Page 26 of Blood Ties

“So are we just passing through Iowa? Or is that our destination?”

“That’s our destination.”

“Oh, great, I get to know something,” I sarcastically muttered to myself.

We didn’t just switch vehicles once before leaving Illinois. Oh, no. We stayed a night in a sketchy as fuck motel, then went south for a while where we picked up a truck. Then we drove west for a while.

That night we stayed in a cabin that was one of those tiny house things outside of Bloomington. I crashed on the small bed, and Alessio took the couch. The next morning, we pulled another truck out of an old barn that I swear looked like it was going to fall over, but the inside seemed to have new lumber framing it.

“Your family must be the most paranoid people I’ve ever met,” I grumbled as we drove away from the cabin.

“That place is mine,” he absently replied. I wasn’t in the mood to push for conversation because by then I was on the verge of exhaustion. I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days.

The last house was well near the tiny town of Hillsdale. Alessio made a phone call, presumably to my dad—no, I still didn’t get to talk to him. We stayed there until it got dark. While we waited, dinner was a couple of frozen pot pies he popped in the oven.

I’d tried to get him to talk, but he only replied with one-word or brief answers.

As we sped down the interstate, he was quiet. All I could do was watch the miles go by in the dark. As we traveled down I-88, we passed several towns, some small, some bigger, until we got on I-80, where we crossed the Mississippi River and then we were into Iowa.

At the first rest area across the border, we pulled in and parked next to a red Camaro.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Oh! He speaks!”

Leaning his forearm on the steering wheel, he turned to face me. A deadpan expression met my gaze. “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and flung the door open. He caught up to me as I neared the building.

“And that was a level of maturity that was unnecessary.” Steam puffed away from his mouth as he spoke.

A middle finger was my reply to that before I sped up to get out of the cold. I wasn’t for certain, but I think the bastard laughed.

Once inside, I spun to face him. “Now what?”

“Do you have to go to the bathroom? We won’t be stopping again for a couple of hours at least.”

I huffed out a breath through my nose. Then I maturely stomped into the bathroom and took care of my business. When I exited, he was waiting.

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Follow along.”

“Umm, okay?”

He placed my hand in the crook of his elbow and leaned over to kiss my cheek as he gazed lovingly at me.

I cocked a brow, and he brought his lips to my ear. “That’s not playing along.”

Of their own volition, my eyes rolled. Not. Maybe that’s why I didn’t realize that the door he opened for me was cherry-red. As he helped me in, I quietly squeaked, “Who’s car is this?”

“Leo’s.” He was backing out of the parking spot by then.

“Who?”

“My younger brother.”

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