Page 46 of Crash and Burn
22
Marley
We arein and out of the gas station as quick as possible. I grab a chocolate milk and chocolate donuts for breakfast and a few things to snack on throughout the day.
“Did you get enough chocolate?” Rascal laughs.
I smirk at him. “Are you judging me?”
He shakes his head with a smile. “Not at all, Princess.”
Within fifteen minutes of stopping at the gas station, we’re back on the road, headed who knows where.
“How long of a drive do we have?”
“Another eight or so hours,” Rascal tells me.
I groan.
“I know the feeling. I’m not a fan of being cooped up in a cage for so long,” he admits. “Why don’t you take a nap after you eat?”
“You don’t need me to help keep you from falling asleep or anything?”
He chuckles. “I’ve taken further trips by myself plenty of times. If I need anything, I can always wake you up.”
“I’ll wait. I’m not very tired right now,” I tell him. “Why don’t we play a game of twenty questions?”
He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “We can do that. Get to know each other better.”
“I’ll go first. Have you ever been in love?”
“Wow. Straight into the deep end, huh?”
I shrug.
“Honestly, no. I haven’t. Have you?”
“I thought I was, but it wasn’t real.” My eyes flicker to the window, watching the scenery fly by.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Maybe another time.” I turn to face him. “Do you have a good relationship with your parents?”
“My mom, yes. My dad, no. He walked out on us when I was a kid.”
“What do you think of Niko potentially being your dad,” Rascal asks.
“I haven’t given it much thought. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m still getting over the death of my mother.”
“That’s understandable. Niko might be part of the Bratva, but he’s a good man. As good as one in the Bratva can be,” he tells me. “If you want to get to know him, I’ll be there with you. If you want me to that is.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Rascal lifts my hand to his lips, placing a light kiss on the back. I go back to gazing out the window and zone out. I lived most of my life wondering what it would be like to know who my father is. Now, I know who he is and I don’t know what to do. It’s moments like this where I wish I could talk to my mom and get her advice.
“It’s your turn to ask a question.” Rascal’s voice brings me out of my head and back to reality.
“Oh, right,” I say. “Why’d you join the Savage Menaces?”
