Page 7 of Road Trip
“Someplace. I have an extra ticket to a weekend of debauchery if you are interested. Or up to it. I’m not sure it’s—”
“I’m in. As long as I’m not imposing.”
She shook her head and smiled at me. “Not imposing. Nope. Let’s get you sprung from here. Wait. You need some clothes. Let me run to the gift shop—”
“One of the CHP guys gave me some clothes. I’m good.”I’m good?Was I crazy? I had a major black cloud hanging over my head and I was actually considering running away with a strange woman I didn’t even know? Yeah, that was exactly what I was going to do. I’d spent my whole life doing the right thing, and where did it get me? Almost burned alive on the side of the road. I was in no shape to even consider what could have happened. I needed a break from all this reality, and she was providing a delectable distraction.
She stepped back and looked me over with a twinkle in her eye again. “Yep. You’re good. Let’s go.”
She gave me some privacy so I could change. I didn’t even allow myself to question what I was about to do further. I pulled the shirt on, which was a size too small, and the utilities that luckily fit fine, if a little loose. I’d grabbed the only personal items I had left from my work pants before they threw them out. I signed the rest of the paperwork, assuring Sergeant Cavanaugh I was fine. He offered to take me back to the station and get me a hotel room, but I declined. I didn’t want to be alone, and I certainly didn’t want to be with fellow officers I didn’t know trying to act like I had it all under control right now.
“Watch your back,” he said as we shook hands, and with that, we got the heck out of Bakersfield. I had no phone, so they’d taken Abra’s number in case they needed to reach me.
Abra had thrown her spare blanket over the seat and said she’d deal with the blood when it was light out. She got us back to Interstate 5 and headed south over the Grapevine. We made a little small talk when we first got in the car, but we’d been quiet for some time. The events of the evening and the week leading up to it were running through my head over and over, keeping me on edge. Abra seemed to understand. It was as if she knew to just give me my space.
The scene at the courthouse and the events afterward had been horrendous. The trial was for a gang-related situation, one I’d been in too frequently over the past few months. Ever since I’d broken up a theft ring with my patrol partner that happened to involve one of Hayward’s most notorious gangs, things had been getting uglier...
“Do you want to talk about it, or am I just going to keep smelling the smoke from the gears turning in your head?”
I snuck a look at her and laughed. Her hair was pulled back in pigtails at the nape of her neck, and boy was it a gorgeous neck. She had a small song note tattooed behind her ear on the right side. I was admiring her tattoos further down on her chest when she said, “Earth to Officer—”
“It’s Kelly,” I said. I suddenly needed to hear her say my name.
“Officer Kelly?”
“No, it’s Graham. I mean, my name is Kelly Graham. I’m sorry, I just don’t want to be Officer anybody tonight.” After this week, it could be a long time.
“Fine. Then no more ‘ma’am’ tonight either.” She shook herself. “It was killing me that those dudes were all calling me ma’am. I’m thirty-two! I’m not ma’am material yet!”
Thirty-two? “Wow, I would have said much younger than that. I mean, not really because you have kind of a commanding presence, but—”
“Ha! Like I’m a bitch? I get that a lot.”
“No! I mean, the way you handled the scene, the way you handled me. I don’t know. You just seemed to be mature. You knew just what to say.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t make it a habit of rescuing dudes on the side of the road, but I’ve been in hairy situations before.” Her smile was gone. She tilted her head back and jutted her chin out, almost in defiance.
I touched her hand on the gearshift. “You handle this car like a pro.” I certainly didn’t want to offend her. I was having a hard time coming up with appropriate responses, it seemed. She probably regretted breaking me out.
“I fucking love this car.” She shot me a devious look and thankfully the tension eased a bit. There was nothing angelic about her tone. Or her language.
“Abra, can I ask you a question?”
“No, I don’t usually pick up strays. I’m not now, nor have I ever been married. I am gainfully employed and in no way interested in your stock portfolio…anything else?”
Whowasthis woman? She was so defensive, but honest. More like no-nonsense. I admired that, but it definitely had me on edge.I couldn’t tell if I was turned on, or afraid, or a little bit of both. Not a place I usually felt comfortable being. But I didn’t care. She was a perfect distraction.
“Thank you for sharing, but that’s not what I was going to ask.” I swallowed hard. “I was going to ask, where are we going?”
