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Zeph glanced over at me from behind the steering wheel. “First window on the second story was my bedroom until I was nineteen.”
I gazed up to where he pointed and then shook my head in amazement. “Even that window reeks of money. All fancy with pretty curtains and as wide as I am tall. Makes my bedroom window look like a jail cell peephole.”
“Speaking of, I had a visit from the cops yesterday.”
My mouth dropped open. “Do they know?”
His gaze darted back up to the bedroom window. “About what?”
I dug my fingernails into his arm, heart hammering nervously. “About your little habit of robbing the rich to give to the poor. Or in other words…” I lowered my voice, so it was barely above a hiss, even though there was no one else around, “breaking and entering.”
Though he had honorable reasons for doing the things he did, it didn’t make them any less illegal. It had felt wild and exciting at first, but it suddenly felt reckless and dangerous. I didn’t want him ending up in jail because of his Robin Hood fantasies. I was something of an accomplice after our night at Kat’s place, even though the only thing we’d stolen was a few grams of her weed. But I knew that wasn’t the case at the other homes he’d broken into.
An image of him being dragged off in cuffs had my stomach doing vomit-inducing backflips.
But he shook his head, his dark, almost curly hair bouncing around his face. “No, nothing like that. They just wanted some files that the murdered priests had worked on.”
Relief rushed me. “Oh. Good. That’s good.” Then I peered at him. “Are you worried about that at all? Must be unsettling knowing there’s a priest killer on the loose. It’s still all over the news. I know you can take care of yourself, but still…” I smoothed out a wrinkle on my dress, trying to seem like I wasn’t at all bothered.
I couldn’t be bothered by him. I couldn’t care. I had too much going on with Gran and Amelia. If I shouldered anything more, my entire house of cards would come tumbling down.
Feelings were too inconvenient. I wasn’t going there. Especially with him, because falling for a priest would only end in heartbreak.
Zeph’s lips turned up, and he reached over to pick up my hand. “You’re nervous.”
He’d completely misread my body language. “I’m not.”
He ignored that I’d said anything. “You are, but it’s cute. You’re like a pissed-off kitten.”
I sighed, because it wasn’t really. “I’m not nervous. Not about you handling yourself. But your mother was a bitch last time I saw her. If she had wanted to see us, she could have called and apologized for calling me a slut.”
His face darkened. “She’ll apologize or we’re leaving.”
I glanced at him. “This is a big thing for your sister. I can leave. You don’t have to. Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have come.” But I needed this second chance with Principal Williams. If she wasn’t taking my phone calls, then in person at a baby’s birthday party it would have to be.
His fingers clamped down on mine. “I’m not here without you, you hear me? You want to bail, we both bail. But this is your chance to show Principal Williams you’re funny and smart and intelligent. And that your daughter deserves a spot in that school. You don’t need to worry about my family. They’ll behave, and my mother will apologize.”
Another car parked behind us, blocking us in, the party due to begin any minute now. I sighed, glancing over my shoulder at it. “Blocked in. No escape now.”
The other couple called a greeting to Zeph and cast a curious look in my direction but didn’t question who I was. A pretty, young, dark-haired woman greeted them at the door and welcomed them into the house. She spotted Zeph and I lingering on the drive, me debating on whether I could make a run for it in these heels.
She waved enthusiastically, a dozen or so bracelets clinking together around her arm. “Zepherin! You’re here! What are you doing, sitting out there? Everyone is inside. I’m dying to meet your…friend. Hello there.”
I swallowed thickly and raised a hand in greeting. Too late for running.
Like he could read my mind, he turned his back on his sister, his fingers tips brushing the back of my hand. “There’s woods at the back of the property. You need to run, we don’t need a car. You leave, I’ll follow.”
A shiver rolled down my spine, knowing that the chase was part of the thrill for him.
And apparently for me too.
We got out of the car, Zeph picking up my hand to tug me toward the door and his waiting sister. But when her gaze dropped to our linked fingers, I pulled away.
Zeph grabbed my hand back, squeezing my fingers possessively.
A warm glow radiated from the spot where our palms touched, even though his sister’s smile fell.
She got herself together by the time we reached her though, and he let me go long enough for her to wrap her arms around him and squeeze him tight. “Why haven’t I seen you in so long?”
