Page 76 of Totally Off Limits

Safe enough.

Jesus. Be there soon.

Was he actually worried?

Would wonders never cease?

* * *

Although she knewLayne had gotten there quickly, twenty minutes seemed like forever in the middle of the night—especially when it started to rain steadily while a burly young man began making his way toward her moments earlier. She didn’t want to be judgmental, but the guy looked scary as hell—probably because it was nighttime.

For probably the first time in her life, her brother looked like a brave knight in shining armor—not the type she’d lust for, but the firefighter type, the kind of guy who’d run in a burning building to save a child’s cat.

Had that always been underneath his snarky scowl?

“What the hell happened?” he asked as he walked around the car to where she stood on the sidewalk, holding the broken flipflop in her hand. “You look like something the cat dragged in.”

Ah…the old Layne was still in there. Good to know.

“Long story.”

He even opened the passenger door for her, waiting for her to step in. “I’ve got plenty of time.”

Of course, he did, because he obviously wasn’t using his free time to study. Well, in a car, Bad Boys was about a minute away, so there thankfully wouldn’t be much awkward conversation.

After shutting her door, he walked around the car, sliding in—just as the creepy guy walked past them on the sidewalk, gawking at her through the window. She tried not to shudder, but once more she felt overwhelming gratitude that her normally asshole brother had done something incredibly cool.

“Let’s grab a cup of coffee.”

She started laughing, unable to help herself. “Starbucks is closed, little brother.”

Smirking, he half glanced at her through the corner of his eye while shifting his Audi in gear. “You really need to get out more often. There’s a truck stop on the outskirts of town that everyone seems to forget.”

“With good reason.”

The inertia from the way Layne sped up the car quickly threw her back into the seat. Deep inside, she thought to herself that she’d laugh her ass off if a cop pulled him over for driving over the speed limit, but that would simply prolong their time together.

Itwouldgive her something to hold against him, though…in case she needed collateral. After all, he now had dirt on her to use against her parents.

But Jesus. She had to stop that. Layne truly had come through for her. He hadn’t sent their dad to fetch her.

Still…she had to ask. “So who did you tell you were coming to rescue me?”

“Nobody.” The traffic light ahead was green but Layne seemed to slow anyway. “Why would I?”

Should she be completely truthful?

Why not? She didn’t have anything to lose anymore. As she contemplated doing what she had to do for the Hayden family, she was ready to swallow a huge pill—so she might as well unpack all the baggage and go through it once and for all with Layne. Even if they remained mortal enemies, at least they could clear the air. “Let’s be honest, Layne. If you threw me under the bus with mom and dad, it would take the heat off you.”

It was something he’d done more than once in the past. Why not again?

Letting out a soft chuckle, he kept his eyes on the road. As they got closer to the edge of town, the streetlights seemed to thin out, but she couldn’t have read his expression anyway. “I suppose it would—but I’m so fucking sick of playing that game, aren’t you?”

That was a level of maturity she hadn’t expected from her brother. But it was refreshing. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Seriously. I’ve given this a lot of thought.” As he pulled the car into the gravel parking lot of the truck stop near the diner entrance, he eased on the brakes with the precision of a professional driver.

Before he could open her door, Sierra got out of the car and met him in front as he continued talking. “You and I…we’ve been trying to one up each other since we were kids. And I don’t know why. We’re never going to get a better position.”

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