to him
after he threatened to gag her for the duration of the ride when she offered to
pay him back for the bus ticket for the third time in five minutes.
The devil must have
been on his shoulder because he couldn’t resist needling her. “Where are you
headed in North Carolina?”
Her aggravated sigh
spoke volumes. Shane faced forward to keep his reluctant grin hidden. “It’s not
the same as telling me why. Plus, think of it this way.” Her shoulders tensed
and he knew she listened closely. “I’ll need to give you the right amount for
the tickets.”
Slowly her head
swiveled on her shoulders to give him an evil eye. Unexpected humor flared.
Shane wasn’t used to a woman outside his sister and mother amusing him. The
women he spent time with gave him what he wanted for as long as he wanted and
moved on when he finished with them.
Admittedly, it
wasn’t the best practice to get into with a woman but it worked while he’d been
serving his country. Relationships like the ones he’d had suited his lifestyle
just fine at the time. Dealing with a different type of woman in a non-familial
manner was out of his scope. This one begged for a man to figure her out and
earn his way into her affections.
He watched Olivia
from the corner of his eye. Question was would her affections be worth it? Her
annoyance filled the car. If she could spit on him she would, he bet. It didn’t
matter much now that he got her to face him. He raised his brow awaiting her
response to his question.
“North Carolina is
all you need to know.” Her lips pursed tightly together and her blue eyes shot
lasers at him.
With her accent he’d
venture to guess she lived in the northern states. Not very clever running in a
straight line in the opposite direction of her home. But then why would she
know anything about evading an enemy. Not that any of it should concern him.
Still he couldn’t stop the desire to probe further. “Any particular reason?”
Did she have family or friends that she was running toward? Or was she blindly
running away?
“Seriously,” she
whispered furiously after one quick look in the back.
Shane checked the
review mirror. Her daughter stared out the window, her attention occupied. The
sign for the bus station wiped his humor and further questions. He followed the
arrows toward designated parking. Olivia jumped from the car as soon as he
stopped while he shifted to park. She had the back door open gathering her
little girl close, her duffle slung over her shoulder.
Shane rushed from the
car to catch up. “Olivia.” She froze at the command in his voice. He reached
them in front of the main entrance and grabbed her elbow. They were in the
middle of the walkway but he didn’t care. Foot traffic veered around them.
“Take this.” He pressed the fold of money he’d taken from his office prior to
leaving the house at her. He didn’t think she’d let him take time to withdraw
more from his bank. The five hundred dollars should adequately cover their
tickets and a little extra.
She hesitated and he
watched the struggle on her face. Acceptance won and her hand came up to take
it. He held her hand when she would have pulled back. Blue eyes searched his.
“I’ll pay--“
Using his left hand
he placed his palm over her mouth. “Quiet. Not another word.” The breath she
huffed out tickled his palm. He focused on her face until she acquiesced. He
removed his hand to pull out the business card from his shirt pocket and added
it to the money. “Call me and let me know you and the kid made it.”
He wrote his home
and cell number on the back of the plain card containing his business name.
Only those extremely close to him had complete access to him. She had no
concept of how coveted those numbers were to associates on the outside of his
company, especially his cell. She looked like she wanted to refuse. They
entered a stare off she had no hopes of winning.
“Fine.” At her
agreement, he backed off a step to give
after he threatened to gag her for the duration of the ride when she offered to
pay him back for the bus ticket for the third time in five minutes.
The devil must have
been on his shoulder because he couldn’t resist needling her. “Where are you
headed in North Carolina?”
Her aggravated sigh
spoke volumes. Shane faced forward to keep his reluctant grin hidden. “It’s not
the same as telling me why. Plus, think of it this way.” Her shoulders tensed
and he knew she listened closely. “I’ll need to give you the right amount for
the tickets.”
Slowly her head
swiveled on her shoulders to give him an evil eye. Unexpected humor flared.
Shane wasn’t used to a woman outside his sister and mother amusing him. The
women he spent time with gave him what he wanted for as long as he wanted and
moved on when he finished with them.
Admittedly, it
wasn’t the best practice to get into with a woman but it worked while he’d been
serving his country. Relationships like the ones he’d had suited his lifestyle
just fine at the time. Dealing with a different type of woman in a non-familial
manner was out of his scope. This one begged for a man to figure her out and
earn his way into her affections.
He watched Olivia
from the corner of his eye. Question was would her affections be worth it? Her
annoyance filled the car. If she could spit on him she would, he bet. It didn’t
matter much now that he got her to face him. He raised his brow awaiting her
response to his question.
“North Carolina is
all you need to know.” Her lips pursed tightly together and her blue eyes shot
lasers at him.
With her accent he’d
venture to guess she lived in the northern states. Not very clever running in a
straight line in the opposite direction of her home. But then why would she
know anything about evading an enemy. Not that any of it should concern him.
Still he couldn’t stop the desire to probe further. “Any particular reason?”
Did she have family or friends that she was running toward? Or was she blindly
running away?
“Seriously,” she
whispered furiously after one quick look in the back.
Shane checked the
review mirror. Her daughter stared out the window, her attention occupied. The
sign for the bus station wiped his humor and further questions. He followed the
arrows toward designated parking. Olivia jumped from the car as soon as he
stopped while he shifted to park. She had the back door open gathering her
little girl close, her duffle slung over her shoulder.
Shane rushed from the
car to catch up. “Olivia.” She froze at the command in his voice. He reached
them in front of the main entrance and grabbed her elbow. They were in the
middle of the walkway but he didn’t care. Foot traffic veered around them.
“Take this.” He pressed the fold of money he’d taken from his office prior to
leaving the house at her. He didn’t think she’d let him take time to withdraw
more from his bank. The five hundred dollars should adequately cover their
tickets and a little extra.
She hesitated and he
watched the struggle on her face. Acceptance won and her hand came up to take
it. He held her hand when she would have pulled back. Blue eyes searched his.
“I’ll pay--“
Using his left hand
he placed his palm over her mouth. “Quiet. Not another word.” The breath she
huffed out tickled his palm. He focused on her face until she acquiesced. He
removed his hand to pull out the business card from his shirt pocket and added
it to the money. “Call me and let me know you and the kid made it.”
He wrote his home
and cell number on the back of the plain card containing his business name.
Only those extremely close to him had complete access to him. She had no
concept of how coveted those numbers were to associates on the outside of his
company, especially his cell. She looked like she wanted to refuse. They
entered a stare off she had no hopes of winning.
“Fine.” At her
agreement, he backed off a step to give
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