Page 29 of Fastlander Fallen

“I’m sorry,” she said low.

“Don’t be.” He shook his head and tinked his glass of orange soda against hers. “When we get out of here, you can ask me anything you want. It’s just…”

“I get it. Busy bar, and you never know who is listening.”

His smile revealed a slight dimple on his left cheek, and he nodded once. “This is pretty good,” he admitted.

“It’s my favorite soda. This place has been here forever, and has a patio area out back that is family-friendly. Hallie and I used to spend summers here. We got Twisters every time we came here to eat, while our moms ordered beers, and we felt so cool. Now the sodas are a good memory.”

“How are you and Hallie related?” he asked, leaning onto the counter so he could be more eye-level with her. He had short, dark scruff on his face, and his eyes were ice blue—they seemed to glow from the middles out. His jawline was chiseled, and the curves of his shoulders were pushing against his black T-shirt, and she had to concentrate to not get distracted by his sexiness.

She cleared her throat to give herself an extra few seconds to clear her head. “Um, our moms are sisters. Her parents split when she was young, and Hallie spent most of her time with her mom. Our moms were close, so even after she split with Hallie’s dad, she brought her up here every summer. Even when we were in high school and driving, we still had our summers together. Even when Hallie’s mom stopped coming so she could work more hours in the summers, Hallie and I would pool our tip-money for gas and get her here. We just made it happen. In a way, we grew up together. I always counted down with her until we got to see each other the week after school let out every summer growing up. We stopped when we grew up, you know? Things change when you get older. I hadn’t seen her in years, but we kept in touch well. I missed her. I think she missed me too. We reconnected when she needed a safe place to land.”

“I wonder if I ever saw you around when we were younger,” he murmured.

“How old were you when you moved here?”

“Oh, I haven’t lived in Laramie before, but I’m up near Saratoga. I was twelve when my dad brought me here. We had some trouble with the people we were living with, and at the time, the government was pressuring us all to register, especially if we moved to a new place, but we had stayed under the radar with our people, and registering would mean trouble for us.”

“Why?”

“Because of my lineage. It’s not important. Damon gave us some protection living here and staying off the registration.”

“So mysterious,” she said quietly.

He huffed a laugh. “I work at a gas station, and live in the same house I have since I was twelve, and my days were all routine until I found out a new Crew was forming.”

“What gas station?” she asked. “Maybe I’ve been.”

“You know that barbecue spot in the mountains near Saratoga?”

“Moosey’s?”

“Yep.”

“Hell yeah! Ace! I’ve been there dozens of times!”

He chuckled and nodded. “Most everyone around here has been there at some point. I manage the gas station side, and Gunner’s brother, Captain, is the pit-master over on the barbecue side.”

“That’s a drive to work from here,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, well…”

“What?”

He shook his head. “Forget it. I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about it yet.”

“Who am I going to tell?” she asked. “Hallie barely remembers I’m still breathing, and she’s the only one I tell fun stuff to.”

He snorted and frowned over her shoulder. “Okay, drama queen, I would believe you except she’s been trying to get your attention the entire time you’ve been sitting up here with me.”

Corey twisted in her chair, and yep, Hallie was trapped by the window of a long booth across the bar, waving to her. She lifted her orange soda in the air and pointed to it.

An instant smile commandeered Corey’s face, and she held up her own soda in a silent cheers. “Aw, she does love me,” she murmured in a mushy tone.

“She does. She’s probably just overwhelmed. She’s the lone human in the early days of a Crew forming, and it’s a lot.”

Corey turned back to him. “Spill your secrets. I won’t be deterred.”

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