Page 25 of Steal Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 1)
“I said that we should put you in our safe house in Seattle and never let you leave,” he states completely unabashed, his eyes holding my gaze.
“Because I’m your hostage and a possible liability?” I arch a brow.
Blaine’s eyes light up as he kisses my neck, the grey of his irises taking a silver hue, sparkling like burning comets. “Yeah, sure. That’s exactly why, honey bunny.”
Then he’s gone and back in the room … what the heck was that? Alright, you know I thought I was the crazy one but I think it may be the opposite. God I hope this day doesn’t get any weirder than it already is. Also honey bunny? I don’t want to find that nickname adorable but something about a big guy like Blaine saying it has me feeling special.
My biggest question? What the hell is going on with them?
???
I haven't traveled much since running away. That sounds weird, but once I got to UCLA, I’ve stayed put. I didn’t want to risk being seen by the wrong person and it getting back to Pierce. Because of that, and my total lack of technology or personal effects, I have no idea how close or far we are from our starting point. We definitely left Los Angeles and we’re maybe three hours outside of the city now. It’s afternoon and the California sun is trying to break through those tinted windows as I hum under my breath to the song playing on the radio. In front of me, Royce drives despite all of us and I can’t help but notice how tired he looks.
Kaden sits next to him, his body turned so that he can easily catch my eye. He’s asleep right now though, or at least he appears to be sleeping. I have no doubt that he would wake up if I even shifted in my seat too much. And then there’s River, stretched out in the back, like the other day.
The difference? He keeps playing with my long hair that has fallen over the back of the bench. I hadn’t realized it at first but he keeps running his fingers through it and I wish I could tell you that the action didn’t put a smile on my lips.
Blaine sits next to me, his eyes alert and his gaze completely devoid of sleepiness, he’s the most alert among us. It probably has to do with the massive iced coffee that he got for ‘himself’ and then shared with me. I don’t know a lot about Blaine but I recognize a non-caffeine drinker and call me delusional but I’m pretty sure he got the coffee for me and decided to pretend that he liked it. Now though, he’s wide fucking awake.
“Hey, Royce?” I ask softly, meeting his eyes in the mirror.
“Yeah?”
“Whenever we get to an area with a few shops, I really need to pick up some clothes. I would suggest getting money from my bank but I think I would be better off just paying you back later, just in case they’re watching my account,” I suggest.
River mumbles something from behind me and Blaine smiles. Royce distracts me by responding, “Not a problem, we can stop in the next few hours probably.”
“You sure you don’t want to stop at a new motel and get some sleep?” I ask curiously.
“No,” He grunts and sits up straighter as Blaine shakes his head. I can barely keep my smile to myself though when half an hour later, Royce takes an exit to a sign that leads to a totally creepy but halfway decent ‘pay by the hour’ motel. I can’t help but ask the question buzzing around in my head.
“Why don’t you let someone else drive if you don’t want to stop?”
River barks out a laugh and sits up, offering a slightly unhinged smile. “Yeah, bud, why not let one of us drive? I mean clearly I’m a suitable enough driver to do it during robberies …”
“Shut it.” Kaden growls.
Royce sighs pulling into the parking lot and looking back at me and I notice that the other three are getting out of the car. I have no idea what he was going to say to me originally but I see him go with the truth and it surprises me. “I’m not a huge fan of lack of control. It makes me feel better, like the job is being done correctly if I’m at the wheel even if it’s just driving to the safe house.”
“Oh.” I shake my head as he gets out of the car and I take Blaine’s hand as he helps me hop down from our new SUV.
Blaine gives his brother an odd look before he intertwines our fingers and he leads me toward the check-in area that also features a Denny’s on one side and a BP Gas station on the other. Yep. This is my life now. As the door chimes, the air conditioning brushes across my skin and a young woman, maybe in her late teens, looks up from the desk. Her eyebrows shoot way up and I sigh, realizing that I would probably have the same reaction seeing one woman and four men.
Despite not planning to stay that long, we pay for twelve hours on an adjoining suite. I relax a bit knowing that I’m going to get to shower and stuff. I look at the gas station, pausing.
“Royce.” Blaine calls out making him turn from the hall he was heading toward. They exchange a look and then I’m tugged towards the gas station. How did they do that? It’s not the first time I notice how the brothers are able to communicate with just one look.
“See anything you like?” He tries to hold in a smile as we approach the few racks of California themed clothes. Every gas station has a weird assortment of things. There are oversized neon and primary colored state sweatshirts. There are even tie dye dresses and packs of leggings, socks, and boy short panties. For a moment, I’m embarrassed but then I throw caution to the wind.
Not knowing when we’ll actually have time to shop again, I grab four hoodies. Two black, one neon pink, and one pastel green. I have to admit, I need more hoodies in my life, I really like wearing the guys’ clothes, so I go for two sizes bigger than I would normally wear. Then I grab leggings, socks, and panties. Blaine’s eyes light up as he looks at the underwear package, and I roll my eyes and also put a pack of sports bras on top. There! Now I’m good to go.
“Need shoes?” He teases provocatively.
“Have you seen my boots?” I ask, making him nearly drop everything. For the record, I tried to hold onto the items I just picked up but he keeps tugging stuff from my hand.
“Where did you get those?” He chuckles looking them over.
“Why, do you like them?” I flirt while turning in a little twirl.
