“You know why,” I mutter, clenching my fists. She lifts her brows questioningly and I sigh. “To keep your face hidden. That will protect you if we’re spotted. I’m less recognizable in this suit, but I’m not taking a chance that anyone will recognize you and connect your face to your parents.”
“Okay.” She stares at me and reaches over to put her hand on my leg. “We’re doing this together. You and me, the way it always should be.”
I look at her from the corner of my eye, resting my elbow against the window while tracing my lip with my thumb. “Yeah.”
A bone-deep truth settles in me. I never should’ve blamed Maisy. We were just kids back then. The breath I release feels like it yanks away the last dredges of my years-long grudge, leaving me lighter and less shrouded in so much pain.
The car goes quiet again as we settle in to wait. I pass the minutes by running through everything I’ve learned so far in my head. The accident was covered up and Richard Landry helped with his new position as police chief. Jacqueline Landry becomes CEO mere weeks later. Both of them became richer and Nexus Lab grew from a small regional lab to one of the nation’s top suppliers in the last decade.
Maisy’s breathing slows as her head droops, hitting my shoulder after a few minutes. She’s asleep. I still for a moment, then adjust my position to support her head better. She’ll complain if she gets a stiff neck from falling asleep that way. Her floral and coconut scent wraps around me the same as her hug did the other night, making my lips twitch with the urge to smile.
This time instead of being a distraction, I find myself centered like she’s a guiding light. I watch her sleep for a minute, then shift my attention to wait out the meeting.
For a while there’s no activity, then two cars pull up. I shift around carefully without dislodging Maisy from my shoulder. Surprise lances through me. The first man, I don’t recognize. He’s a big, mean looking guy with a barrel chest and buzzed hair in a cheap suit. The other is Richard Landry.
Shouldn’t he be with Maisy’s family? I check the time and guess the graduation ceremony ended.
Richard is agitated, hands jerking sharply as he talks to the man he’s meeting with. There’s a quick exchange of something when they step closer together. Money, probably. And I caught him in the act of accepting a bribe.
Using my phone, I discreetly record everything. Colt will get the footage and analyze it on his system for me. Instead of leaving as soon as the coast is clear, I wait, allowing myself to watch her again. Her lips part and I want to trace them. Unable to help myself, I caress her cheek, careful not to wake her.
“Mm, sorry,” Maisy says in a husky whisper as she stirs not long after. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s fine. I got what I needed while you were out.”
“Did you?” She sits up, taking her warmth and comfortable weight with her. I have to restrain myself from drawing her head back to my shoulder. Her expression twists into an adorable pout. “Man, I didn’t want to miss it. This totally ruins the badass cred I’m working on. I’ve got undercover work down, but choked on the stakeout.”
I snort. “Yeah, you’re definitely ready to take on corruption with those skills.”
Colton would get a kick out of her. For the first time ever, I picture what it would be like to introduce my foster brother to my daisy. It puts a smile on my face as I start the engine and pull onto the road. Maisy’s hand goes out the window again, coasting on the air as I pick up speed and race around the winding road.
More than once, my attention darts to her. She seems content with her hand in the wind and her hair. It’s times like this I see the girl who held my heart in her small hands when we were kids.
“Do you remember California? When we went on vacation?” she asks after a short stretch of peaceful quiet. I hum in response, flashing her a curious look. Her attention is on her hand, expression distant and tinged in sadness. “That was such a good trip. I still have the shells and rocks we collected. Remember when I turned the stones you picked out for me into this?” She holds up her wrist with the leather bracelet. “I miss the ocean.”
A pang hits my tattooed chest with the same ache I’ve felt. “I do, too.”
“You do?” There’s a catch in her voice that lights a fire inside me.
Licking my lips when I feel her gaze on me, I rest my hand over the top of the wheel and willingly open up to someone for the first time in years.
“When I lived in Thorne Point on the east coast, there was a cove I would go to when I couldn’t sleep. I stole my foster brother’s car to get to it, and he caught me.” I laugh at the memory of Colt squinting at me and calling me a punk-ass little twerp. “He let me borrow it anytime I wanted after he saw the haunted look in my eyes.”
“Nightmares?”
“Yeah. They come and go, usually around the anniversary, but going to that cove helped. I miss the salt air on my skin. So much so, I tattooed it there.”
Maisy leans toward me. “Exactly! I’ve been planning this road trip. I want to hit up as many national parks as I can between here and the west coast. I’m going to do sunrise yoga in each one and really connect myself to nature.”
As she explains, I’m struck by nostalgia, remembering how many hours we’d spend pouring over roadmaps and making plans for the adventures we would go on. It was me and her, ready to take on the world. All of our dreams used to intertwine until we didn’t know where hers stopped and mine began. We were so close.
I find myself smiling. “You’re finally taking it. I remember how important it was to you.”
“Yeah.” She bites her lip around a smile, hazel eyes bright. “Not yet, though. First I’m helping you, then I’m hitting the road.”
When the impulse strikes to punch the gas, I follow it, shifting gears and opening up the engine. Maisy yelps as her back hits the seat, then throws her hands up. It’s clear to see what the thrill does to her as it rolls through her whole body, as alive as she is. She smacks the roof overhead and lets out a whoop while I take a bend.
We drive like that until we hit the shorter roads that twist around the boulders dotting the hills.