Page 125 of Forever Defiant
Not a comfortable quiet. Not a peaceful quiet either. The kind of quiet that made my skin buzz.
Ava had given us a lot — context, details, a new lead, and a suspiciously perceptive side-eye at me and Dustin that I hadn’t appreciated — but now it was just the two of us, the dark road stretching out ahead, and the weight of everything pressing against my ribs.
Dustin kept one hand on the wheel, the other draped casually on the armrest console, except nothing about him felt casual. His jaw was locked tight, his shoulders too stiff, like he was holding himself back from an argument.
They’d decided to talk about everything when we were back, which sucked, because Dante, Noah, and Savannah were in the other car, and I could guarantee there was no silence intheircar.
Fine. Two could play the silent game. I turned toward the window, arms folded, trying to pretend my pulse wasn’t doing that annoying fluttering thing anytime he inhaled.
I thought back to the house and could see the version of him they knew, and somehow I knew it was different from the Dustin I knew. Harder. Less warm. I preferred the one I knew.
I didn’t need to be thinking about that right now.
Five minutes passed.
Ten.
Fifteen.
By minute sixteen, I was either going to scream or fling myself out of the moving vehicle. Finally, I snapped.
“Are you going to be weird the whole way back, or is this just a temporary performance?”
He didn’t look at me. “Not being weird.”
“You’re being extremely weird.”
Another beat of silence. Then, “I assumed you were thinking.” He glanced at me. “But you seem to be sulking instead.”
“I amnotsulking.” I was absolutely sulking,now. “Iwasthinking.”
He huffed a low laugh, the kind that somehow annoyed me and pulled heat down my spine at the same time. We sat in it again — the almost-laugh, the almost-fight, the almost-everything.
I tried again because I needed to talk about it, and I no longer cared if he didn’t. “So? What did you think about what Ava told us?”
He rolled his shoulders, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “I think she’s going to be on a football show in the future. Her recall is impressive.”
“But?”
He gave me a look. “I think she’s also the girlfriend of Jett Santo and has learned pretty quickly that info means power.”
“You think she knows more?” I agreed, relieved when he nodded. “But she wasn’t dancing around anything. I just wish she’d told us.”
He didn’t respond, but something in his expression sharpened, his brow furrowed even more. “She’s a good person. They are too. They’ll tell us when they know more.”
“You think they’ll look into it?”
Dustin huffed out a laugh. “They were looking into it before I even turned the engine over.” Dustin pointed to the car in front. “He knows it too — be glad you’re in this car.”
I exhaled slowly. “It’s getting deeper. You know that, right?”
“I know.” His voice dropped an octave. “That’s why I’m here.”
I blinked. “Here... meaning in the car with me, or here meaning in this mess with me?”
“Yes.”
God, he was truly infuriating. And also, that answer had done dangerous, terrible things to my insides. I crossed my legs, irritated at my own reaction. “I can handle myself, Dustin.”
