“Oh, then I guess that’s all right.” Suspiciously she glared at Vida, who decided the best thing to do was to ignore them both. Getting her nightclothes, she went into the bathroom, unable to hear the words exchanged between the two of them.
Vida wished just one time she could have an uneventful night without any of Colton’s fuck buddies coming and going. She was beginning to think the room at King’s wasn’t all that bad.
Coming out of the bathroom after she was dressed in her flannel pajamas and her hair brushed backed into a tight braid, she saw Colton leaning against the counter in the kitchen.
Ignoring him, she plucked her sheets and blankets from the closet and started making up the couch.
“I didn’t need you to butt in and explain anything to Tammy. It was none of her business.”
Vida shrugged. “Sorry, next time I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Finished, she laid down on the couch and pulled the blanket over her. “Could you turn off the light?”
Colton stood tautly for several seconds before walking to the light switch and turning it off.
Vida heard his footsteps leave the room and then turned on her side to make herself more comfortable. Trampling down the unexpected jealousy, it took several minutes to calm her nerves before she relaxed enough to fall asleep.
Vida woke the next morning, determined to finish the last of her course assignments. She set her computer up at the table and began her work only to stop long enough to fix herself a cup of coffee. She was so engrossed in her work, she wasn’t aware of Colton coming into the room. It was only when he sat down at the table across from her that she was drawn away from studying her book.
“When do your classes end?”
“This week,” Vida answered his question, watching as he took a drink of his coffee.
“After your class is over, I want you to leave town, find someplace to hole up. I’ll help King find Sawyer and bring her to you when I can.”
“Why would you become involved?”
“I’m already involved. It’s only a matter of time before Digger finds out you’re staying here. It will actually be easier for both of us if you leave town. It will draw Digger’s attention away from you.”
Disappointment filled Vida; she hadn’t thought that Colton would be worried about Digger coming after him. He was right, Digger knew everything going on in town, and he probably already knew that she was no longer staying at the club.
“You’re right, I didn’t think about your safety. We don’t have to wait until my class is over, I can—”
Colton set his cup down hard, spilling the remaining coffee over the side. “I’m not worried about Digger coming after me, but if he’s as smart as I know he is, the son of a bitch will know your classes are almost over. If you went missing, it would make all the papers, the headlines alone of a young college girl’s disappearance is the only thing holding him back. Once your classes are over, he can make you disappear and everyone will just think that you moved on. Exactly what you said you were going to do last night.”
Vida’s mouth snapped closed. What he was saying was the truth. She had even told a couple of her friends at school her plans.
“I can’t leave without Sawyer. We made a promise when we were kids that we would both leave town together. I can’t break my promise.”
“Dammit.” Colton brushed his hand through his already tumbled hair. “This is a fucked up mess.”
Vida silently agreed with him.
Standing up from the table, he wiped the spilt coffee from the table. “Get dressed; we’re going out.”
“Where to?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sick of being cooped up. I need some fresh air and, since I can’t leave you alone, that means you’re coming with me.”
Vida started to protest, but she hadn’t had a free day in so long she had forgotten what it was like simply to go out and have fun. Closing down her computer, she went into the bathroom and changed into jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Colton had dressed and was sitting on the chair in the living room waiting for her.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
It was early afternoon, so not many people were out on the roads. He drove them out of the city where the light traffic dwindled down until they only passed a car every so often. The scenery lulled Vida into forgetting her problems; the drawback was it increased her awareness of Colton. Sitting against his back with her thighs so close had her wanting things her mind refused to acknowledge. Her body on the other hand had a mind of its own.
He handled the bike expertly, making Vida wonder how he had learned to ride the bike so well in the city.