Page 7 of A Way Out
She blinked.
He shrugged. “I figured maybe I should know your name before you unload any more personal info.”
“Oh. Um, Maria, er, Bernard.”
“Nice to meet you, Maria.”
He caught a glimpse of movement from behind the passenger seat, and then a child’s voice said, “Mommy, are we there yet? Can I unbuckle?”
Way too curious now, Oz leaned close enough to the vehicle to observe a toddler who was maybe three or four, buckled into a car seat. She had dark pigtails and big eyes like her mom. Flashing a smile, she waved at him; he automatically waved back.
“Hang on, Riley,” Maria said. “Aunt Holly isn’t here. I need to figure out what to do.”
She pressed a button on the vehicle’s dash, and Holly’s name flashed onto the screen.
“Hey, Maria, what’s up?” Holly’s voice cut through the speakers a moment later.
“Aunt Holly,” the little girl piped up.
“Riley? Is that you? Are you guys in the car?”
“Yes,” Maria said. “We’re parked in front of your house right now.”
“My hou—are you in LA?”
“We are.”
“What in the world are you doing there?”
Maria glanced up at Oz. “It’s a long story. And I’ve just found out you aren’t here.”
“Hey, Holly,” Oz called out, because he hated for people not to know who was listening in on their conversations.
“Oh, hey, Oz. I take it you’ve met my sister?”
“Yeah.” He paused and then asked, “Do you want to come inside?”
“Yes, please. Holly, I’m going to use the facilities and get Riley settled, then I’ll call you back.”
“Sounds good. Talk to you later. Oz, take care of her.”
“Will do,” he promised automatically. That was what he did. He took care of people.
Maria killed the engine. Oz stepped back instead of assisting Riley out of her car seat, since he didn’t want to spook mother or child.
From this vantage point, he was able to confirm that Maria wasn’t particularly tall, maybe five-five at most. He also noted that she filled out a pair of black leggings like the style had been designed specifically for her body. Holy shit.
The woman was fire.
Which was a thought he planned to keep to himself. Besides very obviously being way outside his financial zip code, she was clearly running from something, and if he had to guess, he’d say it was a man. Which meant the last thing she needed was some guy she didn’t know fawning all over her like she was the hottest thing he’d seen since, well, quite possibly ever.
She deftly unbuckled the toddler, lifting her out of the seat and placing her on her feet next to the vehicle. Riley stood next to her mom’s leg and stared at Oz.
“Do you have a dog?” the little girl finally asked.
He chuckled. “Nope.” There had been times in the last couple years when he wasn’t even sure how he was going to feed the kids and himself, so yeah, a dog had never been a consideration.
“She’s currently obsessed with getting a pet,” Maria said as she pulled a gigantic purse out of the car and swung it over her shoulder. “And it’s, like, the worst possible time in our lives.”
