Page 32 of The Heart

“Pay up!” she shouts.

“Guys!”Ryan complains, before the sound cuts out again.

I pull into the very first parking space at the very first diner we come to and get out of the car, resting my hands on the hood to enjoy the fucking peace and quiet of the honking cars traveling on the overpass.

I think I might be getting angrier, until I feel Leena’s small arms loop around my waist. Even though she was one half of my frustration, I could never be mad at her. Deep down, I know that being in a vehicle for this long is the root of my irritation, not the people in it.

I turn around, leaning against the car and pulling her against me. I rest my chin on the top of her head and take a deep breath.

I guess traveling with her isn’t so bad.

Jace pulls into the lot, and the three of them are still fucking arguing over their bet as they make their way inside. I flip Colton the bird when he walks past. He laughs, then continues his singing as he follows after them.

“God help the poor server,” I grumble once our team is inside and it’s fucking quiet again. Leena looks up at me, that sweet smile on her fucking perfect lips. I’ll never get tired of her looking at me like this.

“You good?” Luke asks from behind her, clearly amused by my frustration. I flip him the bird too and he laughs, pulling Leena off me.

Then the man fucking gropes me,hard. He does it so casually, nothing on his face would give away what his hand was just doing.

My eyes widen in shock, looking around to make sure no one saw that, relieved to find that we were hidden well enough behind the SUV for his little stunt.

“Fuck,Lu,” I grumble, tugging at my pants to hide my reaction before following behind the two of them.

Their joined hands swing as they both smile back at me.

I wonder how in the fuck someone as grouchy as me ended up surrounded by so much fucking sunshine.

—

I glance down at the clock, we’re only a few hours from home. It’s late, so the car has been quiet the past hour.

Luke is still awake beside me, and I wonder what he’s thinking as he stares out the window at the road ahead. Normally, he would either be working on his laptop or asleep right now. So I find this a little unsettling.

I guess I could just ask what he’s thinking, but I decide against it. I shouldn’t care what he’s thinking.

Several minutes later, I see a vehicle parked just off to the side of the road. I glance in my mirror as we pass, wondering for a moment if they’re broken down. The headlights turn on, and they slowly make their way out onto the road.Well, that can’t be good.

I watch them carefully, then slow the SUV to just below the speed limit. There are several lanes, so I am giving the vehicle the opportunity to pass. They don’t.

Shit.

I grip the wheel tighter. Luke must notice, because he’s staring at me, then behind us, noticing it too.

“Shit,” he repeats my thought a little too loud, because he wakes up Colton. I glance back at Leena, relieved to see she’s still curled up across the seat, her head resting on Colton’s thigh. I never imagined she would get along with our obnoxious friend, let alone be this comfortable with him.

“What is it?” he says, suddenly alert.

Andthatdoes wake Leena. “Guys?” she asks sleepily. But there’s no time to answer her question.

“Fisher, I need you driving the van. Campbell?” I glance at Luke.

“On it,” he says, already pulling up the maps.

“You got it, boss.” Colton salutes, rolls down his window, then starts climbing out of it.

“What the fuck is happening?” Leena demands.

I pull out the receiver from under the dash. “Gray, it’s not that I don’t trust your driving–”

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