Free Cocked: A Stepbrother Romance by B. B. Hamel Page A

as new people forever?”
    “No.”
    “What about my life?”
    Calmly I grabbed a cup of coffee and took a long sip. It was hot and nearly burned my damn tongue off, but it felt good. I was only half awake and full of adrenaline from a few moments ago, and the burning sensation and the caffeine helped clear my head.
    “Listen to me, Lace,” I said to her, sitting back down. Our legs were close, nearly touching, and I could practically feel her breathing. “Everything I’m doing is meant to give you your life back.”
    “I haven’t even seen these cartel guys.”
    “Good. You don’t want to.”
    “It feels so fake.”
    “I know.” I moved closer to her. “Did you take some money from my bag for this coffee?”
    She blinked for a second. “Uh, yeah.”
    I grinned at her. “Thief.”
    “Look who’s talking.”
    “I’m rubbing off on you.”
    “I really hope not.”
    She stood and walked into the bathroom, and I smiled to myself.
    We straightened ourselves up and left not long later. I drove us farther into town where we found a department store. I let Lacey buy herself a few things and a bag to keep it all in and got myself a change of clothes. We stopped at a drug store next for toiletries, and then we were back on the road before ten. 
    She wasn’t much interested in talking. I didn’t want to push her, and I didn’t feel interested in an argument. She needed time to adjust to her new reality, which made sense. Most people couldn’t go from a comfortable life at home to being chased down by violent Mexican gangsters in one afternoon without some adjustment issues. And honestly, she was handling it better than I expected, or at least she hadn’t broken down completely yet.
    I didn’t know how long that would last, and I was afraid for when it happened.
    We drove for a few hours that day, not stopping for anything. I wanted to put as much distance behind us as possible, and I was afraid that we’d argue again if we stopped.
    The truth was, even though I hated the strained silence between us, it felt better than the alternative. I hated the way she looked at me, with the anger and the loathing, as if I were the worst person in the world. In her mind, I probably was. She had no clue what I was doing for her and what I had to do, no clue at all.
    I couldn’t blame her for hating me. If that was what she needed to get through everything, then fine, I would deal with that.
    “I’m starving.”
    I looked up from the road, surprised out of my thoughts. She hadn’t spoken in a few hours.
    “We can stop soon,” I said automatically, even though I didn’t want to.
    “Not a rest stop.”
    “Okay, princess. Only the best for you.”
    “Look,” she said, turning her head toward me. “If we’re doing this, we might as well be civil.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “That’s surprisingly mature.”
    “Don’t talk to me about being mature.”
    I laughed and grinned at her. There was the anger again in her voice. “Okay. Just trying to say that I agree.”
    “Then say that instead.” She sighed, exasperated. “I think you’re a cocky asshole and I think you ruined my life, but this is happening. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
    “This is happening,” I agreed.
    “So we might as well try and get along.”
    “That works for me.”
    “Okay then. Let’s find a diner and eat.”
    I smiled to myself and made my way to the right lane. I got off at the next exit I found and pulled over at the first gas station I saw.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “Well, we don’t have phones, so we need to ask for directions.”
    She laughed. “I have my phone.”
    “Fuck,” I said, eyes wide. “Give it to me.”
    “Why?”
    “Have you used it?”
    “No. I’ve been saving the battery.”
    “I need it. Please.”
    She dug the phone from her pocket and handed it over. I ripped off the back, pulled the battery, and tossed them both out the window.
    “What the fuck!”
    “They can track these