“He… I think he was looking for something.”
“Something in the house?”
I shook my head. “No. For some reason I don’t think so.”
“What then?”
I searched my memory a little more, but it was hard. With each passing mile, everything was getting more and more hazy.
“It seemed to be something I would have,” I said mechanically. “Like he was shaking me down. As if I knew where something was.”
Maddox gripped the steering wheel as he turned again. I saw his eyes, as always, go to the rear-view mirror. “Any idea what that might be?”
“Not a clue.”
“Think, Dallas. It’s important.”
I laughed, and the laugh wasn’t exactly a good one. “What the fuck could I have, Maddox?” I sneered. “I came to you practically naked that night, with nothing but the clothes I’d been sleeping in. Everything else in my house was destroyed by the fire.”
His mouth went tight. I could see him holding back.
“If there’s anything these guys are looking for, it’s not going to be mine,” I said. “Maybe something of Connor’s, sure. But now all his stuff is gone.”
We rode in silence for a while, which was probably good. It gave me a chance to simmer down.
“Look,” I said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to go off like that.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, seriously. I’m not usually like that. It’s just… it’s just so fucking frustrating.”
My chin dropped to my chest, just as Maddox slid an arm around me. He pulled me across the seat, over to his side of the vehicle.
“It’s alright,” he said, holding me close. There was a gentle bounce as we pulle
d into a parking lot. “Let’s forget about this for tonight. We’re here.”
I forced my chin back up. The hotel he’d chosen was a good one; tall and sleek and beautiful. I hadn’t stayed here but I knew people who had. It was very expensive.
Maddox noticed me gawking and laughed. “Don’t get too attached,” he said. “We’re only parking here.”
I glanced at him strangely. “Parking here?”
“Yup,” he said. “As a diversion.”
I was still confused. “Why do we need a divers—”
“Because they know the vehicle,” he said simply. “We can’t take the risk.”
I sighed in mock frustration. Or maybe it was real frustration, I could hardly tell anymore.
“Fine, then where the hell are we staying?”
Maddox held his hand out and I took it. He smiled devilishly.
“I saw a real shitty place about a mile that way.”
Twenty-Eight