and squinted. “Let’s see. There was that one time in my imagination…”
Gray let out a laugh, and Darius quirked a wry grin.
Then he tossed a couple power banks into a bag and said, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Did you find any knives?”
“Um, yeah.” Gray carried them over to the island. “Can I ask why you’re showing me this warrior stash today?”
“I wanted you to see it.” Darius grunted as he jammed a medical kit into one of the bags. “In the wrong hands, it can do more harm than good, but I hope you trust me by now. And this, all this… I don’t know. I suppose I wanted you to see for yourself that I have what it takes to protect your freedom, especially when your flashbacks make you doubt it’s yours.”
I love you.
Gray smashed his lips together before the words tumbled out of him.
It didn’t feel like the right moment, when they were gearing up to go kill someone, but dammit if he didn’t want to tell Darius that he was so fucking in love with him.
Eighteen
By five in the morning the following day, Gray and Darius had Camassia Cove in their rearview.
The heavy-duty truck was loaded with survivalist gear, one ATV, and food. Stops would be avoided on the way down, including a night in a hotel. They’d find a campsite along the way and get some rest. But one way or another, they had approximately thirty hours to make it to Southern California, effectively eliminating the option of taking it easy. They’d drive in shifts and stop to stretch, basically.
It was Wednesday, and the clock was ticking.
Willow had checked Warren’s schedule and made sure he was working tomorrow, meaning he wouldn’t be making a quick trip to see Jackie today. She was ready to cause technical issues with his car if he got any ideas.
Gray yawned and took a sip of his coffee. He’d set up a spread on the wide console between the seats, complete with coffee in a thermos, sandwiches, and cinnamon roll bites. And on the floor of the back seat were two coolers of food that would keep them out of any restaurants along the way.
Both a time-saver and a way to ensure they didn’t end up on any unnecessary surveillance footage. It was enough that they’d have to stop for gas a few times. It was a gas guzzler of a truck.
“I’m not letting you make breakfast again when we get home.” Darius dipped into the bag of cinnamon roll bites and grabbed a couple pieces. “This shit’s dangerous.”
Gray grinned lazily and put up one foot on the glove box. “I like feeding my beast.”
“That beast of yours likes to be able to walk too,” he muttered.
Gray chuckled. “But you’re smoking less, aren’t you? It feels like it.”
Darius nodded with a dip of his chin. “I’m doing that thing I swore never to do.”
“What, try not to get cancer?”
“Yup.” Darius brushed some sugar off his fingers on his jeans. “A couple weeks ago when we worked out in the yard, you were doing squats. I counted them—twenty in each set—and I figured you’d rest in between like a normal person. But nah. That’s when you started doing backflips right where you stood.” He scratched his scruffy jaw while Gray cracked up. “You could say it put shit in perspective.”
Gray reached over and squeezed Darius’s leg. “I love that you’re trying. It means a lot to me. I wanna keep you around for a long time.”
Darius caught Gray’s hand and kissed his knuckles.
“You know what we gotta do when we get home?” Gray asked. He checked the rearview before he switched lanes to pass a band of trucks carrying lumber. “It starts with T and ends with omatoes.”
Darius smiled drowsily and clasped his hands over his stomach. “Finally. I’ll need a couple weeks to finish the greenhouse.”
“That’s fine. We’ll plant the seeds indoors first.” Gray had studied Darius’s plans for the property, and the empty half across the stream would be filled with crops. A greenhouse would take up about a third of the area, leaving enough space for produce like potatoes, carrots, and some other stuff. The greenhouse would essentially be reserved for temperature-sensitive plants and crops that grew aboveground. And there was a reason Gray had checked out Darius’s notes… “Speaking of, you have a birthday coming up soon.”
Darius furrowed his brow. “Who told you that?”
Willow. “That’s confidential.”
Darius snorted.
If this was his reaction now, wait till