Page 55 of Relentless
Cody inclined his head. “I know. That’s the only reason I’ve been contemplating it. Too bad I can’t just hand the situation over to Sabina.”
Ethan huffed a laugh. “Yeah, that would stay a secret for about two minutes. She’d happily take the job, but no way is she going to keep it from Chad.”
Cody smiled then took a sip of his coffee. “I know. But if the information comes from her, maybe he won’t blow a gasket. Or if he does, she can contain it.”
Ethan smiled at that. His cousin was probably right. Unlike some people, Chad didn’t turn into an overbearing ass when he felt his family was being threatened. No, it was way worse. He turned inward and tried to shoulder the entire burden on his own. That didn’t fly with Sabina. Not even a little bit.
“Not a bad plan,” he said, raising his glass. Cody clinked his mug to Ethan’s.
“Do I want to know what you two are out here cheers-ing to?” Kara asked, stepping out of the bus with her own coffee. She wore a pair of his boxers and a loose tank top. He liked the look.
“The crew is all loaded up and heading out in five minutes. When do you want to follow?” Tia asked, walking into the private space before either man could answer.
“Is it just us left?” Cody asked.
Tia didn’t miss the subtext of the question. “She’s in bus four working out the details of the Tahoe show,” she answered. Then as an aside to him and Kara, she added, “They don’t have room for all the buses to park, so several people are staying at one of the hotels.”
Cody glanced at his phone. “Let’s head out in thirty minutes. That work for you guys?” he asked. Both Ethan and Kara nodded. Cody rose from his seat, then paused. “Why don’t you ride on my bus? We can catch up and maybe even play a few video games.”
“Just like when we were kids,” Ethan said with a grin.
“Only better games I hope?” Kara asked.
“Hush, child,” Cody replied with feigned seriousness. Despite the fact that Kara was two years older than him. “Nothing beats a good game ofPac-ManorSpace Invaders.”
“Really?” Kara asked, clearly unsure whether to believe him.
“Really,” Ethan confirmed. “There might beFroggerandDonkey Kong, too.” He glanced at Cody, who nodded.
“Well, in that case, you should both prepare to lose!” she declared.
“Them’s big words from a little gal,” Cody said.
“They’re the truth, Cody-babe,” she said, slipping from under Ethan’s arm and heading back to the bus. “Nothing but the truth.”
“Yeah? We’ll see about that,” Cody called out, but she’d already disappeared into the bus. Then he turned a curious look on Ethan. “Do you think she’s kidding?”
Ethan chuckled. “I doubt it. There’s only one way to find out, though.”
* * *
“You did not just do that,” Cody said, his feet propped up on an ottoman and a game controller hanging loose in his hand.
“I’m afraid I did. Sorry. Not sorry,” Kara said, flashing him a taunting grin. They were somewhere near Bakersfield, traveling north on I-5. And she’d just kicked Cody’s ass atFrogger.
“How did you get so good?” he demanded.
From his position on the couch, Ethan watched the byplay between his cousin and Kara. She’d already beaten him at an intense game ofDonkey Kong, and he was now lying with his leg up. It was healing well, and he really was taking it easy—not a difficult thing to do when he and Kara were mostly holed up in the bus. But it still ached on occasion, and stretching it out felt heavenly.
“Kentucky is beastly hot in the summer,” she said. “We logged a lot of time in the arcade growing up. Not only that, but in high school, Sabina and I were lifeguards at this community center. It had a game room attached to it so when the pool shut down, all the staff would stick around for a few hours and play.”
“So Sabina is good, too?” Cody asked.
Kara inclined her head. “She is. Not as good as me, but she’s good.” She glanced over at Ethan and smiled. A smile he returned until he noticed her lips turn down and her brow furrow.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up.
She gestured with her head toward the front window of their bus. “I don’t know. The bus in front of us looks to be having some problems.”
