Page 21 of Wilde About You

"I won't because I have no idea what's in it, but there are some really interesting visuals going through my head."

"Trust me, none of them are right." I sat up straighter, pulled down the visor and looked in the small attached mirror. "Great, now I look like a strung-out, red-nosed wood sprite. And my hair is stuck together in salty spikes." I raked my fingers through my hair, which only made it stand up straighter. "Where are we going?"

"My place. And no don't give me that face. I'm not trying to make a move on you. I just figured since you were at the beach house, that meant your own place wasn't safe. You can hide out at mine until you figure out what to do."

I sighed in resignation. "Thanks." I looked over at him. "Not that it didn't cross your mind, right?"

"What's that?"

"Making a move on me. I see the way you stare at my lips. You're thinking about a kiss and … other stuff."

His smile always left a crease on his cheek. "After all, I'm only human."

"Really? Based on the few things I've heard Ace say, I'd almost think you were superhuman." I turned slightly to face him. "Hey, wait a minute. I was so steeped in my own drama I missed your drama. Why did you leave the beach house?"

Colin pretended to be very interested in the billboards we passed.

"Look, unless you're looking for one of those cheesy, ambulance-chasing lawyers, you're obviously avoiding my question. What did Ace say? Did he pretend to be all brotherly and protective with his 'stay away from my sister crap?'"

"We had a few words."

"It's such bullshit. He doesn't care about me."

"I think you might be underestimating that."

I turned even more in my seat. First, so I could make my point clearly and also because he really was something to look at. Eye candy with chocolate and whipped cream on top. "Two years ago, I was in Southern Chile, near Patagonia."

"Cool."

"It was but that's not the point of my story. The point is to show you how little anyone in my family cares about me. We were out on a ten-day shoot getting some of the most beautiful shots on the planet, and I started feeling sick. I thought it was just a sore throat and cold, but I developed a high fever. They took me by horse cart and then boat to the closest hospital. I got sicker. I was sure I was going to die. The doctors did the best they could, but it wasn't exactly the Mayo Clinic, you know? I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival. They told me that point-blank. They'd been urgently trying to send word to my parents, and they finally got through. No one came. Not one family member. My mom said she was too distraught for such a long trip. My dad was angry that I'd traveled so far away, making it nearly impossible to reach me. Ace was—I don't know out on the slopes or something. Brant was in law school and in the middle of finals, and Kenny was out on a naval ship. He at least called."

Colin was silent for a moment. "I think you were misreading that, too. It wasn't that they didn't want to see you. It was that you put yourself in such a difficult situation that visiting you was probably close to impossible. You said yourself that they had to take you by horse cart and then boat to get to the hospital."

I turned to face forward and crossed my arms. "You can just drop me at a bus stop. I've got a few places I can stay."

"You're mad," he said.

"Nope, just don't want to be a burden."

Colin took the next offramp. "My place is just a mile from here. You can crash there for as long as you like."

"Not necessary," I said.

We reached a stoplight, and he turned toward me. "I'm not dropping you off at a bus stop. You just had all your tires slashed, and apparently, there are mean, angry people looking for you. Come to my place. See that apartment complex? The one with the weird peach colored paint? I live there."

Tears were burning my eyes again. I'd gotten myself into plenty of messes, but this one was a real humdinger. "No, I'll get out here." I untied the sweatshirt and dropped it on the floor.

"I told you to keep it."

I shook my head. "I don't need it. Please, let me out." I kept my face turned away, so he couldn't see the tears. He pulled over to the curb, right in front of a market. I snatched up my backpack and hopped out. "Thanks for the ride," I said without looking back. The truck rolled away.

I'd lied to Colin. I had no place to go. I walked across the parking lot toward the market. A black car with heavily tinted windows rolled into the lot. Something about the way it drove through parked cars, slow and menacingly, made me pick up my pace. The driver picked up the pace, too. I raced into the market and realized I was cornering myself inside, but surely no one would harm me in broad daylight in public. I wasn't willing to test that theory. The sales clerk looked up from the register as I ran past him.

"Hey, no customers allowed back there!" he called.

I waved. "Just need an exit." I raced down a small hallway and past a room where two employees looked up from their lunches. The hallway ended at an exit door. I pushed out of it and was relieved that it didn't set off an alarm. The alley stretched behind a line of shops. It was cluttered with trash bins and a white delivery van. I ran to the van and grabbed the door handles. It was locked. I sprinted to the end of the alley and peered cautiously around the corner of the building. The black car had parked. Three dangerous looking men were walking into the market. One had a jaw that was a mile wide, and another was wearing a black eye patch, like a fucking pirate. It seemed Gregor had hired thugs to get that picture back. Three massive men for one woman who probably weighed less than their shoes piled together.

I waited for them to get inside the store, then raced across the parking lot. A car honked behind me, and I reflexively looked back. A fourth man cut off a car and was lumbering across the parking lot toward me.