"Long time no see, baby."
I started at the sound of the voice, and as the words registered in my brain, I froze. My phone slipped from my hand as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge. It couldn't be...it was simply impossible. But there wa...
Whether it was from Johnny's fast driving on the curvy roads or the swarm of butterflies in my stomach that impeded my digestive system from doing its work, I felt sick by the time the car finally came to a stop. I'd paid only minimal attention to the passing of time—enough to know that nearly five hours had passed—but though, in one sense, the trip had seemed to stretch on in an incredible imitation of eternity, in some ways, it was over too quickly. I cracked my eyes open the smallest amount possible and saw that Johnny had parked the car in front of a large building that looked suspiciously like the backside of a hotel.
"Cassidy?" Heidi switched off the music and turned back to look at me. I threw away my act and opened my eyes. "We're here." Neither she nor Johnny had spoken for hours, and I wondered if they were also feeling the gravity of the mission they were on.
The hours in the car had given me time to think about what the people around me were risking in order to keep my family safe. They'd all been so cautious about their identities when it came to me, but they were about to reveal themselves to hundreds of rich, influential people who wouldn't hesitate to bribe them with that information. I had yet to see them in action, but something gave me the impression that the people I'd been sharing a house with for the past few days were an incredible force to be reckoned with, and if rich, powerful people could use them for personal gain, they would most certainly do so.
"It's party time." Never mind. Heidi didn't seem to be taking any of this seriously. She opened the door and hopped out, stretching with a groan. "I'm hungry." She rubbed her stomach to punctuate the words. "Did you prepare dinner already?"
"I've been busy." I froze at the sound of the voice.
No, no, no. I wasn't ready for that yet! For some reason, I'd been so worried about seeing my family again, I'd foolishly thought I wouldn't have to face Lucas quite yet. I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white in an attempt to pull myself together, but the action didn't seem to help.
"Are you gonna get out, or just stay in the car overnight?" Heidi poked her head back inside the car. "This jerk didn't get any food for us, so we have to find something to eat, and I'd prefer to do that in the heated indoors."
I didn't have any excuse to wait any longer, so I climbed out of the car, keeping my gaze directed firmly toward the ground. I saw his shoes and the hem of his black suit pants and quickly turned until I saw Heidi's red converse.
"Hey, Heids, come help me grab some of this stuff." Johnny called from the trunk.
"That's right. Let some real muscle do the hard work." I could almost hear the smirk in her voice as she trotted around to the back of the car.
They were a few feet away now and probably couldn't hear anything Lucas and I said which increased my feelings of discomfort phenomenally. The air surrounding the two of us was thick and awkward, but I didn't want to break the silence, because talking to him would probably just make it worse. I heard him take a step closer, and with a soft gasp, I raised my gaze despite my best efforts.
He was wearing a fitted white button-up shirt today—which had at least three buttons undone despite the chill in the air—with a black suit coat over top, and his hands were pushed into his pockets to escape the cold. My eyes lifted to his face, and my breath caught in my throat. He was staring down at me with a soft smirk, and there was fierce heat in his expression rather than the cold indifference I had anticipated. Drawing a quick breath, I half turned away, and his resulting, breathy chuckle made me curl my toes in my sneakers.
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