me and the devil - kai parker

30

Madelene woke up to the sound of cheerful humming, her brain still groggy. Blinking against the harsh sunlight streaming through the car windows, she squinted to find Kai beaming at her, his smile unusually wide and irritatingly cheerful. He stood outside obnoxiously munching on a beef jerky stick, the other hand holding the fuel dispenser, filling up the car with gas.

"Good morning, sunshine," Kai said in a sing-song voice, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Madelene rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the confusion. "Where are we?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Kai gestured for her to open the backseat door, and she did, stretching out her legs. She looked up at him from her seat waiting for an answer.

"Gas station, we're about an hour away from my place. Figured I'd let you sleep in a bit longer, you seemed to need it."

Madelene's eyes widened in disbelief. "An hour? You let me sleep through all of that?"

Kai chuckled, his mood undeterred by her annoyance. "Relax, Maddie-bear. I know the way home. Besides, you looked too peaceful to wake up."

"Peaceful?" she echoed, incredulous. "I said I will drive! And stop calling me Maddie-bear."

Kai grinned, unbothered by her growing irritation. "But it suits you. And you do know I can drive without your help, right? I also didn't want to hear your annoyed yapping of how much you hate me, blah blah"

Madelene glared at him, crossing her arms. "That's not the point! You should've woken me up. I don't trust you."

Kai glanced over, noticing her pout and finding it more amusing than threatening. "You're cute when you're angry, you know that?"

"I really don't get why you couldn't just wake me up," Madelene said, her voice dripping with exasperation as she leaned out the door to look up at Kai. "It makes me think you are hiding something from me an-"

Kai, leaning casually against the car, raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Before Madelene could respond with a sharp retort, a deep, male voice clearing his throat, demanding their attention, made both their heads snap toward the sound, and they were met with the sight of a police officer standing on the other side of the car, peeking in at Kai over the hood of the car and then down into the car at Madelene.

One of his arms was resting on the hood of the old Toyota they had stolen while the other was looped over his belt, dangerously close to his gun. He was young, and couldn't have been a police officer for more than a year or two, under his obnoxiously big mustache, there was a soft and youthful face.

"Good morning, officer. Is there a problem?"

The officer looked between them, his gaze lingering on Madelene's frown. "Everything alright here?" He wandered from Kai with a raised eyebrow, trying to meet her eyes.

He was obviously scanning her body for any signs of physical altercation between the two. Madelene forced a smile, her annoyance instantly replaced by the need to play along.

"Oh, we're fine. Just, uh, bickering over who gets to drive next."

She walked out of the car seat and stood next to Kai, he nodded enthusiastically, slipping his arm around Madelene's shoulders in a show of affection. "Yeah, she hates it when I hog the wheel, but I can't help it. I just love driving."

The officer didn't seem convinced, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her messy hair and deep, purple undereye bags, and most especially at the very badly healed scar close to her hairline that Kai gave her one of the endless times they fought.  "Ma'am, you sure you're okay?"