I tossed a glance out the windows and saw we were pulled over on the side of the road. Pesadilla was only a few minutes’ drive from here. Looking between Gavin and Judas I dared to ask the most important question that needed to be answered.
“What’s going on?”
“We need to talk about insurance,” Gavin answered. He was a little too animated with his response, immediately causing my guard to go up.
Sliding what I hoped was a convincing mask into place, I waited for one of them to explain.
“You two know what that is, right?”
“Obviously,” Audrey replied dryly. “It’s not going to take care of the tire you stabbed if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“That isn’t important. I already told you I’d make sure you got to wherever you needed to go.”
“I don’t need you to do that. I have a perfectly good running car.”
“Oh, yeah? You can get in it right now and drive off into the sunset?” Gavin questioned mockingly.
“I need a tire dickhead, not an engine.”
“For now,” he retorted with a grin.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means keep talking to me like that and your cars going to be the least of your worries, Dollface.”
She pinched her lips and painted her face with an icy glare. “Will one of you please tell us what is going on?”
I didn’t say anything. I knew as soon as he mentioned insurance that he wasn’t referencing the kind of protection that would cover a car in the event of a collision or any type of roadside assistance. These two could buy hundreds of tires and pay for thousands of tows.
I doubted they used regular means in those kinds of situations. They had someone that removed dead bodies at their bidding. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume another person handled something simple as a broken-down vehicle.
Judas remained silent, watching me closely as his friend antagonized mine. I struggled to hold onto an air of impassivity. My mind continued to race with the foresight of what they were hinting at. I suddenly felt more awake than I had all day.
Audrey hadn’t caught on--yet. She was dangerously close to understanding. I met Judas’ stare, brows slightly dipping when a smirk teased his lips. It felt like a silent taunt, him daring me to tell her everything there was to tell. When he began to speak, I diverted my attention to something unseen on the other side of the road.
“Insurance is a means of providing protection against a possible eventuality. In this case that insurance is you, Audrey.”
“You’re speaking Spanish to me right now. Whose ass am I covering and why?” I felt her look at me. “Rhiannon’s?”
“Bingo! Excellent job, baby,” Gavin praised with a dramatic amount of enthusiasm.
“Cut the shit,” she snapped, “What did she do? What did you do, Rhia?” her tone softened substantially when addressing me.
My stomach was in a such knot that I could no longer pretend not to be in the car.
I redirected my attention to the two assholes who’d orchestrated all this.
“I…what am I supposed to tell her?”
“Since when do you need permission to speak? What the hell are you doing to my friend, Judas?”
“Nothing she doesn’t want me to do.” He kept his eyes on mine, his sensual mouth morphing into a cold smile.
Be chill.
Don’t yell.
Be chill.
He wanted me to react rashly. I wouldn’t be giving him the satisfaction. It was fucking hard, a mental battle I had no energy to partake in but didn’t have the luxury of losing.
“Rhia,” Audrey pleaded.
I gathered my wits and finally looked at my closest friend. She didn’t seem to be as angry or confused as I was expecting and that made me feel even worse.
I tried to tell her with my eyes that I couldn’t say anything, not in front of these two.
“She can’t give away all our secrets until she upgrades to the premium policy. I’d say she’s only got liability right now,” Gavin explained.
Audrey took in the three of us with a frown. “But she hasn’t told me anything at all?”
“And now you know why,” Judas stated as Gavin turned his blinker on and pulled back onto the road.
He drove around the security booths that were in place to prevent people from doing exactly that.
Judas’ Mercedes was one of four cars still in the school’s parking lot. I considered asking where Brianna and Owen were, quickly deciding I didn’t care to know.
As soon as Gavin put his SUV in park, I reached for the door handle and tried to get out just to discover he’d put the child locks on. I met his smug stare in the rearview mirror with an annoyed glare.
“Why?”
“Safety first.”
He climbed out after Judas without bothering to disengage the safety locks.
When neither moved to open the rear doors for me and Audrey I considered climbing over the front seats. Now that she and I were alone for however long, though, it was a prime opportunity to talk.