“I’m sorry. That’s really awful.”
No more awful than what Avet and Cher went through, but that’s their story to tell. “It was a long time ago. I barely remember it all.”
“That’s not true,” she counters quietly, her eyes fixed on the side of the road as I drive us down the freeway.
I didn’t expect her to call me on my lie, so I don’t have a response locked and loaded. I swallow hard, resituating in my seat as I search for any available change of topic.
“Doggone,” she hisses and dips her hand into her pocket. “Fine. I lifted this from Sargis’ store. Now you tell me he’s this saint who takes in orphaned kids. Did you want me to feel like crap?”
I chuckle when Saven produces a tube of treats that are typically used to lure an aralez. “I’ll have him put it on my tab. Are you in the habit of petty theft? That can’t cost more than twenty bucks.”
She grumbles as she sets the tube in the cupholder. “It’s a game for me. I like knowing I can get in and out of a place, take what I need without being caught.”
“So, you are in the habit of petty theft.”
She jerks her thumb behind us. “You call that motorcycle petty? That’s top of the line.”
“Any particular reason you like stealing? Makes no sense when every trapper is issued a credit card without a limit on it. And stealing from another trapper? I don’t get it.”
She motions to her form. “Very few things make you feel alive when you know you’re dead inside. I’ll take the thrills where I can get them. I don’t much care if they don’t make logical sense.”
I let her words settle between us. I can tell she revealed more to me than she originally planned to.
After a few minutes of silence, I point to a sign. “Is the thread count to your liking at that hotel?”
She shrugs noncommittally. “It’ll do. It’s better than sleeping around cockroaches and college kids.”
I turn off on the next exit, grateful she doesn’t press me for more information. None of us got into trapping monsters because we had a grand life filled with opportunities. I’ve not met a single one of us that doesn’t have a story similar to mine. It’s never a blissful childhood that propels a person to start hunting down Bel’s nightmarish creatures.
Sevan reaches over and touches my knuckle with the tip of her finger. “Hey, I’m sorry I made you talk about that. I get nervous working with people I don’t know. If I’m on edge, I need them to be on edge too. Not my most mature side, I guess.”
Warmth spreads from the point of contact, rolling up my arm and settling straight into my heart.
I relax against my seat. “You need to know I’m not going to up and steal your treasures or leave you to fend off a monster on your own. I get that.”
Sevan meets my gaze with a veil over her own. “That, and I need to make sure you’re not the monster I should worry about.”
My head jerks back, but I get it. “That’s fine, Sevanna.” I don’t know why her name twists on my tongue like that. It almost sounds affectionate, adding the extra syllable. But now that we know a little something about each other, maybe I don’t mind having her in our space so much.
“If it’s any consolation, I put Avet through the same paces. I have a gift for making men uncomfortable. Saying the wrong thing for all the right reasons.”
I clear my throat. “You’re more mature than I am, attempting trust. It’s commendable. I wasn’t planning on getting to know you at all. Trust isn’t one of those things I need to learn how to do.”
“Assume everyone is out for themselves and you’re never disappointed?”
“Pretty much.”
“I’m usually that way, too, but Avet got under my skin. Bastard sneaked his way into my heart.”
I snort. “Same.”
“Avet loves you, so I figure I should give that whole trust thing a try.”
I mull over her logic, wondering if it is solid enough for me to adopt as my own. “Avet doesn’t like working with anyone who isn’t me. The fact that he teamed up with you says a lot.”
I indulge in a long inhale and exhale, wondering if maybe it’s time I open my mind to trapping with more people than just Avet. If he trusts Sevan, maybe I can take that leap, too.
I reach over, mirroring her earlier action, and brush my finger across her knuckle. “Ask all the questions you need. Anyone who helps Avet is worth protecting in my book.”