Seth. The band around my heart eased a little. I swept my gaze around the truck park. Ranger had shadowed me to the dark corner I’d subconsciously retreated to but had left enough distance between us to give me privacy. Rubi was by the Bone Rattler, phone jammed to his ear. Mateo, I presumed, had gone back to the bed Rubi’s hooligan antics had tipped him out of. “I love you.”
Folk sighed. “I love you too. I’m sorry I’m making you worry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Isn’t it? I like to talk, Seth. I’m good at it. But every time I try and articulate whatever this is, nothing comes out.”
“Maybe you’re not ready to talk about Rocco yet.”
“I should be. He’s been gone a long time.”
He hadn’t, not really. But sometimes Folk seemed so detached from Rocco’s death it felt like he’d died twenty years ago.
Like Lark Matherson.
The faded photos on the bar wall flickered through my mind as Rubi ended his call and searched his immediate surroundings, looking for me.
Fuck.
I had to go.
We said goodbye with fear squeezing my heart again, the need to be home so profound it hurt. Tense, I retraced my steps to face the version of Rubi who’d been MIA all week.
“This ain’t on. Mats has got to go home. There’s an Enterprise over the bridge. Let’s go bag a motor and make this shit happen.”
“You want Ranger to drive him?”
“Nah, you do it. Ranger can woo the Bone Rattler, and I’ll take Bertha.”
Couldn’t lie, it was a nice idea. Mateo needed his own bed as much as I needed to be with Folk rightnow. But Ranger wasn’t an experienced lorry driver. As desperate as I was to get home as fast as humanly possible, I didn’t like the idea of leaving him to endure the miles we had left on our run without Rubi to guide him. “I should stay with Bertha.”
“What the fuck for?”
“She’s bigger than anything you’ve driven before.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“What about?—”
“Deeky.” Rubi clamped a big hand on my shoulder. “None of it matters. Just go home, okay? I’ll sort the rest.”
Home.
To Ivy.
ToFolk.
I nodded. “Okay.”
As if anything was ever that simple.
11
DECOY
“Mateo.Mateo. Wake up, we need to go inside.”
“What?” Mateo raised his head from where he’d rested it against the passenger window the moment he’d slid into his seat an hour ago.