Painless

Chapter Nineteen

Carson looked at the road in silence, taking in my pleas. It was as close to a peace offering as I was going to give and he knew it. He took a strained breath.

“And besides, I have you here with me. What’s the worst that could happen?” I added, hoping that would seal the deal.

He swung his head around to stare at me. I searched his eyes for some sort of clue as to what he was thinking, but all I could see was how clear and blue they were. My stomach did a flip-flop as I recalled our steamy parking lot session. The feeling of his soft lips against mine. My hands running through his short brown hair, mussing it up in a sexy way that made me wish we hadn’t been out in public. He was hot and now so was I…

Get back on track, Bliss. Don’t get distracted now.

I broke the moment by clearing my throat and then looking forward again.

He did the same. “Fine. But we don’t go in until I’ve made sure that it’s safe. And as soon as I’ve assessed the situation, we call your mom and let her know what’s going on,” he said, forcefully. “And, Bliss? If you try to do even one reckless thing out here that could get you or Benji hurt, I will stop you. I’ll tie you up, lock you in the car, even hand-cuff you to me if I have to. I promised your mom that I’d bring you back safe and I don’t break my promises.”

“Tie me up, huh?” I asked, trying to tame his serious tone. When his frown deepened, I grew somber myself. “I hear you. Nothing reckless. Cross my heart.”

And hope to die.

We rode the rest of the way without speaking; me singing along quietly to the radio and him staring straight ahead lost in thought. It was probably the least dramatic time we’d had together since we’d begun our trip. How much of that had to do with the fact that I no longer hated him with a fiery passion, I wasn’t sure, but I think I actually enjoyed the solitary companionship. It was shockingly comfortable.

Since we weren’t telling my parents where we were headed or what we were doing, we ran into a snag when it came to getting a hotel. Carson offered to put the charges on his credit card, but it meant that we wouldn’t be four-starring it and we’d be sharing a room. I was convinced this was the actual reason he’d offered to pay, either because he wanted to be able to keep an eye on me or he was hoping to get more one-on-one time. I didn’t complain because I figured it was either this or sleep in the car, and with legs as long as mine, a girl really needed the space to stretch out.

Walking into our room after checking in, I was surprised by what little space there was to share. Up to this point, we’d been crashing at hotels with rooms the size of small apartments, with adjoining kitchens and jacuzzi bathtubs and room service at the touch of a button.

If this place had to be given a nickname, it’d be Hotel Hell. The beds were tiny; the night manager had described them as fulls, but there was no way my bed was any larger than a twin. I didn’t see any bugs, but that was probably only because they were hiding until we turned out the lights. And it smelled. I’m not sure what the odor was, or where it was coming from, but it seemed to be a blend of sweat, burned hair and bleach.

Let me put it this way: if you were going to kill someone and hide the body, this hotel would make the perfect scene for a massacre. The Bates Motel had nothing on where we were staying.

“Classy joint,” I muttered as we walked inside our room. I tossed my bag on the bed farthest from the door and looked around. Carson grunted as if he could read my mind.

God, this place was depressing.

I was dirty and tired and all I really wanted to do was lie down, take a nap, and not worry about trying to rescue people from crazy kidnappers. I’d passed the point of exhaustion a few hours earlier and I just wanted to do nothing.