Page 77 of Hide From Me

“Hey there, daredevil. Put that back on.”

I shimmied myself over the center console of the vehicle and got into the front passenger seat.

“Fuck, if I had gotten into an accident and you got hurt? Well, I don’t think I’d be living to tell the tale. Please put on your damn seatbelt.”

I did as he asked.

“Cas?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, shorty. He’s got it bad for you. And not that I can blame him because, damn girl, you grew up.”

I slapped his bicep that was pretty damn impressive.

“Yeah, unlike you, you ugly duckling,” I said.

The way his lip pulled up at the edge, he knew damn well just how good looking he was. He still wasn’t Cas though.

“Yeah, you like it, short stuff, but don’t worry. I’m not telling your grumpy teddy bear.”

That did get me to smile, but it didn’t clear up the storms of confusion running through me.

“So, your mom, huh? What about her?”

I looked out the window, watching a city that hadn’t ever really felt like home until recently.

“Do you think she was really rich, and then why did she run from the money?”

For all of Xander’s goofiness, he was scary when serious.

“Anything’s possible. Cas probably knows more, but I think this was a shock to him as well. He’s made you his number one hobby since the day you showed up on Sparky’s porch.”

I should be really sad right now or freaked out that Cas had just shot a man point blank. I should be grossed out and trying to run away from him. But then again, when did I ever run away from a challenge? I should have left my father’s house when I knew he was trying to use me to make up for what he’d lost. Now that hit a little different though.

“Did you know that my father, Sparky as you called him, was trying to make me pay for my mother’s debts? What do you think he meant by that? At the time, I thought he meant she’d stolen money from him. But was it more than that?”

Xander kept driving as we sat in a comfortable silence.

“Honestly, kid, I don’t know. Cas might be able to fill in some gaps.”

I swallowed.

“I’m not a kid, Xander. I haven’t been for years.”

He just nodded and kept driving.

“Fine. Did you know my aunt was dead?”

Xander was quiet, and that was never a good sign.

“Yeah, short stack. I heard.”

What the hell? How did I respond to that?

“So have I just always been a conversation, even when I wasn’t here?”

The car slowed as we got off the highway.

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