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She started to leave, but I grabbed her arm. "Don't go." She gave me a sad look that made me feel like the biggest ass on the planet. I tucked some hair behind her ear and offered a smile. "I'm glad you’re here. I'm glad you trusted me to tell me your secret. And believe me when I say you have no reason to apologize."

Iggy surprised me again by pushing me down onto the bed and tucking herself into my side. I heard her yawn. I tightened my arm around her. “You smell good.”

“So do you.”

I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before saying, “I have a confession to make.” I was nervous. This had to be the wrong time and the wrong place.

Iggy’s fingers slid across my chest. “Okay.”

“I can’t think of you as my cousin or as family. I've tried. And maybe that’s sick. Maybe it’s incest or something. I don’t know. But from the moment I saw you in the driveway, I stopped being able to think of you as a relative.”

After a gentle exhale of breath, she whispered, “We aren’t really related, Cael. So don’t feel bad.”

“But I do. I feel like a warped and twisted human being when I think about how beautiful you are and how much I want to kiss you.” I thought my confession would make her run for the other room, but she didn't budge.

“Please don’t feel that way. If you think something is wrong with you, then something has to be wrong with me as well. Because I think
you’re
beautiful. And I want to kiss you, too.” Her palm and fingers brushed across my cheek and jaw. I closed my eyes and fought the urge to touch her body…to press my lips against hers. I wanted to tell her how amazing I thought she was. How brave. I thought about confessing how much I wanted to feel her body beneath mine…feel her skin against my skin. I wanted to promise that no one would ever hurt her again, including myself. But it wasn't my place to think these things. It couldn't be my place. I knew it was the alcohol in my system, but for tonight, I didn’t care. I would let myself kiss her just this once.

I called her name in the darkness. My call was greeted by her soft snore.

And even that was beautiful.

Cael

I opened my eyes. There was enough light to see that the bed across from me was empty and the adjoining door was shut. Iggy was curled up against me, her back to my chest, my arm draped across her hips. Her slow, rhythmic inhale-exhale could have lulled me back to sleep, but her bottom was tucked against my groin. Every muscle in my body was tense. I studied her curves way too long before deciding to get up. I
had
to get up.

I headed for the bathroom to take a cold shower, spending an excessive amount of time shaving my face and blow drying my hair. Admittedly, I was prolonging my return to the bedroom because if saw Iggy, I was going to touch her. I was going to kiss her, and I wasn’t going to feel guilty. I could blame last night’s response to her on alcohol, but I wasn’t going to blame this morning’s response on anything but truth.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, Iggy was gone. Part of me was relieved, the other part was disappointed. Instead of seeking her out like I wanted, I plopped down into a chair and started watching the news. It wasn’t long before a bleary-eyed Cody burst into the room. He lifted a hand in greeting and headed straight for the bathroom. He had left the door open, and I could see into Iggy’s empty room. She and Wes must have gone to the lobby for breakfast. I thought about joining her, but I wondered if she might regret our confessions and act awkward. Then again, even if she was embarrassed, why did I have to avoid her? After all, we were about to be stuck in the same car for hours. Furthermore, she and Wesley had spent years of time together. Now
I
wanted some time with Iggy.

I grabbed the key card and headed for the lobby.

She and Wes were sitting across from each other at a small table, smiling and talking softly over bowls of dry Cheerios. After dealing with a pang of jealousy, I forced my legs to carry me into the breakfast nook and my voice to cheerfully say ‘good morning’.

Wes nodded at me. Iggy smiled. Another beautiful part of her. I quickly turned away and headed to the counter, accusing myself of acting like a virgin and wondering how I could backtrack to the less complicated time when I barely knew her. Then she was beside me, her arm touching mine. Softly, she said, “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” I busied myself with the toaster as a means of avoiding looking at her.

“You’re acting weird around me because of what we said last night.”

I grabbed a pat of butter and a packet of jelly. “No, I’m not.” Then she placed her hands on either side of my face and forced me to meet her gaze. It was difficult to look at her. “I’m not acting any differently around you.”

“You’re not very good at hiding your feelings.” She pulled my head down and planted a lingering kiss on my cheek. I sucked in a breath and stared at her with surprise. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

Then she smiled.

I couldn’t help smiling back.

“That’s better.” She reached up and pushed away a lock of hair that had fallen across my forehead. “Good morning.”

My toast popped up. Taking charge as usual, Iggy put the bread on a Styrofoam plate, grabbed a knife, and pulled me over to the table. Wes looked at the two of us with an expression I didn’t understand, but then Iggy pulled up a chair and insisted I sit down, and I focused on her alone. She announced, “We’re about an hour and a half from the place where Dad said your folks’ car is. That’s if there isn’t something crazy going on between here and there that would slow us down.”

Cody stumbled into the room, breathing as if he’d been running. “Have you been watching the news?” His hair was wet and he looked hung over.

We all looked at the big television against the far wall. The sound was too low to hear, and none of us had been paying any attention. But it slowly hit me that I was watching the top of mine and Iggy’s heads…an aerial shot above the interstate accident yesterday. I jumped up and ran to the TV, locating the volume button and pushing repeatedly.

Iggy, Wes, and Cody appeared beside me.

I was mesmerized as the whole scene played out before my eyes. I’d forgotten about the helicopter that had been hovering over the area, but the cameraman had gotten clear footage of the whole incident, including our faces from multiple angles. Anyone who had any idea about Iggy could easily put two and two together. When she looked at the first armed civilian, he appeared confused, scared, and then shocked in the space of seconds. When she looked right, a man when down, grabbing at his chest. When she looked left, the same thing happened to the third man. To any average person watching, it seemed like a bizarre enough situation. But to me, Iggy, Wesley, Jensen, and the CDC, it was all too revealing.

Cody said to me, “They have footage of you shooting two guys from the truck. You’re fucked, man.”

My heart pumped double time and adrenaline kicked my brain into hyper-drive. I nearly jumped when Wesley snapped, “Iggy! Did you forget to tell me about this yesterday?” He looked at
me
as if it was my fault. I sucked at hiding my thoughts, and after a moment of studying me, Wesley’s facial expression morphed from surprise to anger. He looked back at Iggy and claimed, “Cael knows everything, doesn’t he?”

She looked at me and then at Wes, and then she nodded. “I told him the whole story.”

Wesley balled his hands into fists and cursed loudly at the ceiling. “Well if you thought Jensen had motive before this, he sure as hell has motive now! It’s clear that you’re controlling that situation.”

Iggy planted her hands on her hips. “Well what was I supposed to do? Let them arrest us?”

“We could have gotten you out of jail.”

“Me, yes. But what about Cael? He saved me! I wasn’t gonna let him get arrested. They wouldn’t understand! And with everything that’s going on right now, he’d sit and rot in jail before any judge took the time to listen.”

Cody inserted his face between mine and Iggy’s. “What the fuck am I missing?”

“Nothing!” Iggy and I declared simultaneously.

Cody threw up his hands before heading over to the breakfast bar to grab food. The reporter’s commentary suggested that I had rescued Iggy, but the fact that five people went down overshadowed everything else, including the men who’d been robbing the Walmart semi. Furthermore, my and Iggy’s faces were now recognizable to the public.

Wesley turned and looked toward the lobby. “The manager.”

We ran out of the breakfast nook and up to the front desk in a panic. The same guy from last night had returned. At the sight of our expressions, he threw his arms up into the air and exclaimed, “I didn’t report you! I swear it! Don’t shoot me!” He licked his lips nervously. “The story about you guys was on last night. If I wanted to turn you in, I would have done it already!” He lowered his elbows to his sides. “My boyfriend was arrested six months ago for indecent exposure and possession of an illegal substance. They were bogus charges. I
hate
the law.” He breathed, “I didn’t blab. I swear on the life of my late Aunt Beatrice!”

Iggy put her hand on Wesley’s arm and nudged. “Come on. Let’s get going.” He took off down the hallway, and Iggy gave the manager a sympathetic look. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

He shrugged. Iggy and I followed Wesley, but instead of going into her own room, Iggy followed me into mine. Once the door was closed, she said, “Don’t panic, Cael. We’ll just stay low and no one will arrest you. Keep in mind that everything is crazy right now, and cops are too busy to be on the lookout for one man who didn’t even kill anyone.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “And it’s good news that those two guys you shot are still alive, right? You don’t have to feel guilty.”

I sank onto the end of a bed. “But the point is that I’m going to eventually be arrested and prosecuted. I shot two men, Iggy. There’s no denying it. And I still feel bad that I hurt them.”

“It was self-defense. And they lived. It’s clear that you saved me.”

“Even if you testify that you were kidnapped, I’ll still get jail time.” I massaged my temples. “I’m only twenty years old. Shit! I don’t want to go to jail.”

Iggy knelt down in front of me and took my hand in hers. “You won’t go to jail. I won’t let it happen.”

“You have no control over the law, Iggy.”

She lifted one arched eyebrow. “Don’t I?”

Once I understood what she meant, I surged to my feet. “Never mind. I’m done discussing this. Go pack your stuff and let’s get going.”

“I take care of the people who have taken care of me, Cael.”

Wes interjected, “Now is not the time for this conversation.”

I told her, “If you’re thinking about what I think you are, stop it.”

“What good am I if I can’t help the innocent?”

“Go pack, Iggy!” Wes said.

Once she’d left, I went to my room and started throwing stuff into my back pack while mumbling under my breath. She was crazy. She’d screw up the rest of her life! The world didn’t need another martyr. I didn’t need the guilt.

Cody brought up a cart, and we threw everything onto it, rushing to the car. Whether or not the manager had said something to someone, we needed to get out of there.

Chapter 10

Cael

Iggy spent a chunk of time arguing with her Dad and Kim over the phone while we continued up the interstate. She ended up having to tell them the whole story, and they weren’t taking it well. They demanded she return to the farm, but she flat out refused. In the end, she hung up on her dad, but then he called Wesley. Though Wes was much calmer when speaking with Kim and Chris, he knew Iggy wouldn’t change her mind, so he didn’t bother to harass her about it. He did, however, promise her parents that he would personally keep them better informed.

After several minutes of silence, Wesley, who was occupying the front passenger's seat, asked me a question so quietly that I wasn't sure I'd heard it. I glanced over at him with a confused expression, and he repeated the question: "So, you just accept Iggy's abilities with no problems? It's all cool?"

"It's not exactly that easy. Honestly? I’m cool with Iggy, but my understanding of what the two of you can do is kind of limited by the laws of science and physics as I've understood them my entire life. I’m still trying to believe." My gaze fell to my bandaged fingers.

He nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

From the back seat, Cody said, "Will somebody please tell me this secret you all seem to know? I'm feeling a little left out here."

Iggy playfully crooned, "Aww. Poor baby. You're feeling left out?"

Cody took advantage of the moment. He slumped and gave her the pouting little boy look I'd seen him use on plenty of women — the giant who was troubled and insecure. Somehow I didn't think Iggy would fall for it. He said, "I'm feeling like a fifth wheel."

Iggy teased, "Well, it’s top secret. I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

"Iggy," Wesley warned.