess what? I’d played dominatrix plenty of times over the phone, and two could play at that game. I narrowed my eyes. “Well, what?”
He jerked his head. “Come on. We’re going.”
He didn’t look like a man who really dealt well with argument.
I put on my best slightly abashed expression. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t go with strangers.”
“Didn’t Mads tell you I was coming to collect you?” the man asked, reminding me of my last conversation with the jerk who had abandoned me here. “You’re safer with me.”
Oh, great. A pissing contest between two rescuers.
“How about you talk first?” I said, crossing my arms and using the time as an excuse to scan him again. “I still don’t know who broke into my apartment, how the hell Mads managed to be conveniently on my fire escape at the right time, why he rescued me, and ultimately why he dumped me in a diner to leave me with a new babysitter.”
Yes, I amped up my surliness, but Mads had left me in that kind of mood, and I was in no frame of mind to be messing with another secretive stranger.
The hunk frowned in a sexy, broody way and I had to shake myself out of my gaga stupor over him. “He bought you that ridiculous disguise but left without paying the bill, didn’t he?”
My mouth fell open. I touched my glasses and hat. How did he know that?
