Page 28 of I Am Salvation

“Just water.”

“Sounds good.”

I get out of the car, enter the deli, put in my order, and then I wait. A few moments later, one of the employees hands me two white paper bags and two bottles of water. I bring them back to the car, open one, and find it’s the corned beef. I unwrap it, position the wrapper so that Dragon can hold the sandwich and eat while he drives, and hand it to him. Then I open his water and put it in the cup holder next to him.

“Thanks,” he says.

“Let’s get on the road,” I say. “I’ll unwrap my sandwich while we’re driving.”

He nods and grunts his approval and then starts the car. We don’t talk for the first several moments as we eat our sandwiches.

When we’re both done eating, and I’ve put all the trash into one of the white bags, I turn to him. “I know you said this trip is personal, Dragon, but maybe I can help. Does this have anything to do with what you’re having Alayna investigate?”

He doesn’t reply.

Not that I expected him to answer that question.

And as much as I’m looking forward to this trip with him, if we don’t talk at all, it’s going to be really, really long.

Chapter Nine

Dragon

I keep my eyes on the road, trying to ignore the pit in my stomach. Diana’s question lingers between us, making it feel heavier than before. The truth is, I should be doing this alone.

I let out a sigh, moving one hand from the steering wheel to scratch the back of my head. “It’s nothing you need to worry about,” I say finally, glancing at her from the corner of my eye.

Diana shifts in her seat, turning more fully toward me. “But maybe I want to help,” she says softly.

Her words hang in the air for a moment, and a part of me wants to believe them. The way she looks at me—with such honesty and openness—is different from anything I’ve known.

“I appreciate it,” I say, shifting my gaze back to the road, “but it’s not your problem to fix.”

She doesn’t respond immediately, but I can feel her eyes on me. I always feel her eyes on me. Hell, I feel her. She makes me want things I have no business wanting. She makes me want to open up, spill my guts.

If I do that, she’ll go running.

“I get that it’s not my problem,” she says. “Maybe I want it to be.”

This time I scoff. Really? She has no idea what she’s saying.

I turn to look at her. We lock eyes for what seems like an eternity, then I quickly turn away, focusing once more on the road ahead.

Her words resonate in my head, her raw sincerity and genuine concern making me question everything I’ve ever known about relationships and human connection. But I’m afraid.

Afraid of letting someone in, afraid of facing my demons, afraid of getting too attached only to lose everything in the end.

After all, that’s been my experience.

So the drive is mostly silent. We pass through Colorado Springs, the iconic silhouette of Pikes Peak dominating the horizon. The air becomes crisper, the scent of pine lingering as the road climbs gradually in elevation. There are small towns nestled against the mountains.

“I always wonder who lives in places like these,” Diana says. “I know Snow Creek is pretty isolated, but it’s nothing compared to these small towns, hours away from the nearest airport.”

I nod slowly. “Probably is nice to get away from it all.”

Diana bites her lip. “Probably is.”

The traffic thins as we continue south, and the landscape begins to shift. Crossing into southern Colorado, the flat plains give way to rolling hills, and the jagged ridges of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains come into view.

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