AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyes narrow. “Weapon…free?”
Briar bites back a smile, turns me around, and makes me leave my emotional-support guns and knives in the car…
After we finally make it inside, my hands go clammy.
Families. Everywhere. Smiling, happy, healthy families with children who feel safe enough to throw tantrums over spilled ice cream.
This is so far out of my depth.
I’m nauseated.
Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I brace myself against the blinding scene—drenched in sunlight and cheer. “Where are we meeting your contact?”
“Hm?” Her head cocks, then realization dawns. “Oh. Right. We’re meeting my contact in about two hours. Min.” She tugs my hand out of my pocket and takes it prisoner again as she points at a very bad, no good massive roller coaster. “Let’s ride that.”
It takes my brain several moments to register all the words she just said past the sensation of my nerves being on fire. We’re here two hours early? Two. Hours? We have to be here—as regular park goers—for two. entire. hours?
I thought she said the schedule she made was a joke.
I might throw up.
Chapter 12
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be careful who you trust.
Briar
Rowan is green. Not an outright green, to be sure. The shade just barely tinges his cheeks. With the overlay of his pale skin, he looks like a poor Victorian child dying of dysentery, and I have to give him credit for making it this far. He survived five roller coasters and didn’t break a sweat on the Kamikaze or the drop tower.
Alas. A tea party was too much for the manly man.
Taking deep breaths, Rowan braces himself against a pole—which is strategically placed near a large trash can—and whispers, “I hate you.”
I bite my bottom lip. “I promise never to tell your enemies that your weakness is teacup rides.”
His eyes close, briefly, painfully. “They’re for children, aren’t they? Why are they allowed to spin so much?”
“For maximum enjoyment.”
He groans, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. “Never again.”
I grin. “Are you ready for lunch?”
Tilting his head back, he glowers down his nose at me and grumbles, “The last thing I want to do right now is eat, but if lunch means I can sit in an air conditioned space and pretend this entire morning didn’t happen, yes.”
“I’ve no control over your delusions. Did you scour the spreadsheet I made for you and determine an acceptable place to get food?”
“I found several with equally disastrous menus. But which is closest…” Taking a fortifying breath, he reaches into his pocket and unfolds his map. While searching the colorful streets, he tempers his breathing. A moment passes. Then another.
Something sparks in his gaze, and he jerks his attention upright. “Briar. How long have we been here?”
I don’t flinch. “Four hours.”
His eye twitches, and both the green and red hues drain from his skin. Like reverse Christmas. “Four hours? What about our contact?”
I beam. “Time flies when you’re having a good time.”
