“I’m sure your family worries about you.” She wasn’t sure how smooth the transition was, but it was all she could come up with.
“There’s just me,” Roger replied flatly.
Gia prodded. “No parents or siblings?”
“My parents were killed in a helicopter crash when I was fourteen.”
“Oh my God. I’m sorry.” Now she felt horrible for asking. But the door was already opened. Stopping now wasn’t going to change anything. It’d just leave her wondering. “You were so young. Did you end up in the system?” She had friends who had been raised in foster homes.
“No. I was away at a boarding school when it happened, and the estate continued to pay for it. I guess my parents knew if I had access to the money myself before age twenty-five, I’d probably have gone down a different path.”
Like doing drugs instead of busting those bringing them into the States.“What made you join the DEA?”
Roger shook his head. “A close friend of mine at school had gone to a party. We all knew he smoked marijuana, but we never said anything. What no one expected was some bastard deciding to lace it with a hallucinogen.” She felt his fingers tighten slightly on hers before he continued. “Unfortunately, instead of coming back to the dorm that night, he went to the roof of the science building and tried to prove he could fly. From that moment, I always spoke my mind. I guess the DEA gave me an outlet to deal with the pain of losing him.”
What could she say? He’d lost his parents and his friend. He had told her before money wasn’t everything. She now understood what he meant. She gave his hand a squeeze.
“It was a long time ago,” Roger stated.
“They say time heals all wounds. For the record, that’s bullshit. We deal, not heal.”
Roger put on the directional and took the exit ramp off the highway. “Look who’s getting all serious. And you accused me of taking a psychology course.”
“Oh yeah, I did, didn’t I?”
He nodded. “You’re not so bad at it yourself.”
“You’re going to laugh if I tell you this.”
“With you, there’s a fifty-fifty chance you’re correct on that.”
Gia gave him a playful tap on his arm with her free hand. “I am a very serious person.”
Roger grinned. “Or so you want the world to believe. You don’t have me fooled.”
There was a part that was true. She didn’t let loose because she wanted to fit in with the dry, boring people she’d been working with. If she’d attempted to crack a joke there, her coworkers wouldn’t have gotten it anyway. Not sure they knew what laughing sounds like.
“At least I’m a bit more reserved than Vickie,” Gia responded.
Roger cocked a brow. “A bit? She’s like shaking a bottle of soda pop. When you release the cap, watch out.”
Gia burst out laughing. “You’re so right. If she hadn’t left when she did, you would’ve had my entire life story according to Vickie. Mind you, she’s added a lot of color to the tale. My life hasn’t been nearly as exciting as she makes it out to be.”
“Oh I don’t know about that. Remember, you told me there were those wild days when you were younger. A time or two you got a B in class or maybe forgot your homework.”
“Or the time we were all caught skinny dipping.”
Roger shot her a look. “You’re really going to tell me that story now when traffic is so busy?”
“Of course. It’s more fun this way.” Gia smiled wickedly and said, “Maybe its best you don’t know.”
“You’re pushing your luck. If you think I won’t stop this car right here and wait until you tell me, you’re mistaken.”
She looked around and almost called his bluff. But all the vehicles blaring their horns at them would be nerve-wracking. Gia would hold her ground when there wasn’t such a negative effect for doing so.
“You win. Vickie and I were skipping school.”
“You cut class?” Roger teased.