Deserted - Cara Dee Page 0,48
me,” Gray whispered hoarsely.
Darius nodded and combed back Gray’s hair with his fingers. It was a soft touch that sent a shiver through the discomfort of everything else. “You and me, somewhere else,” he murmured. “You got this. You’re stronger than you think.”
Gray sucked in a shaky breath and held it, then let it out slowly. And he reached out blindly for Jayden, thankful beyond words when he wrapped his fingers around a small wrist. He needed them both close.
“It’s time to feel better now,” Jayden whispered in his ear. “I’ll hug you, okay? I’ll hug you. You gotta feel better.” His arms came around Gray’s chest, or almost, and he rested his head on Gray’s shoulder. “Please feel better now.”
Gray did feel better. He was starting to, anyway. Because these two guys knew how to steal his attention better than anyone else.
“Come on, let’s get you some fresh air.” Darius stood up and pulled Gray with him. “Focus on breathing. You have your anxiety meds in the car, right?”
He wasn’t a big fan of those but acknowledged now wasn’t the time to argue. He needed to clear his brain and power down.
On the way to the Jeep, Darius promised to take care of Jayden and that they’d be out of here soon.
Gray’s head was swimming, and he only resurfaced in an instinctive jerk when Darius went to open the passenger’s side door. Instead, Gray went with the back seat. He pushed some of their belongings down onto the floor and then collapsed across the seats, his feet sticking out.
Darius reached inside the car with a bottle of water and a pill.
Gray had no energy left. He merely stared unseeingly at what Darius extended to him.
It made Darius switch tactics, and he rounded the car instead. He opened the other door, coming closer to Gray’s head, and bent down to place the pill between his lips.
“Take this for me, baby,” Darius murmured. “You need to rest. I’ll handle everything else, all right? We’ll be out of here soon. I’m just gonna take the Wagoneer on a quick test drive.”
“I can watch him,” Jayden offered.
That gave Gray enough strength to shake his head and swallow down the pill. “I’ll be fine,” he croaked. “Go with Darius.” At this point, buying that car would take less time than going to a rental place. Besides, Gray was past the period where everything shut down just because he had a panic attack. He only needed to rest for a while. Life went on, and he had to accept setbacks along the way.
“We’ll hurry.” Darius pressed a kiss to Gray’s forehead. “You okay?”
Gray managed a small nod against the seat cushion.
“Christ.” Darius blew out a breath and straightened up. “You got my chest in a vise, knucklehead.”
Sorry.
Eleven
When Gray woke up, it was dark. His cheek was half stuck to the leather of a tan-colored backrest. He blinked and saw a moonlit landscape out the window. Barren hills that were yellow and brown in the sun were pale blue now.
He winced. The seats were pretty low, and his neck was sore.
Were they in Monterey yet?
He remembered feeling mortified when Darius had helped him out of the Jeep they’d borrowed and into the old one Darius had just bought. The Bakersfield guys, or three of them, had been outside the garage, with the man in the suit, Austin, watching in concern. Gray also remembered that other guy, Cam, lifting his brows in surprise when Darius had wanted to pay with his debit card. Most people probably didn’t walk around with that much money ready to be spent, but most guys hadn’t just been hired to bring back a kidnapped person, and Darius hadn’t gotten around to transferring his payment to a savings account.
When all was said and done, Darius had driven Gray and Jayden out of Bakersfield in a new, very old car that he was ridiculously in love with already.
Gray, not so much. He grimaced and rubbed his neck as he straightened in his seat.
He scrubbed at his face, willing the sluggishness to fade.
“Hey.” Darius reached over and squeezed his leg. “You can sleep more. It’s only midnight.”
Gray frowned and looked over his shoulder. Jayden was asleep.
Facing forward again, Gray took in the pale interior and inhaled the new car smell…for this ancient car. Christ, the gearshift was behind the wheel, leaving the floor empty between them. There was only a soft-looking carpet.
Thing was, Gray had grown up with old cars. Mom still drove her decrepit