Talon (Uncompromising #1)(69)
I held my hand up. “I’m not leavin’ her, I’m makin’ a point. And before you judge me, think about who we’re dealin’ with.” I drove another block and turned.
Three minutes later I’d circled around and pulled up alongside a hitchhiking Kendall.
I lowered my window and slowed my speed to match hers.
“Back so soon?” she asked sweetly.
“You ready to behave?” I countered.
“By behave, if you mean not to ask questions about your girlfriend, her boyfriend, his father or the motorcycle gang they belong to that’s at war with a drug cartel, then yes.” She sighed. “I’ll behave.”
It was as good as I was going to get. I stopped the car and got out so she could get in back but not before giving her a warning glare.
She lasted two miles before she spoke. “So, where are we going on vacation?”
“Miami.”
“What’s my second choice?”
“The side of the road.” I glanced at Siren but she was studiously staring out the window. I feared any rapport I’d established with her on the way to Kendall’s was now gone.
“Is your little boy toy André going to be in Miami?”
My cell vibrated and I answered it, not bothering to give Kendall a reply.
“You got her?” Candle asked.
“Yeah. You owe me.”
“Here’s your payback. A group of LCs haven’t shown up at the compound. Most of them are Randy’s friends, so watch out. I heard he was dead, but I can’t confirm that so watch your back.”
“I can,” I replied.
“What?”
“Confirm.”
“Shit. Maldonado’s men?”
“Nope.”
“Then who?”
I didn’t answer.
“All right, I hear you.” Candle let out a sigh. “I don’t know anyone who will be too torn up about it, least of all his old man.”
I was done talking. “You got forty-eight hours to clear your shit up then I’m done babysittin’.”
Candle chuckled. “She already getting to you?”
“Two days,” I repeated.
“Fine. Don’t tell me where you’ll be. I’ll call you.”
“Wasn’t plannin’ on it.” I hung up and glanced at Siren as I pulled onto the highway. “Siren?”
“Yeah?” she asked quietly.
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
Bullshit. Her voice had gone distant and she wouldn’t look at me. “It’s late and we’ve got a few hours, why don’t you catch a nap?”
“Is your arm okay? Do you need me to drive?”
“What’s wrong with his arm?” Kendall asked.
I said “Nothing” at the same time Siren said “He got shot.”
I was looking at Kendall in the rearview mirror when she opened her mouth. She saw my expression and sighed. “This is me not asking about all the taboo subject matters but if you’re shot, should you be driving?”
“Yes.”
“Ohh-kay.” Kendall settled back in her seat. “I’m going to sleep. Wake me if you get shot again, or food arrives.”
Shit. I hadn’t thought about food and I had no idea if Siren had eaten dinner. “You hungry, Siren?”
“No, thank you.”
I took on speed and set the cruise control. “Let me know if that changes.”
She leaned her head back but she didn’t answer me.
An hour later, Kendall was horizontal in the backseat, sound asleep and Siren was either ignoring me or pretending to be asleep.
“Hey,” I said quietly. “You awake?”
“Yes.” She shifted her injured leg but she didn’t look over at me. “Would you like me to drive?”
“I’m good. You wanna talk?”
She continued to stare out the window. “About?”
“Anythin’, everythin’. Hell, I dunno, ask me one of your famous twenty questions.” Being this close to her, smelling her sweet scent, driving for an hour and thinking, I wasn’t mad at her anymore for what she’d said to Randy. I just wanted to fucking touch her. Even to simply feel her hand in mine.
“What was your mother like?” she asked without an ounce of curiosity.
“Short and sweet unless you crossed her, then she was a hellion. Can I tell you somethin’?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t share my shit, with anyone. Every piece of information I give you ’bout my past is another piece of information I’ve never told anyone. I can appreciate that you’re vulnerable as hell being in a car with the man who killed your boyfriend, but you gotta understand, you ain’t the only one.”