Page 51 of Dark OZ

For someone so small, the frustrated growl that came from her was surprisingly loud.

“I hate you both.” She slammed her foot into the back of Crowe’s seat. “Ya know what? I’m tempted to fuck Nick right here, just teach you both a lesson.”

I choked on the bottle of water I’d just cracked open.

“I’m ok with that,” Crowe said, propping an elbow on the window and leaning back for a better view. “I bet big man over there can make you come hard. That’s something I’d most definitely love to see.”

“As much as I like being a performing monkey for your pleasure,Vincenzo—” Crowe winced. He hated that name. It’s what my father called him whenever he fucked up, so I only used it when I was trying to make a point. “—we’re going to need to refill the tanks soon anyway.” The dual tanks in the cab meant we could drive for longer stretches, but we still needed to refill eventually. “A hot meal would do us all some good.”

“We’re not far from Stone Mountain. There should be a rest area around there we can stop at,” Crowe suggested.

I glanced over at Thea. A grin spread slowly over her lips, lighting up her eyes. She rarely looked happy, even if this was the false happiness of victory, and was bound to disappear the second Danny shut her down again.

Like he could hear my thoughts, Danny glowered at me in the mirror.

“You know I’m right.” I pressed the button to convert the bed back into a seat. Thea wasn’t expecting the sudden change, tumbling into me with a squeak. I grabbed her around the waist to steady her. It’d been a full day since I decided she didn’t need to wear the bandage bracing her ribs, so when the motion of the car caused her oversized shirt to ride up, I was graced with the perfect handful of soft skin. She was always soft, a detail I had to ignore every time I swapped out her bandages, but this time, I was unprepared for the silken contact.

On instinct, my thumb smoothed over the surface. Thea’s mouth opened in surprise, her pink tongue darting out to wet her lips. Flashes of my mouth on hers cycled through my mind before I snapped my hand back, looking at it like she’d burned me.

She furrowed her brow in confusion, slumping back to her side of the car and wrapping her arms around her bare legs.

“Fine. We’ll stop,” grumbled Danny. “But when we get back on the road, I’m taking the backseat.”

“Well then, I’m sitting up front, and you can snuggle with Crowe.” Thea cackled wickedly.

“NO!” They yelled in unison.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. As annoying as Danny and Thea’s bickering could be, it was entertaining the way she twisted him into knots. Danny was never rattled in the way she seemed to shake him up. She flicked all his buttons and every switch. I understood it. Being around Thea was like wrestling a live electrical wire. The spark was beautiful enough to power an entire nation but undeniably deadly.

It wasn’t worth the risk, or at least that’s what I kept telling myself.

My laughter was interrupted when a small hand squeezed my arm.

“You’re laughing, like actually laughing.” Thea’s eyes shifted into tiny crescents as her smile broadened even further. “I didn’t think you ever truly laughed.”

“I laugh sometimes. You all are just rarely funny.”

We passed the last exit for Stone Mountain. “Take the next one. There should be something for the truckers now that we’re outside city limits.”

A fluorescent sign announced the approaching Pop’s Rest Stop. Pop’s was a chain of rest areas along the main highways. Large public restrooms you could count on to be clean, a semi-decent restaurant, and a small department store for daily incidentals.

“Perfect, pull in there,” Crowe exclaimed, checking that his gun was fully loaded and clicking it back into his shoulder holster. “Pop’s always has the best pies.”

“I could go for pie,” Thea said, tying the laces of her boots.

Danny put the car in park and turned to face Thea. “Stay here with Nick.”

“What?!” she shrieked, “I’m not staying in the car.”

“Just until we can secure the place, Darling,” Crowe added over her pouting.

“You take front, I’ll take back,” Danny commanded. They slipped out of the car at the same time.

I gave the parking lot a cursory glance out the back window. It was large, featuring a dog park, picnic tables, and two extensive sets of gas pumps. “Actually, I’m going to scan the parking lot. Do NOT get out of this car. Do you understand?” I kept my voice deep and serious. My accent only adding to the severity of what I was saying.

“I don’t take orders,” she clipped back.

“Yeah, but you’re going to follow this one, Trouble.” I slammed the door behind me, clicking the arm button just as she tried to wrench her door open. The locks slid into place, preventing anyone—including Thea—from opening any of the doors until it was fully disarmed. There was an emergency release, but she didn’t need to know that.

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