the window didn’t even glance in the back seat, and she looked like she’d had a worse night than I had. Hard to tell with three piercings in her upper lip.
Pierce handed back the fries and drink. “Eat the fries. You’ll feel better, and I need you alert by the time we get to Straub.”
Straub Hospital. Millie. Memories jolted into place. I peeled the paper off my straw, stuck it in the appropriate slot, and drank. It took both hands to hold the extra-large plastic cup. Guess Pierce figured I was in dire need of caffeine and bubbles. And he’d been right. My stomach quieted almost instantly. Better. Much better. Or maybe it was just that the aspirin had started to work.
Questions niggled in the back of my mind as my brain soaked up the caffeine. “Have you talked to the burn unit? Is Millie okay?”
“Want to keep this visit quiet.” He’d slowed the Jeep, waiting to merge into traffic, and shot me a sideways look. Assessing. “You look like hell.”
I smiled. Sweetly, I hoped. “And how exactly does hell look?” I knew better than to check out the situation in a mirror. Too scary. “Maybe it would help if you told me what drug you used on me. So I could work on healing myself.”
Oh, holy Mamma Mia. Where had that come from? Could I heal myself? I shoved the thought away, because now wasn’t the time to be sidetracked.
He gave me a single, arched eyebrow that clearly emphasized his innocence. “You can detour through a restroom before we hit the burn unit.”
Giddy anticipation helped to chase the rest of the drug from my veins. Or maybe it was the French fries. Whatever, the ladies room would give me enough privacy to do…something. So what if I had a dead cell phone. There were other ways to communicate my situation. Maybe I’d have a chance to hand someone a note, or…
“Not gonna work, Belisama.”
“What?” I tried for innocence, but it came out part snark and part breathy gasp. I sucked at innocence.
Pierce shook his head. “How about you tell me what you ate that could have been drugged?”
I suppressed an eye roll. “How about the Diet Coke you so graciously popped the lid on before you left the galley?”
A glance in the rear view mirror confirmed my suspicion. His jaw was clenched so tightly I should’ve been able to hear his teeth grind. “Pisses me off that you think I drugged you.”
He merged onto the highway, speeding up, and my hair immediately blew into a tangled mess. Blindly, I groped in my bag for an elastic band to tame it before the knots got so bad I’d have to shave my head. “Yeah, well, it pisses me off that you kidnapped me.”
Pierce’s shoulders lifted in a tight shrug. “Needed to get to the plane, and there wasn’t time to dance around with explanations. Figured finding Millie and Harlan would be top priority for you. Acted on it.”
He was right about that, but I wasn’t ready to cut him any slack. Trusting him could be a mistake. Not trusting him might be an even bigger mistake. The man had leprechaun genes which made trust issues an impossible conundrum. It was probably time to change the subject. Maybe I could get some information out of him. “Tell me about the female spy we found on my property.”
He white-knuckled the steering wheel. “She did some work for me. Personal favor. Ended up flipping sides and took the politically correct road.”
Heat flared across my neck, into my face. “You had someone working on my property? Without telling me?”
“Just respecting your married privacy.” Bitterness edged his voice, so subtle I almost missed it.
I knew Pierce cared about me, but not like that. It wasn’t like there’d been anything between us that would spark regret, or jealousy. Lust, maybe. Friendship for sure, but… “Cop-out. You know me better than that. What was she doing? And more importantly, why?”
He wet his lips, and then did a quick glance in the mirror. “Her task was to move Millie and Harlan to a safe
Pierce handed back the fries and drink. “Eat the fries. You’ll feel better, and I need you alert by the time we get to Straub.”
Straub Hospital. Millie. Memories jolted into place. I peeled the paper off my straw, stuck it in the appropriate slot, and drank. It took both hands to hold the extra-large plastic cup. Guess Pierce figured I was in dire need of caffeine and bubbles. And he’d been right. My stomach quieted almost instantly. Better. Much better. Or maybe it was just that the aspirin had started to work.
Questions niggled in the back of my mind as my brain soaked up the caffeine. “Have you talked to the burn unit? Is Millie okay?”
“Want to keep this visit quiet.” He’d slowed the Jeep, waiting to merge into traffic, and shot me a sideways look. Assessing. “You look like hell.”
I smiled. Sweetly, I hoped. “And how exactly does hell look?” I knew better than to check out the situation in a mirror. Too scary. “Maybe it would help if you told me what drug you used on me. So I could work on healing myself.”
Oh, holy Mamma Mia. Where had that come from? Could I heal myself? I shoved the thought away, because now wasn’t the time to be sidetracked.
He gave me a single, arched eyebrow that clearly emphasized his innocence. “You can detour through a restroom before we hit the burn unit.”
Giddy anticipation helped to chase the rest of the drug from my veins. Or maybe it was the French fries. Whatever, the ladies room would give me enough privacy to do…something. So what if I had a dead cell phone. There were other ways to communicate my situation. Maybe I’d have a chance to hand someone a note, or…
“Not gonna work, Belisama.”
“What?” I tried for innocence, but it came out part snark and part breathy gasp. I sucked at innocence.
Pierce shook his head. “How about you tell me what you ate that could have been drugged?”
I suppressed an eye roll. “How about the Diet Coke you so graciously popped the lid on before you left the galley?”
A glance in the rear view mirror confirmed my suspicion. His jaw was clenched so tightly I should’ve been able to hear his teeth grind. “Pisses me off that you think I drugged you.”
He merged onto the highway, speeding up, and my hair immediately blew into a tangled mess. Blindly, I groped in my bag for an elastic band to tame it before the knots got so bad I’d have to shave my head. “Yeah, well, it pisses me off that you kidnapped me.”
Pierce’s shoulders lifted in a tight shrug. “Needed to get to the plane, and there wasn’t time to dance around with explanations. Figured finding Millie and Harlan would be top priority for you. Acted on it.”
He was right about that, but I wasn’t ready to cut him any slack. Trusting him could be a mistake. Not trusting him might be an even bigger mistake. The man had leprechaun genes which made trust issues an impossible conundrum. It was probably time to change the subject. Maybe I could get some information out of him. “Tell me about the female spy we found on my property.”
He white-knuckled the steering wheel. “She did some work for me. Personal favor. Ended up flipping sides and took the politically correct road.”
Heat flared across my neck, into my face. “You had someone working on my property? Without telling me?”
“Just respecting your married privacy.” Bitterness edged his voice, so subtle I almost missed it.
I knew Pierce cared about me, but not like that. It wasn’t like there’d been anything between us that would spark regret, or jealousy. Lust, maybe. Friendship for sure, but… “Cop-out. You know me better than that. What was she doing? And more importantly, why?”
He wet his lips, and then did a quick glance in the mirror. “Her task was to move Millie and Harlan to a safe
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