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“There you go again with your ‘I’m fines’ and your ‘don’t worry about its’.
You’re
the one who has a problem talking about personal stuff.”

“You know what? I’m up for a jog. How about you guys?” She spoke loudly and turned her head so Cody could hear.

“Aw, shit. Really?” Cody whined, looking up at the sky.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I told her.

“And I don’t care what you think, Cael. Feel free to walk. I’d enjoy the time without you around.”

She started to jog. I said, “Is this your idea of running away from me?”

“Yes!” she called over her shoulder. “The sooner we get to Sweetwater, the sooner I get home, and the sooner I can avoid
you
!”

Cody jogged past me. “Way to go, asshat.”

He caught up with her, and I watched the two of them settle into a steady running rhythm. A minute later, they were already a good distance from me. “Shit,” I muttered and ran my hands through my wet hair, wanting to yank it out. “Shit, shit, shit!” I ran hard to catch up and then I slowed so that I remained a fair distance behind them. I usually enjoyed running, so I settled easily into a rhythm that would see me through the miles and started thinking. Other than my parents, these two were the people I cared about most in the world, and they both hated me right now. I knew Cody would get over it, but I didn’t know about Iggy.

I expected her to wear down and start walking after a while. But to my surprise, she kept going mile after mile, even as the drizzling turned into a torrential downpour and my muscles felt fatigued. I knew she was a former athlete, but she was apparently still in great shape, especially for a person with a split forehead and a broken nose. And if all this running made her dizzy and she passed out, it would serve her right. She’d probably triggered a massive nosebleed by now. She was angry with me, and she was trying to prove a point. So what if she had a concussion? She probably also had a serious headache too. No big deal. She
should
suffer the consequences of her actions. What did I care?

But, I did care. Picturing her face covered with blood, I sprinted to catch up. “Are you doing okay?”

Cody said, “I’m fine.”

“Not
you
.” I tapped Iggy on the shoulder. “Are you feeling okay?” My answer was her sprinting forward before settling back into her previous stride.

“You are the most stubborn, mule-headed person I’ve ever known!” I yelled at her. She flipped me off.

A red-faced Cody said, “I consider myself to be in good shape, but I’m dying here. And she’s not even breathing heavy.” He caught his breath before continuing, “Please stop trying to make her mad before she forces us to run another five miles.”

“If it’s any consolation, that sign back there read Sweetwater is less than five miles away.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” he puffed. And he made it about another mile before slowing down to a fast walk. He said, “Go on. I’ll catch up.”

“Iggy!” I called. But she either didn’t hear me, or she was ignoring me. I told Cody, “I’ll go get her.” He waved me on, and I sprinted again to catch up with her. When I was within arm’s length, I shouted, “Cody can’t run anymore.” She ignored me. “Iggy. You might be angry with me, but Cody didn’t do anything wrong. Are you just going to leave him behind?”

She stopped so suddenly, I nearly ran into her. “No.” And then she turned around and jogged back to Cody. When she reached him, Iggy matched his walking pace and said, “That was awesome, Cody. We were doing nine minute miles. According to my watch, we’ve covered almost eight miles.”

“Greeaat,” he exhaled. “Can we
walk
now?”

Iggy patted him on the back. “Yep. We’re almost there.” She held up her open hand. “Good job.” He gave her a high five.

She ignored me.

A few minutes later, Cody looked sheepish when he said, “Iggy. Your head is bleeding.”

“I know.” She took the rag out of her pocket and held it to the wound.

When we crossed the interstate, I was relieved to see a sign for the hospital. It was downtown; not much further. I was glad, because Iggy was very pale. After the flush from her run had worn off, she didn’t look like she felt well. And when Cody slowed down and she trudged alongside him, I started to worry even more. I had been walking next to Cody, but I crossed over to sandwich Iggy between us. I thought she might order me to go back to where I was, but she just kept moving forward without acknowledging my existence.

A few minutes later, she pointed. “Look. There’s a hotel. Is it open?”

“I think so,” Cody answered.

“Good. I am so ready for a shower.”

“Not until you’ve seen a doctor,” I told her.

She squared her shoulders and glared at me. “I don’t need a doctor.”

“Yes, you do.”

“I just need to rest.”

Cody interrupted, “Please just have a doctor take a look at you, Iggy. You look like you’re in rough shape.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“That does it,” I snapped. “You’re going to the hospital if I have to carry you!” I bent over and lifted her over my shoulder.

“Put me down, Cael.”

The more she wriggled, the tighter I held on. We continued down the street and past the hotel with her protesting the entire time. Finally, she stopped fighting. “Okay, okay. Put me down and I’ll go. Whatever.”

Near the ER, I pulled my hood up over my head. “I’m going to look around while Cody asks about my mom and dad.” I pointed to a bench. “I’ll wait for you over there.”

Iggy asked, “You think someone will recognize me from that news report?”

“You were a hostage who ended up standing around staring at people. You haven’t committed a crime. If anyone presses you about your involvement with me, just tell them I kidnapped you and you don’t know who I am or where I’m at.”

Cody waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “They’re probably way too swamped to remember a news story from a couple days ago. Besides, you look like a soaked rag doll with a swollen nose. Not the person who was on the news.”

Chapter 14

Cael

Four hours later, Iggy was in the shower and I was stuck under a bedspread while Cody washed clothes in the hotel’s guest laundry facility. Since our backpacks had been stolen along with everything else, we had no change of clothes. So when Iggy emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I realized I probably had an hour or so of waiting before she would be dressed again. Even with stitches and a swollen nose, my brain couldn’t stop thinking about how attractive she was. This was neither the time nor the place for thoughts like that, so I warned her to look away, and I padded naked into the bathroom.

By the time I got out, Cody still wasn’t back with our clothes and my stomach was growling. With a towel wrapped tightly around my hips, I headed for the tiny kitchenette and fixed myself a glass of water. Iggy was sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching television. While I appreciated the space that came with our king bed suite at the regular room price, I still wanted to sit right down beside her. And though she would probably think I was doing it simply to antagonize her, I sat beside her anyway.

She glanced at me before stiffening her spine. I mumbled, “You’re probably feeling a lot better since you got a bag of IV fluid. You don’t look so pale anymore.”

“Yeah, I feel better. But I’m still tired. I tried to lie down while you were in the shower, but I couldn’t fall asleep. I think I’m too hungry to sleep.”

I smiled at her comment and glanced down at her bare legs. She held out the remote control for me to take, but I shook my head. “Let’s see your stitches.” She turned her head, and I took her chin between my fingers to tip her face toward the light. “That’s a nasty looking bruise you’ve got there.”

She smiled nervously and swallowed. “I can’t breathe out of my nose. I hope I don’t snore so loudly that it keeps you and Cody up all night.”

I released her chin. “Are you still mad at me?”

Iggy shrugged. “A little. Are you still mad at
me
?”

I sat back and said too forcefully, “No, I’m not mad at you.”

Iggy wrapped her bare arms around her waist, and the action drew my attention to her delicate collar bones. “Liar.”

“Are you going to tell me why you’re scared to wear a seat belt?”

She bit her lip and averted her gaze. “Probably not.”

“If you don’t talk to me about stuff, I won’t understand your choices. And then you’ll get mad at me for being mad at you for not being careful.” When she didn’t respond, I dragged a hand through my hair and leaned closer to her. “It scared the shit out of me when you hit the windshield. Maybe it doesn’t bother you much, but I watched it happen. You didn’t see it like I did.”

Iggy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Jensen strapped me down to tables and chairs and blindfolded me.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I couldn’t see the people who came by to whisper threats in my ears or stick needles in my arms. Sometimes I was stuck there for days at time.” Her eyelids fluttered open, and the fear and sadness in her eyes was overwhelming. “I…I don’t want to talk about it, Cael. But that’s why I can’t wear seat belts. I can’t even go to amusement parks and ride roller coasters. Anything that ties me down or pins me in place triggers panic attacks.”

I had no idea what to say. I just stared at her, shocked and angry, until she looked down at her lap and I realized I was making her squirm. Finally, I dragged a hand through my hair and told her, “Iggy, I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m glad you told me. I understand now. I just…” I shook my head. “It’s my fault you got hurt. You could have died. If I’d hit the truck, you could’ve gone through the windshield.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t hit it then.”

“But if I hadn’t been following so closely, I wouldn’t have had to slam on the brake, and you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“You weren’t following too closely. It was my fault. Not yours.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Think about it. If I could have managed to wear the belt, then I wouldn’t have gotten hurt. And if I hadn’t gotten hurt, we wouldn’t have been robbed.” She gave an angry shake of her head. “I could’ve stopped all four of those guys so easily, Cael. One look and I could’ve taken them down. Things could have turned out so differently.”

I leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “I should never have brought any of you with me. You’re hurt. Wesley’s gone. Cody’s been through hell. My parents aren’t in any of the surrounding hospitals, and I’m going to go to jail. And for what? I could have looked around without putting all of you in danger. It was stupid. I didn’t think things through before I acted.”

“And I completely failed in my purpose. I was supposed to protect everyone. I was supposed to be useful. Helpful. All I did was cause problems right from the start. It’s my fault you shot two people. My stupid paranoia got us robbed. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”

“You are so frustrating.”

“Well, I guess things haven’t changed much since we were kids then.”

Her eyes lowered to focus on my lips. I moved toward her. “A
lot
has changed since we were kids, Iggy.”

She sank back into the cushions. “We’re older. I don’t think I’m as mean.”

“And instead of wanting to run away from you, I want to kiss you.”

“You do?” she whispered, looking up at me through long lashes.

“I think about it all the time.” Iggy licked her lips, and the movement drew my attention to them. And when her lips parted slightly and she inhaled, I reached out to pull her close.

And then someone pounded on the door.

We jumped apart. I stood up and walked over to look through the peep hole. “Why didn’t you use your key?” I asked Cody as I opened the door.

“No free hands,” he said, balancing a brown paper bag in each arm while grinning. He breezed past me and declared, “You guys are gonna love me now.”

Iggy came over to the table where Cody set the bags. He started pulling out cans of food, a bag of potato chips, two packages of hot dogs, buns, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. He even had a microwave safe dish, some plastic silverware, and a can opener.

“And now for the
pièce de résistance,
” he said, reaching into the second bag. He pulled out a bottle of Grey Goose like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat. “Aha!” he exclaimed. “Am I good, or am I
good
?”

“How did you get all this stuff?” Iggy asked, wide eyed.

“While I was waiting for the clothes to dry, I went in search of someone who still thought money was worth something. Of course, this feast cost me a small fortune, but I think it will be worth it.”

Iggy threw her arms around Cody and he hugged her back, laughing.

I grimaced. “Exactly how much was it?”