Page 26 of Liar & Champion
“Like the med student?”
“Oh, he was probably rich, but he was too lazy to bring money to things. Maybe his parents didn’t approve of him wasting his life. Oh, look! A doll museum. Do you want to go?” She pointed at the exit as it went by. She was far past overtired, or she wouldn’t be quite so bright and overglazed. She was still adorable though.
“I guess we’ll do that next time. How long have you been driving?”
“I have no idea. No phones. Isn’t it liberating not to be tied to time?”
I tugged my glasses off her nose and peered into her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and her smile was more than slightly manic. “Honey, did you have any of that morphine?”
“Not morphine, no, but I did take some pain meds my aunt gave me to deal with the dislocation thing. I don’t know why she gave them to me; I feel fine.”
“Mm hm. You look fine. Take the next exit, okay? We’re going to stop for lunch, and figure out where we are.”
“I’ve been driving west,” she said confidently. “I have a compass on the dash.”
I smiled at her. She was so adorable exhausted and medicated. I covered her hand on the steering wheel. “This exit. You got it?”
She nodded and veered off the road and onto the off ramp too fast. She slammed on the brakes before we went into the cross traffic, even though there wasn’t anyone there. She took a right and then pulled into a truck stop.
“I love the hotdogs at these places. Don’t you love road trip hotdogs?” She beamed at me, leaning over the wheel and smiling blearily.
“I do, actually. Let’s go in, stretch our legs, and then you can rest on these nice pillows you put under my head.”
Inside the gas station/restaurant, we took bathroom breaks, got hot dogs and fruit cups, then sat down at a booth while I looked at a map. We were in New Mexico, so she had been driving in the right direction more or less. When I looked up from the route, she had her head on her folded arms and was fast asleep. She was the cutest thing, all mussed and delicious, a natural born fugitive on the run. I could have called for a ride, a chopper or something, but this would give us a chance to figure out our game plan. I must have been in shock to have offered her marriage last night. It was last night, wasn’t it? She could have been driving me around unconscious for days for all I knew.
I picked her up and carried her out to the car while she curled into me, rubbing her cheek against my chest. Maybe I should get a motel with a real bed so we could recover some and rest. I’d never been to the Grand Canyon.
Since we were going off the grid for the time being, we’d have to use cash for everything. How much cash did I have? I pumped the gas and checked my wallet. At least she hadn’t tossed that. I used her pre-paid gas card that wouldn’t show up if anyone was looking for us and then got in and drove. We really didn’t have anywhere to be, and it was kind of pleasant to be disconnectedfrom the rest of the world. We could take the time to figure out what exactly we wanted to do about the whole situation.
I’d offered her marriage. Twice. I’d definitely been in shock at the time, because I didn’t do weddings, not even other people’s, but I’d put it out there and she’d gone with it after I’d pressured her. Guilted her, really. I couldn’t marry someone I’d just met, or anyone ever, but how could I withdraw the offer now? However hard it was for me to breathe when I thought about that whole process, dress, cake, ‘til death do you part, when she’d given me such neat stitches? Kitten was the sweetest, most adorable woman I’d ever wanted to take to bed, but that didn’t translate to marriage. I was Nix Death-Hammer, an egotistical Las Vegas superstar who was a player first, last, and always. But I’d offered. Twice. How could I back out without hurting her feelings?
The stalker’s poetry had been so disturbing, outlining their wedding vows and the wedding night like only a truly creepy guy who had watched the Phantom of the Opera too many times could. He’d shot me after he assaulted Kitten. If that wasn’t extreme motivation, I didn’t know what was, but marriage was past extreme. So here I was, driving a sweet Camaro that someone had kept in good shape, other than a few issues with its gear changes. Trix would love to get her hands on it. What would she think of Kitten? She certainly wasn’t useless, not if the neat stiches in my arm were any indication, and she had taken me at my word about fleeing like someone who had done it often. She’d given me stitches and morphine in just the right amount so I wasn’t groggy and cranky, just happy and hungry.
I glanced over at the sleeping woman I’d buckled carefully into the passenger seat. Her golden skin was exactly what I craved. There was something indefinable about her that was more than the individual parts, something that I hadn’t realized I’d been looking for until I saw her dancing on her porch. I reallydidn’t want to tell her that I couldn’t marry her after all, not after she’d put so much effort into our escape.
She looked like bubbling champagne, but she was more satisfying than a six course meal. Her lips pursed in her sleep and I dragged my eyes back to the road. I was not about to become fixated on a woman, particularly one who had spent a good deal of her life avoiding psychos. I’d spent my whole life avoiding psychos too, particularly the one that looked back at me in the mirror every morning. My humanity had to be nurtured. Not that I’d ever had any stalker tendencies. I’d had my fair share of women who got too friendly and a few of them probably did send me creepy packages with creepy poetry, but I didn’t look at anything from fans. That’s what Tom was for. He also checked for explosives. Kitten wasn’t the only one who could be paranoid, but I’d foolishly thought there wasn’t any danger in Alabama. Who would dare touch the Crocodile’s precious offspring? Only an idiot or a madman. Dupre struck me as both.
I took an exit that meandered north, with stunning mountain vistas that Kitten woke up in time to enjoy. Her sleepy smile was soft and sweet, exactly what you wanted to see first thing in the morning and the last thing at night.
“Hey, Champion. How are you feeling?” She slid her fingers delicately up my arm, sending a rush of heat through me that I had to shut right down.
“Couldn’t be better. I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon. It’s not the goal, but it could be fun. What do you think? Do you want to stay somewhere for a few days of hiking and lounging?” I could use some time to break it to her gently.
She looked down at her lap and rubbed her hips. I’d almost forgotten that hiking might be a problem. “I’m always up for lounging. Do you think it would be safe?”
“I’ve got cash to last a few days. Nothing fancy, but I can float us a couple of rooms and some champagne.”
She raised her pale brows. “Champagne? What are we celebrating, our whirlwind engagement, or something less dire?” She pressed her soft lips together. Her mouth was absolutely delicious, particularly when she wasn’t smiling. “Um, Nix? I think we should talk about this whole thing when we’re not fueled by adrenaline and morphine.”
I blinked at her and nodded before refocusing on the road. Ah. I wasn’t the only one getting cold feet. “We were both operating in panic mode. It’s hard to think clearly like that.”
“It’s not that you aren’t a charming man who any girl would be lucky to marry, but I’m not really looking for long-term commitment, and marriage isn’t something anyone should get into casually. Also, six months is a long time for me. I really appreciate the offer to protect me, but taking a bullet for me is definitely all I can take from you. You could tell your mama that you need bodyguards, and then you can go back to school and finish that whole?—”
“Are you suggesting that I put myself back in those dangerous circumstances with Christina and other charming debutantes?” My heart pounded faster, maybe from the idea of being pursued by someone else, maybe from the idea of Dupre coming for my Kitten when I wasn’t around to fight him off. “You need protection, and I need to date one woman for six months. Maybe marriage is taking things too far, because I agree, that kind of thing shouldn’t be taken lightly,” or at all, “but it seems that?—”
“I asked if you wanted hayrides. I think I was hysterical, and I’m not sure if you remember that conversation.”
I blinked at her as I remembered her charming euphemism. This was a different day, and she was starting to panic in a different direction. She was looking at me and wondering if I was going to be the next psychotic stalker who ruined her life on the regular. “Where do you want me to take you? It’s your car, so ifyou’d like me to drive to the closest bus stop, I can do that, or I can pull over right here and get out.”
