by Maggie Thom
****
"Looks like your lady friend is out."
Guy looked behind him. He slid back over to his side of the car. Reaching for her, he gently moved her away from the door and laid her down with her head in his lap. When he looked up he couldn't avoid Graham's raised eyebrows in the rear view mirror.
"It's not what you think. She's just had it rough for a few days."
"Yeah and then some. Hey, it's okay you know to get attached to someone. I'd say it's about time." He grinned from ear to ear. "And you picked a hot one." His eyebrows bounced up and down like Groucho Marx.
"Just get us home." Guy stared out the window for a while but it was futile. He allowed his gaze to be pulled back to the woman he held. He smiled as he took in her dirty, wrinkled, torn clothing. He reached out his right index finger and slid it into the tear in the arm of her shirt.
A thin line of dried blood lay hidden beneath.
From whatever happened in the airport?
He knew he shouldn't have left her alone but he got caught up in all that Graham had been doing and he figured they were free and clear at least for a little while. It bothered him the way she'd looked when she'd come up to him and Graham. Had something else happened she hadn't shared? That look in her eyes was wild like she was running from something or someone.
It just didn't sit right with him that it was confusion and chaos. Settling back, his hand resting on her shoulder, he allowed himself to go through all he knew. Acid burned in his gut as he thought about what he was going to have to do. What he was going to have to share and at what he suspected was true. It was going to change his family in ways he couldn't predict. His step grandmother may regret bringing him into the family after all.
"Let's go to your place, Graham."
"It's not that different to my car, you know? It's a tiny bit messy. It might need a bit tidying up before company comes over." He nodded his head towards Bailey.
"Your mom would be so proud that you're concerned." Guy knew that Graham was really just trying to lighten the mood and take his mind off what was going on. They may be opposites when it came to cleanliness but he also knew that Graham's place had state of the art security. Besides his family didn't know where Graham lived.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN