Whiplash: A Sports Romance (41 page)

Dani steps forward to take it but I snatch it away from her and drop it into the bag with the rest of it.

Caleb chuckles. “If you get busted with it, you didn’t get it from me.”

“As always,” I mutter. “Come on, Dani.”

“And if I don’t get my Model 60 back, I’ll kill you myself.”

I shrug. “I’d just come back.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Dani lingers behind me and waves to Caleb. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Take care of him for me,” Caleb replies, flashing a quick wave in return.

Dani gives her a short smile before following me outside. “What did she mean by that?” she asks me.

“Nothing,” I answer, popping the trunk open and setting the black bag inside.

Dani hovers over my shoulder with her arms crossed. “I sensed some friction there…” she hums. “You wanna talk about it?”

“It’s not what you think.”

She slides in closer as I inspect the bag. I grab the bowie knife and smile at the ankle holster Caleb tossed inside, along with enough extra ammo to take down a small army. That’s her style, I suppose. All or nothing.

“Did you two have some sordid, desert love affair or something?” Dani asks.

“No,” I answer, zipping it closed.

She scoffs. “Oh, come on.”

“We didn’t,” I claim. “She and Boxcar, however…”

“Who’s Boxcar?”

I close the trunk. “Boxcar is our next stop.”

“The guy in Denver that can decrypt the drive?” I nod and gesture for her to get back in the car. We walk around opposite sides and climb in. “What happened between them?”

“Caleb and I met Boxcar in Afghanistan during my second tour.” I start the car and the engine roars with life. “We received intel that an American journalist with knowledge of a secret weapons cache was being held captive in a warehouse in Kabul. We go in but find nothing. No enemy combatants, no weapons, no journalist. Just Boxcar and his laptop. The roof collapsed on the building, trapping him inside. Turns out, he hacked our equipment with a distress signal so we’d come dig him out.”

Her eyes narrow. “Why make up a story about a weapons cache?”

“Because he thought we wouldn’t come otherwise.” I shrug. “Honestly, he was right.”

“I can’t imagine the top brass being happy about him wasting their time.”

“Oh, they weren’t. Boxcar was a
good
hacker but hacking government equipment is generally considered a no-no. Instead of shipping him back to the States to do jail time, they assigned him to our unit as a
civilian intelligence freelancer
.”

“And he and Caleb hit it off?”

“Not at first,” I chuckle. “Box is a bit of a card but by far the smartest person I’ve ever met. And Caleb… she doesn’t fuck around.”

Dani smiles. “I got that vibe.”

“Last I heard they were done but if you talk to them separately you can just see it. They aren’t really done.”

“Sounds romantic.”

“Try telling them that.”

We take off down the road, passing through early-morning traffic at a snail’s pace. Dani leans back in her seat, her eyes flush with deep, silent thoughts until we make it out of Los Angeles. Every so often, her eyelids flutter closed and she leans her head against the window. She didn’t sleep much last night. Neither did I.

Even now, in the most innocent and vulnerable of poses, I can’t keep my eyes off of her. I’m not sure why I lied to her last night. Here we are, closer in proximity than we’ve ever been in our lives and there’s no one around to intervene. We could have picked up where we left off five years ago and part of me thinks she wanted to. Maybe it was just the booze in her or the adrenaline from getting attacked but there was something in her eyes. I don’t want to act on it in case I have it all wrong.

I can’t imagine losing her twice in one lifetime.

***

“Can I drive?”

My eyes drift left to look inside the window of a passing truck. “No,” I answer. There’s a man driving it with a small girl in the passenger seat. No real threat there.

“Why not?”

I look at Dani. Her sunglasses sit on top of her head, buried inside the short, black bob. She was passed out asleep just ten minutes ago, but her eyes show a fresh, wakeful enthusiasm now. “Because no.”

“That’s not a reason.”

“You’ve never heard Bennett say
because I said so
before?” I joke.

“Of course. It’s his catchphrase.”

“Do you even have a driver’s license?”

“I do, actually!” she says, chuckling softly.

“Have you ever used it?” Fast movement brings my eyes to the rearview mirror. A black car makes a dangerous pass around a vehicle a few hundred yards behind us. I grip the wheel, preparing for the worst.

“A few times,” Dani answers. “Although, come to think of it, I’m not exactly sure where it is…”

I laugh. “All the more reason to let me drive, Dani.” The same black car revs its engine and weaves around us. The driver is young. Male. Red, puffy eyes. Not an assassin. Just an idiot. I loosen my grip on the wheel.

Dani lays her head back in defeat. “Can I listen to the radio then?”

“I’d prefer silence.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to concentrate.” I glance over at her again. She bends forward to slip her shoes and socks off. “You should leave those on, just in case.”

“Fox, it’s been almost eight hours,” she points out. She stretches out her tiny toes, wiggling them free. I force myself not to stare at the ballerina-like arches of her feet. “If someone were following us, we would probably know by now.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

“How so?”

“Dani, please just sit quietly and let me do what I do.”

She laughs, throwing her head back. “Damn, Fox…”

“What?”

“So serious.”
Her laughter continues.

“How you find this so amusing, I’ll never understand.”

“I’m sorry…” She tries to stop laughing but her lips twitch. “I don’t know why I’m laughing… This is all just so…”

“Surreal?” I suggest.

“Fun.”

I look at her with wide eyes.
“Fun?”

“Not
fun
,” she says, biting her lip. “Just… I don’t know what I mean. I guess that says something about my life, though, doesn’t it? Having a near-death experience is what it takes for me to have
fun
.”

“Oh, come on. You have access to everything in the world. Any girl would kill to be in your shoes.”

Her smile drops. “I can’t argue with that.” She falls silent and looks out the window. The setting sun casts an orange glow on her face, but I catch the darkness hiding behind her blue eyes.

I look back to the road and my stomach lurches with hunger. Has it really been eight hours? I’ve forgotten how quickly time flies when all my senses are on full alert. “You hungry?” I ask.

“Starving.”

I smile. “Okay. We’ll stop soon.”

“How much further do we have?”

“We’re about halfway to Denver,” I answer. “We should get there around two or three in the morning—”

“Can we stop for the night?”

I shake my head. “We should continue through the night, Dani.”

“You’re exhausted, Fox.”

“I’m fine.”

“Fox…” she leans over and points at her face, “look at who you’re talking to. I’m Roxie Roberts. I know a little something about exhaustion and even more, I know what it looks like when you try to hide it. The only difference is that
I
have a fully-staffed cosmetic team to hide the dark circles under
my
eyes.” Her finger swoops around her face, drawing little ovals beneath her lashes.

I glance up at the rearview mirror. She’s right. I might not feel it now but once the buzz in my nerves wears off, I’m sure I will. “We’ll see how I feel after we eat.”

“Or you can just let me drive.”

“No.”

She laughs. “Damn, I thought that would work…”

I smile and look over at her again. She lays her head back with her eyes drifting out the window. Her lips stay locked in an upturned grin, almost like she doesn’t even realizing she’s smiling. I’m scared to look away, knowing that sooner or later it’ll fade along with this moment.

Fun, eh?
It’s been a while since I’ve had it. I almost didn’t recognize it myself.

***

“Pancakes
, please.” Dani’s eyes grow wide as she says it, displaying a powerful desire hidden behind her shades.

“Coming right up.” The waitress flashes a strategic, tip-bait smile and walks away to put our order in.

I take a long sip of coffee, relishing in the caffeine boost. “Pancakes, eh?”

Dani slides her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose. “Dad rarely lets me have carbs,” she explains. “I might as well have them while I still can.”

I lean back in the booth. “Why do you let Bennett control you so much?”

Her eyes fall. “
Let
is a pretty strong word.”

“Dani, you have more than enough means to cut him off. It’s not like either of you will be on the street if you do.”

“I just…” Her teeth scratch her bottom lip. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

“No, tell me,” I urge.

She takes her time. Her elbows bend and move as she slides her palms along her thighs beneath the table. “I don’t know anything else. He’s all I have and… he’s done a pretty good job at reminding me of that fact.”

Classic Bennett. What better way is there to keep a leash on her than to give her no other alternative than to follow? “You’ll adapt,” I say. “The world isn’t as scary as he makes it out to be.”

“Says the former contract killer,” she quips.

“You know what I mean.”

“That’s the thing, though, isn’t it? I really don’t.” She pushes her sagging sunglasses back up her nose. “I was born in L.A. If I ever make it back, I’ll probably die there, too.”

“There are worse ways to die.
Trust me.
”

“You’re right.” She nods softly as she runs a fingertip along the edge of her coffee mug. “I just wish my life didn’t feel so manufactured. And it’s not like I can complain about it either. If I even try to express an ounce of negativity, people just brush it off.
What the hell does she have to complain about? Look at her.
” She lets out a hard exhale. “They forget there’s an actual person beneath that spotlight.”

“You have a
good
life, Dani,” I whisper, grasping for ways to comfort her.

She tilts her head. “Yeah, but… is it really a life when someone else makes all of your decisions for you? Honestly, the choice between pancakes or waffles was the biggest decision I’ve made since…
ever
. I almost asked for your opinion.”

“I would have gone with waffles.”

She smiles and little dimples cave on her chin. “Well, shit…”

“Forget about all of that stuff.” I smile back without thinking. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. You don’t have to be anyone but Dani out here. Especially not with me.”

She scoffs. “Don’t pretend like you don’t see Roxie Roberts staring back every time you look over here.”

“You’ve never been Roxie to me.” I bite my tongue, feeling like I’ve gone too far. Her eyes flick up at me over the tops of her shades and her cheeks turn red. Definitely too far. “I mean…” I shrug and grab my coffee. “You’re my little sister, you know?”

Dani clears her throat. Her eyes drop to the table. “Yeah, I know.”

“All right!”

I lurch slightly as the waitress appears at the booth. “One bacon cheeseburger with fries and some pancakes.” She lays the plates down in front of us, along with a container of maple syrup for Dani. “Is there anything else I can get you two?”

“No, thanks,” I answer. Dani shakes her head with a kind smile.

“Enjoy.” She wanders off again.

Dani grabs the syrup and pours a healthy amount over the small stack of carbohydrate heaven. “I refuse to not enjoy this,” she mutters, squeezing even more from the bottle. It seeps to the edges of the plate before she finally stops and readies her fork.

I smile. It can’t be helped.
This
is Dani; the girl I knew before she was molded and shaped through the Hollywood filter. “Hey—” She looks up at me as I slide the edge of my plate towards hers. I nudge it a bit closer until she snags a fry and crushes it between her teeth.

“Oh, my god…”
Her eyelids flutter closed. “I miss fries.”

I chuckle and pull my plate back.

***

I decide to get some rest and continue on to Denver in the morning.

I can easily manage the rest of the trip, but there’s something about extending it that just feels so damn tempting. It’s dangerous as hell. Getting this file decrypted is priority number one. Taking Mercer’s focus off of Dani is everything. And yet…

I don’t know. Maybe this
is
a little fun.

Dani lies on the other bed with the television remote in one hand, surfing away at the limited channels available. She’s on her side with her head propped up on her other hand. Her feet dangle off the side, connected to perfect, smooth legs. She slipped out of her jeans and into my big shirt again the second we arrived and it’s taking everything in me not to gawk at her.

“Uh-oh…” Dani points to the television.

A national news channel flashes a photo of her face, along with an older one of mine.
ROXIE ROBERTS KIDNAPPED BY STEPBROTHER.

“Looks like Bennett is going all out with this…” I mutter.

“He must
really
hate you,” she says.

“Always has.”

She clicks away from the channel. I stand up from my own bed and walk to the window for a distraction, but there’s not much to see out here. It’s the most secluded, rundown motel I saw off the road. I guess it’s all my fault that there’s nothing else to look at other than her perky—

Dani lets out an exasperated moan and my ears twitch. “You’d figure there’d be something decent on. What else do people have to do around here?” I glance at her as she rolls onto her back. Her chest rises and falls. “A-ha!”

I blink out of it. “What?”