Page 26 of The Scenic Route
“C’mon, B,” she said on a yawn that stretched his initial into four syllables. “I haven’t killed anyone in their sleep in months.”
She heard a choked sound that could’ve been a cut-off laugh, but she was too tired to do more than half smile in return. Her eyes closed, and she instantly fell into a deep sleep.
***
When she woke up, it was too dark to see anything, but she was warm. The bed was hard, though, and her pillow wasn’t much better, plus someone who wasn’t her was breathing in regular deep almost snores.
After a few blinks, she remembered where she was—theback of Bennett’s SUV—and she realized that her pillow wasn’t actually a pillow. Instead, she was pretty sure it was Bennett’s muscled biceps supporting her head, and the rest of him was draped over her back and side like an extra-heavy, breathing, weighted blanket.
She went still, not wanting to move and wake him. If he’d been awkward about just the idea of sharing a blanket, the reality of their full-on cuddling was sure to make his head explode.
As if he’d read her mind and wanted to make everything worse, Bennett rolled even closer, plastering his muscled body against her back and side, as close as he could get without stripping out of their clothes. Tossing the arm not under her head over her hip, he pulled her tightly against him, snuggling her as if she were a beloved teddy bear. With a silent sigh, he tucked his face against her neck so his heavy sleeping breaths flowed over her collarbone. She shivered for reasons completely unrelated to the chilly air surrounding them. Despite the stern mental voice telling her that she shouldn’t be snuggling with a near-stranger, especially in a public parking lot, Felicity just couldn’t bring herself to move. They needed the body heat, she reasoned, and moving away from him would serve no purpose except to make them both cold.
Besides, being snuggled by Bennett Green was really nice.
Feeling warm and completely safe, she started dozing off again when a whisper brought her back to full wakefulness. It came from outside the SUV, and although it could’ve been from another car camper, there was a menace to the sound that made her tense.
“Which…he…be in?”
Felicity strained to hear the muttered words, but she could only pick up every third or fourth. She tried to push up to sitting, but Bennett’s arms tightened around her, pulling her even more firmly against his chest. Trapped, she stayed in place while another person spoke in hushed tones.
“…don’t…can’t be…just start shooting.”
Seven
The “just start shooting” made Felicity flinch, tensing so suddenly that Bennett woke with a quiet grunt. Felicity knew the very second he remembered where he was and realized how he was holding her, because he went rigid. Any other time, she would’ve found his overreaction to their closeness hilarious, but right now they needed to deal with the immediate threat.
Before she could do anything, there was a low thud and then another. Felicity recognized the sound as a gun firing with a suppressor attached. Bennett moved as if to rise, but she grabbed the arm holding her, keeping him in place.
“They’re shooting,” she said, barely audible.
She hadn’t thought he could get any stiffer, but he somehow managed it before rolling his body over hers. This time, it wasn’t a cuddling, cute movement but a protective action. One arm curled around the top of her head, and she felt like she was completely surrounded in Bennett. Although they were muffled, she still could hear the sporadic thuds and then a loud crack thatsounded too close for comfort.
Bennett tucked her underneath him even more, so close that she could feel the rhythmic thump of his heart. It wasn’t racing like hers was, and the steadythud, thud, thudgave her something to focus on so the shooting didn’t make her panic.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably actually less than a minute, the muffled shots ceased, and the low muttering of voices came again. This time, covered in her Bennett blanket as she was, Felicity couldn’t make out any of their words. The two voices faded away, and everything was quiet. She strained to hear beyond the rushing of blood through her ears, but there was only silence. Still, Bennett didn’t move, which meant Felicity was trapped in place as well—although she didn’t mind too much. She didn’t have any urge to chase after two armed people who just casually shot up a trailhead parking lot.
Finally, night insects started making sounds again, and Felicity knew the shooters were gone. “You okay?” she asked, keeping her voice to a bare whisper.
“Yeah,” he whisper-grunted. “You?”
“A little squashed but otherwise fine.”
He immediately lifted his bulk off her, moving to his knees, and she swallowed a half-hysterical laugh as she sat up.
“Kidding,” she whispered. “Thank you for the protection, although I get to be on top next time.”
Even in the near darkness, she saw his eyes widen as he stared at her. The double meaning of her words belatedly hit her, and she felt blood warm her cheeks and was glad the concealingdarkness would hide her blush.
“Next time we get shot at, I mean,” she quickly said, even as she knew she should keep her mouth shut and stop digging herself deeper. Deciding to change the subject, she cautiously peeked out the side window. No one was visible in the dim pool of illumination around the single streetlight, but the surrounding darkness was as deep and impenetrable as ever.
She pulled out her phone to check the time, but the screen remained black. Making a face, she realized that she hadn’t charged it since before she’d left for the mountains. Charlie had stolen her phone charger yet again, so she needed a wall outlet—like the one she should’ve had at the motel. Shaking off her renewed irritation at getting kicked out, she focused on their immediate situation.
“We should check to make sure no one’s hurt,” she said, sliding her useless phone back in her pocket. “What time is it?”
“Four thirty-six.” He reached for the side door handle. “I’ll check the other cars. Stay here.”
As he silently got out of the SUV, she followed, noting that her wrapped ankle gave a minor twinge of pain, but it was a hundred times better than it had been right after she’d twisted it. “You’re not the boss of me, and I’m not helpless. We’ll both check.”
