Page 110 of Truck Stop Tempest

A flurry of palpitations erupted in my chest. I studied those exotic eyes, the wrinkles framing them, the thick lashes, the way they held me captive, making my pulse race like I was at the precipice, teetering, a tiny nudge from falling, falling, falling toward something blinding, and breathtaking, and brilliant.

I made myself comfortable in his lap, hooking my arms around his waist, resting my head on his shoulder. “I’m thinking that from the very first time I laid eyes on you, Tito Moretti, I knew you were going to rip my world apart, tear out my heart, rearrange my guts, frighten me, and challenge me all in one fell swoop. But what I didn’t know was that you were going to lift me so high I couldn’t see the Earth below.”

His chest vibrated. “What do you see now?”

“Possibilities.”

“Do you see me?” he asked, one hand cupping my butt, the other, my chin.

I arched my neck to find a smile. “I see nothing but you.”

His brows lifted along with the left corner of his mouth. “Do you like what you see?”

“I love what I see.” I roughed my fingers through the scratchy hair on his jaw. Then asked, “What do you see?”

“I see us.” He dropped a chaste kiss on my nose. “You and me against the world.”

“Thank you for telling me the truth,” I settled back against his chest.

His arm tightened, pulling me closer. “Thank you for not leaving.”

I enjoyed the steady beat of his heart for several minutes, the lulling rise and fall of his chest. “I’m worried about my mom.”

Tito shifted, clearing his throat.

“I talked to Roger today. Nobody’s seen or heard from her since the morning before Jeremy died.”

“Tuck told me.” Tito lifted me off his lap, his spine cracking as he rose to stand. “I’ve put feelers out. FBI is involved now. She’ll turn up.”

I had to believe him because the alternative was more than my soul could handle.

“We should go,” he said, bending to kiss me.

I glanced at the computer screen one last time, my heart breaking all over again. It wasn’t fair that Erik was free to bully and terrorize. I hated that my silence over the years allowed more children to be hurt. I couldn’t change the past. But I could atone.

“I want to help.” I dusted a finger over the child’s image. “I want to help care for these girls, Tito.”

“Yeah?” He snagged his keys off the desk, then his wallet.

“Yes.”

“We can talk to Aida and Tucker tomorrow.” He grabbed my hand and led me outside. “That would be great, Bunny. We’d love having you here.”

He opened the car door and waited for me to settle before closing it again. When he was comfortable in his own seat, he said, “Can I take you to my place tonight? Something I wanna show you.”

Again, the fluttering in my chest. “Sure.”

He navigated the long, private drive and hit the main highway leading back toward The Stop. Windows down, bass booming, we drove. I watched Tito, watching the road. Thumbs tapping. Lips moving to the lyrics. He glanced my way, a devilish, mind-numbing smirk on his face. I couldn’t remember ever being happier. Together, Tito and I would beat the darkness. We would escape the spindly fingers of our past.

In the far distance, black clouds crept over the treetops.

“Looks like a storm is coming,” Tito mused, glancing my way before focusing back on the path ahead.

His words cut through me like a warning.

I should have heeded that warning.

---