this place has got to be setting fire to your germ paranoia. How about we blow this joint and I take you home. You can crash in your own bed. Get some solid sleep. I’ll stick around. Make sure nobody tries to use you to settle Mitch’s debt again.”
Oh…God….YES.
The relief that flooded her at his suggestion was almost suffocating. Until she remembered why she was this far from home, and it had nothing to do with the lie she’d told him earlier. If he took her home, she’d have to start her journey to Dark Falls over again. Which meant an hour of wasted time. Plus she’d have to sneak away from him, which would be impossible if Brett was in watch dog mode.
“I don’t have a germ phobia,” she said, stalling for time. “I just have a healthy respect for cleanliness, as people should.”
His dry snort was a clear challenge to her statement. The sheer normalcy of the exchange felt off kilter, almost dreamlike.
“How about it?” He offered a crooked grin, and his blue eyes seemed to warm and soften. “You ready to go home?”
Yes, she was…God was she ever…but she couldn’t. Not yet.
It didn’t take much effort to feign confusion and exhaustion. “What about my car? This place isn’t safe to leave it.”
His eyebrows lifted as he stared back, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Namely, if it wasn’t safe to leave her car here, then it wasn’t safe to spend the night here either.
“We’ll move your car to a safer location, then take my truck back to San Diego. We’ll send one of the guys back tomorrow to bring your Nissan home.”
Damn, there went that line of excuses.
“Where’s Lucas, anyway? You two are usually attached at the hip,” she asked, stalling again, while she frantically scrambled for another reason she needed to stay put.
“He’s on his way.” Brett’s reply was clipped, his scowl back in full force.
Great. Not only was Brett onto her, she was about to get saddled with another protective watch dog.
“Grab your suitcase. I’m taking you home.” Pure challenge resonated in the order.
“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly put you out like that.” Talk about a weak comeback. She watched his face go still. His gaze went flat.
“Put me out? Did you forget I live in San Diego? What’s going on, Sarah? Do you want to spend the night in this dump?”
His voice was so level it dumped goosebumps down her spine. The long deliberate look he gave their surroundings loaded even more suspicion on the question.
Damn, he knew her too well. He knew this place had her skin crawling. The last thing she wanted was to stay here.
“I’m tired…I don’t want to drive another hour…” It was a last-ditch excuse. One she already knew he wouldn’t buy.
“Try again.” He was back to being neutral and suspicious. “I’d be driving. You could sleep. There’s no damn way you’ll be able to sleep in this place. You know it. I know it. We both also know you’d be perfectly safe at your house with me and Tram standing guard. You claim you’re not meeting Mitch, but you don’t want to leave. Just what the hell is going on?”
Great—he was full-on suspicious again. And she couldn’t think of a damn excuse to satisfy his reservations. It was time to offer enough of the truth to sound plausible.
Chapter Eleven
She was lying to him. Tag could see it in her eyes. They wouldn’t hold his gaze for more than a second or two, tops. The lie was in her fingers too, in the way they twisted and turned in her lap.
Her reasons for leaving her house were spot on. There could be other thugs out there willing to use her to make Mitch pay. Yeah, she could still be a target. Sarah was smart enough to know that. To know that getting out of her house made sense. Which made that excuse a good one—because she was lying about that too.
If taking off was only about protecting herself, she would have accepted his offer. She would have let him take her home and stand guard while she slept.
He didn’t doubt she was exhausted. Her face was white, her freckles vivid against her pale skin. Thick black bags shadowed the hollows beneath her eyes. She looked exhausted. She probably did want to get a good night’s sleep before hitting the road again.
But this was Sarah, and her OCD was riding her hard. She might be exhausted and drained