Page 21 of First Sight

“What if it wasn’t the first time?” I ask out loud, finally finding my voice.

Nathan doesn’t look surprised at my question, probably thinking the same thing already. “They rigged a bunch of scrap metal together, and it looked very homemade, but it could’ve just been one of many. It’s hard to say how many rounds of trial and error they went through before they got it right…” His voice trails off, seemingly lost in thought, his gaze lingers out the windshield toward my car still sitting in front of us.

Like lightning, his eyes snap to his side mirror as we both hear a vehicle approaching, his focus instantly lazer sharp. I turn around to see a truck coming up the road, slowing down as it approaches. Nathan pulls a gun from his waistband that I didn’t realize he had, holding it across his lap as the truck stops right next to our driver’s side door. The driver rolls his window down, staring at me and Nathan expectantly.

“Do you recognize this guy?” He asks me quietly.

“No, I’ve never seen him before.” Nathan nods at me, rolling his window down.

“Did you guys still need a tow? I meant to be by here a couple hours ago but got held up,” The driver says loudly over the sound of his engine. Nervously glancing around, I finally notice the tow equipment on the back.

“We didn’t call about a tow.” Nathan’s deep voice is completely calm, making me wonder if he ever gets rattled.

The driver looks up towards my car, and then back down at his paperwork, “Well somebody did, that’s the right color and description.”

The driver stares, like he’s waiting for Nathan to change his mind, like we’re the ones who have it wrong.

“We’re all good here, we don’t need it towed,” he says plainly in a no nonsense tone. I imagine his face is just as convincing, because the driver clears his throat, setting his paperwork back down in his passenger seat.

“I’ll mark it in the book, give the office a call if you need anything else.” The driver doesn’t wait for a response from Nathan this time, he pulls back onto the interstate without even checking for oncoming vehicles.

“So… Someone was trying to get my car towed?” I ask, rhetorically.

“Looks that way.” Nathan wipes a hand across his face, turning to me as he reholsters the gun I forgot he was holding.

I unintentionally stare as his shirt raises a couple inches, exposing the bare skin right above his waistband. He pushes the gun into the holster until it clicks, his jeans tugging down slightly from the pressure, giving me a peak at the black band of his underwear and the trail of hair that disappears underneath it.

I swear my mouth waters. Why was that the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen?

But, more importantly, why am I obsessing over Nathan when I could still have people out there trying to kill me?

I know the answer. Nathan is the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. I need him to do something terrible, kick a kitten, yell at me, anything to break this trance I’m in everytime I’m near him. I turn towards my window so he doesn’t notice how red my cheeks are again.

“Are you gonna be okay to drive your car back to my house?” He asks me, All traces of anger are gone, back is the soothing deep voice I’ve come to crave.

I turn to face him, but it suffocates me. He’s angled toward me, one arm thrown over the steering wheel, the other leaning on the center console. I feel like a little girl crushing on him like this, but he’s so masculine, so breathtakingly good looking, I have butterflies constantly. A sensation I haven’t had since I was a teenager, and I know those boys weren’t anywhere close to impressive like Nathan is.

I’m such an idiot. I’m a grown woman and I shouldn’t be nervous talking to a handsome man. Something I’ve never had an issue with, until now, since every other man I’ve met is put to shame by him. In looks and personality.

Realizing I still haven’t answered him, I clear my throat, “Yeah as long as I can follow you so I don’t get lost.”

“Don’t worry, I’d never let that happen,” he gives me a small grin, making my stomach do a somersault. Does he even realize what he’s doing to me?

Chapter Eighteen

Nathan

Walking Callie to her car, I can feel my chest tightening. “Stay right behind me. If anything seems wrong, honk at me and I’ll pull over. Got it?”

She smiles at the use of my now regular catchphrase, “Got it.”

She gets in, starting it as I shut her door, pointing to the lock. She understands my signal and hits her automatic lock buttons.

She’s okay, she’ll be okay. We just have to get back home where it’s safer. My thumb digs at my sternum, trying to dislodge the pressure.

I get back in my truck and after looking both ways, I pull back into the interstate to head back the way we came, coasting until Callie gets right behind me. She’s right there, yet she feels a mile away. The unpredictableness of what could happen, all the external variables, almost made me say fuck it, and tow her car so she could stay in the safety of my truck. With me.

I stay on high alert the entire way home, and luckily, we don’t run into any issues. We make it back to the cabin within the hour and I can finally breathe easier.

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