I turn in time to watch her drop into a patch of succulents.Oops.
“I take it back,” she groans. “You should have touched my butt.”
Chapter 6
Trent
“How’sthatlifephilosophytreating you right now?” I ask, leaning over Karli to check for obvious injuries. “Something about defying death?”
She smirks up from the ground. “What I mean is, I don’t let fear stop me from doing what I want to do. I’m not going to sit around and wait for someone else to give me permission to be me.”
That comment hits like a punch to the gut. That’s all I’ve been doing for the last year. “Well, we can’t all be like you,” I mutter.
She frowns at that. But I don’t feel like clarifying, so I grab both of her arms and haul her body up next to mine. Her legs tremble, and she clings to my shirt for balance.
“Whew.” Karli breathes. “What a chest.”
I arch a brow. “Did you just objectify me after getting mad at me for supposedly trying to objectify you?”
She spreads her fingers out on my chest and tilts her chin up. “I never saidIwas one of the good ones.”
I choke on air.
Karli pats my chest again before pulling back. “I should warn you, I’m my mother’s daughter.”
She doesn’t seem pleased about that fact. And based on what she’s told me about her mother, I get why. But I don’t think she’s giving herself enough credit. Besides the breaking and entering she’s been mostly tolerable.
She heads for the parking lot in the back and I follow her wordlessly. But when I discover her trajectory, I pause mid-stride.
I am not riding in thatthingfor the next three hundred miles.
“Her name’s Bertha, you like her?” Karli asks.
I can’t say I do.Berthais a bright orange, 1950s monstrosity that’s one part vintage Volkswagen van and two parts kidnapper wagon. The back windows are blacked out and there’s a single black door on the passenger side. We are bound to get pulled over just for driving a suspicious vehicle. But I have no other choice.
“She’s got her quirks, but she still runs great.”
“Quirks?” I nod to the passenger side mirror, currently being held up by a whole roll of duct tape. Even that appears to be failing. “Is that what we’re going with?”
“Shush!” Karli spins on me. “Don’t offend her, or she’ll get even.”
I raise a single brow. “I’m not afraid of inanimate objects.”
Karli pokes me in the chest. “You’re going to regret those words.”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Don’t listen to him, Bertha. He’s just grumpy after being kidnapped by his brother.” Karli rubs the hood of the van, and for a moment, I almost expect Bertha to talk back.
I approach the passenger side cautiously. There are no less than fifty dents on this end. Am I safe with this woman?
I grab the door handle and yank. Nothing. I push on it, then pull, then yank.
“You gotta lift up,” Karli shouts from inside.
Yes, sure,thatmakes sense. I shove it again, lifting it up and out, and finally, the door opens with the creaks and moans of an entire graveyard.
I hop in, but the second my butt hits the seat I nearly bounce up into the ceiling. “What the–”
