Page 40 of Stone Deep
I reached in and grabbed out two sandwiches.
“Did you scare her off already?” Hunter asked over a mouthful of sandwich.
“You’re the scary Stone, remember? She has some picky boss who, apparently, bugs her about stupid shit.” I sat back on the towel and decided to wait for Britton to return.
A few minutes later she walked back down from the parking lot looking pretty upset.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this day short.”
“Yeah? Shit, I was hoping we could take a boat ride later.”
She reached down and picked up her towel. “That would have been fun. Can I take a rain check on that?” She looked thoroughly disappointed, but it seemed she wasn’t planning to tell me why she had to leave.
I stood up and after she’d said her goodbyes, I walked her to the parking lot. “You seem upset,” I said as we reached the paved lot. “Anything you want to talk about?”
“No, I’m upset because I have to go.” She stopped and turned to me. Her face glowed from the sun. “I was having a really good time.”
“Me too.” I pushed her hair behind her ear and put a hand on her waist. “Hey, Tink, I really like you. That’s not something I say to many people. You pretty much haveseen all of me. I’ve done some shady shit. But it’s in my past. Still, I’m no fucking saint. I’m sure you figured that out already, but that’s it. That’s all of me. And now you’ve met the few people who I consider my world.”
Her gaze dropped, and her long, dark lashes curtained her brown eyes. She knew where this was going, but I had to get it out in the open.
I lifted her chin to look at me. “I feel like there’s some important stuff you’re not telling me. And I’m wondering when it’s going to jump up and bite me in the ass. I don’t let my guard down often. It’s part of my survival plan.”
Her lips trembled as if she was about to tell me something. Her phone rang. She shook her head. “I’ve got to go, Slade. I’ll call you later. I promise.”
I stepped back. She climbed into the car and took off.
TWENTY-TWO
BRITTON
“Watch your head as you get in the car. The last thing you need is another whack to the brain.” I couldn’t keep the irritation out of my voice, but I’d had to wait two hours for the doctor to finally sign the release. Ryan’s face was twisted in pain as he ducked his tall frame down to climb into the passenger seat. A pang of guilt made me apologize. “I’m sorry to be snippy, Ry, it’s just I was out on the beach, having a good time.” And I had to leave my incredible, new guy friend behind, I wanted to add but didn’t. Ryan looked miserable enough.
“Look, I said I was sorry, Brit. I didn’t know who else to call. And the doctor said I had to have someone pick me up. Just seemed like you should be the first person I called in an emergency. Who the hell were you on the beach with?” he asked as he leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.
“My beach trip is none of your business. In fact, my entire life is no longer your business.”
The doctor had covered what looked like a pretty significant forehead gash with gauze and tape. Ryan lookedshaken and pale. I should have felt more sympathy, but he’d rarely showed me the same courtesy.
“The nurse said you weren’t wearing a seatbelt, and you were texting.” I knew he wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, but he’d ruined my day and I wasn’t going to let him off easy. “You’re lucky you didn’t kill yourself when you hit that parked truck.”
“Am I lucky? Maybe it would have been a quick exit.”
“No, don’t pretend to be on the broken end of this whole thing. You made your choices, Ryan, and just like today, when you decided to text and drive, you’re paying the price.”
“Shit, here we go.”
“Nope, you’re right. I don’t want to waste any energy talking to you. I’m just going to stew silently about how you fucked up my weekend.” I turned up the music. He winced as if the sound hurt his head.
“Damon called me yesterday,” he muttered unexpectedly.
He opened his eyes at the sound of me clumsily grinding the stick into third gear.
I looked at him. “What? Why the hell are you two still chummy?”
He pointed through the windshield. “Hey, watch the road. I’m already feeling like shit. Don’t need another accident.”
