And I hit the gas and race off.
When we’re finally somewhere safe, I park the car in a free parking lot and take some time to breathe. Aurora finally gets the courage to sit back on her seat again instead of hiding underneath the headboard.
“Are we … safe?” she asks.
“They’re not following us,” I reply.
“But safety is another thing,” she murmurs. “We’d need a house for that. Or at least somewhere to stay. And I’m definitely not going back to that hotel my father was staying at.”
She gasps in shock, grasping my arm. “My father! He’s still in there. What if they go after him?”
“Not your problem anymore,” I reply.
Her face darkens. “But …”
My hand instinctively rises to caress her cheek. I don’t like seeing her worry. Especially not about someone who doesn’t even care about her. “He can handle himself.”
She swallows. “But where do we go now?”
I take in a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
Her eyes suddenly flicker as though a light bulb went on in her brain. “I know one more secret hideout my father never told anyone about. It wasn’t even in his documents.”
My eyes narrow. Anything that involves her father feels like a bad idea. “Are you sure that’s safe?”
“Lex can’t know about it,” she replies. “My father would never tell anyone about his precious vacation home. There’s nothing of value to steal.”
She reaches in the overhead bin and fishes out the phone I stuffed in there. She opens it up and checks some app for locations. “Here.” She points at an area on the map not too far from where we’re at. “It’s a small house near the beach.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. I don’t trust any of this, but when she nods and smiles at me with a cutesy face, I can’t help myself. “Okay.” I put the car in reverse. “You trusted me. So now I’ll trust you.”
* * *
When we finally arrive atthe place she marked, I’m too flabbergasted to even properly check my surroundings, in case anyone followed us. Because in front of us is a very tiny house near the sea. And it’s beautiful. Idyllic, even.
Unlike anything I’d ever associate with her father.
“My mother bought this when they were younger,” Aurora says, and she shuts the car door.
Well, that explains it.
“You like it?” she muses as we walk toward the house.
“Sure,” I reply.
She frowns. “You’re not the least bit excited, are you?”
I don’t know what she wants from me, so I opt not to say anything at all as we make our way to the front door.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” she says.
My nostrils flare. “Talking only got me into more pain.”
She makes a face. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I say. “It’s not your fault.”
“I’m just glad we’re out of there,” she says. “And hopefully in one piece.” She giggles in an awkward manner, almost like she doesn’t know how to act around me now that we’re not inside that cage anymore.