I sink back against the leather seat. “So, you’re gonna get us another plane?”
“Sure.”
I fist my hands at my sides. Why the hell is Damien so fucking reckless? So fucking unpredictable? The guy’s going toget us killed, one of these days.
Right now, though, I’m a lot more focused on getting the hell away from Lia than on my possibly impending fate. I wish I’d never said yes to hunting her down for Carmelo. Though the truth is, I didn’t say yes to anything. Damien volunteered me, and I’m still seething about that.
But it’s just too hard to be near her. It’s too hard, because it feels like I’m on the verge of that old precipice. Like I’m about to get caught up in a whirlwind again, and I’ll be helpless to do a thing to stop it. And I know what comes after. What comes after is pain. There can only be pain, with a snake like her.
“I was just thinking…” starts Damien, in a hesitant way that I know he’s far from feeling.
So I don’t react, turning my head toward the window instead.
“I was just thinking…” he says again more insistently.
I keep my mouth shut, because I amdoneplaying his games. He’s the one who told me to move on. So what the hell is he doing right now?
If I didn’t know him better, I’d imagine he wasenjoyingtorturing me. Or punishing me, for getting close to her.
But I don’t think he wants to hurt me. He’s never wanted to hurt me. He’s only ever looked out for me.
So what the hell is he playing at?
“I was just thinking… don’t you want to know what I’ve been thinking?”
“I don’t believe for a second you even know how to think,” I retort.
He snorts out a laugh. “Touche. Well, want to know what Ihaven’tbeen thinking?”
“Fuck off, Damien.”
“Okay, fine, since you insist, I’ll tell you. Well, it occurred to me that your girl—”
“Sheisn’tmy girl!”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. It occurred to me that Lia sure has changed a lot.”
I raise a surprised eyebrow.
“Okay, so? She’s three years older. She has a kid. She got ugly. So what?”
Another glance at the undoubtedly attractive girl beside me, and I see that she’s closed her eyes. I can tell she’s pretending to sleep, but that she’s hearing everything.Good. I want to insult her. I want to hurt her. Iwantto make her cry.
“I didn’t mean physically, you superficial bastard.”
“You’re the bastard,” I growl. “Are you going to tell me what you’re driving at?”
“Thought you weren’t interested.”
“Just fucking get it out.”
I try to calm myself, taking deep breaths to keep from lashing out at him. Goddamn, do I want to strangle him right now.
“Well, it occurs to me,” he starts again, in an aggravatingly slow voice, “that Lia sure has changed a lot. I mean, didn’t you wonder why the hell she was running in the first place?”
No, I didn’t. It may have taken every ounce of energy I had, but I managed not to question it at all.
“I guess it’s none of my business to wonder,” I mutter.