The Cocky Thief

Chapter 21

"Are you sure you can't just call this guy?" asked Jennifer as they passed the marker into Nevada. It had been over three hours of tense silence and her anxiously looking at her phone. If they hadn't called to make the exchange yet, what were they waiting for?

"You want him to drop what he's doing to risk his neck for us? We're going to need a bit more than a phone call to sway him."

Austin was probably right, but every mile that separated them from San Francisco felt like one more nail that Jennifer was pounding into Melody's coffin.

"I know guys like this. If we just show up, who's to say he isn't going to shoot us on sight?"

"Like I said, he knows me. Besides, you're here."

"What difference does that make?"

"Weston likes women and you're hot. He's not going to shoot you without at least getting a name."

Great. A hornball with a rifle. This was someone who was going to have her sister's life in his hands. She really wished she knew more people on the West Coast. If they were in New York, she would've had an entire book of contacts she could bring in. Now she was stuck with Austin and he wasn't even letting her drive. If she didn't have something she could use soon, she was going to—

Austin's hand fell on her knee and gave a quick squeeze. "Hang in there. We're going to figure this out."

And then there was the matter of Austin... She studied human behavior. Once you knew what made people tick, you could get them to do anything for you. But Austin was here helping her and she had no idea why. She assumed it was so he could get his hands on the Dragon Heart, but he hadn't asked about it once since he'd grabbed her at the airport.

"How did you find me?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"At the airport. I know it wasn't the best disguise, but you found me immediately. How?"

He let out a laugh. "You're not going to be happy."

"Just tell me."

"It was your walk."

"My walk was different. I was in tennis shoes and I wore heels all weekend at the vineyard."

"Yeah, but I'd recognize your ass anywhere."

She glanced over to see whether he was joking, but his face was straight. Her idea of having a quick fling had been so sound and somehow it had gotten so messed up. And now he was sucked into her family's drama and all she could feel was grateful.

They'd made a ten-minute stop for supplies before leaving. She knew it was ten minutes because that was the time limit she'd given him. It gave her enough time to pick up some drinks and snacks for the road while Austin picked up a few more burner phones and a change of clothes.

He was in a gray t-shirt and jeans now. The first time since they'd met that he'd been in jeans. She wondered whether that was the real him or just another face he wore. Maybe he was wondering the same thing about her.

She knew she should've been polite and continued the conversation while they were driving, but she couldn't bring herself to commit to small talk. Not when so many things were up in the air.

But there was another reason. She'd tried small talk with Austin before. It always devolved into flirting or banter. Could she forgive herself for flirting with someone while her sister suffered?

So instead she stayed quiet, continually flipping through the music stations whenever commercials came on so there was never chance for Austin to start in.