Inevitable Detour (Inevitability Book 1)(50)

Oblivious to my perusal, Farren turns away and drops his towel.

“God, you have a great ass,” I blurt out.

While I continue to admire his taut behind, Farren chuckles, making it clear he’s all too aware I’ve been checking him out.

I go to him.

Gently, I touch the scar on his lower back, and he turns to me, magnificent in his nakedness. He raises a questioning eyebrow.

“This isn’t over, is it?” I whisper.

“Not by a long shot,” he admits flatly.

“That was Rick you were talking to, right?”

He nods, and I swallow the lump that rises in my throat. “Whatever you end up having to do, Farren, please, please be careful.”

He cups my cheek. “I’ll be fine, babe. I always am.”

My hand is still wrapped around him, touching his scar. I tap it lightly. “Not always,” I remind him.

He smiles sadly. “Take your shower, Essa. We need to leave tonight.”

“Tonight?” I take a step back. “Why? What’s happening now?”

“Albuquerque is off. We’re heading straight down to Las Cruces, and I’d like to get there before morning.”

My insides are flipping and flopping at what this sudden change in plans might mean. I softly inquire, “Is Haven all right?”

“For now she is.” Farren closes his eyes, pained. When he opens them, there’s true concern in his emerald gaze. “I need to get down there, though. Something was off with the doctor. It wasn’t the original guy I sent. Rick thinks their location may have been divulged.”

“To the bad guys?” I ask shakily.

“Yes,” he replies.

I gasp, and Farren soothes me by placing his hand on my arm. Caressing me gently, he says, “Haven’s been moved to another safe house. She should be fine there, but I can’t take another chance. Not when Rick is the only man there to protect her.”

“What about the team he had assembled?” I ask. “The ones who helped him rescue her.”

“They’ve been dispersed,” Farren explains. “It’s not as if the team hangs out together for a few days after the mission is complete.”

“Oh…” I trail off. And then I say brightly, “Well, at least Rick is still there.”

Farren sighs. “That’s true. And he’s good. But not as good as me.”

His words aren’t uttered in a cocky tone. It just is what it is. When it comes to things like this—protecting people, engaging in ongoing dangerous missions—I’ve already figured out that Farren is the best.

He wraps his arms around me and holds me for a minute, until I say quietly, “I better get cleaned up so we can get going.”

He nods once, and I slip out of his grasp and into the bathroom. It’s still humid and misty in the small space, but the mirror is mostly clear. As I start to undress, I assess my reflection.

Wow. I am almost unrecognizable. Not just that, but I also feel as different as I look. I’m no longer the timid, afraid-to-take chances college student I was the day I left Oakwood. And it shows in my confident expression.

But that’s just the start.

I slip the blue tank that Farren thought matched today’s sky over my head. My skin is lightly bronzed from the sun, just like his. My hair is lighter, blonder than usual. Dark blonde has turned to a light golden shade, complete with coppery highlights.

My body is different, too. I’m thinner than I was and firmer in places I wasn’t so very firm before. “It’s all the great sex,” I murmur to my reflection in the mirror.

But there’s something more. There’s a sparkle in my eyes that wasn’t there before.

I feel alive, really alive. And I know why. The reason for that not-so-minor change is the man in the next room.





As we travel through the night, under a velvet blanket of black that appears covered with a million stars, the temperatures plummet. Relieved that I grabbed a light jacket from my suitcase before I packed everything, I tug the denim fabric tightly around my body. The flimsy tangerine top I’m wearing is no match for the cool nighttime desert air.

Farren, ever observant of my movements and ever-thoughtful of my needs, turns on the heat. “Cold?” he inquires.

“Just a little,” I confirm. I nod to the vents, where warm air is starting to pour out, and add, “Thanks, though.”

“Of course,” he says.

I appreciate that he’s thinking of me, as I know there are far more important things weighing on his mind. Things like getting our butts down to the southern part of the state as quickly as possible. So far, we’ve stuck solely to the interstates, but Farren now hits the turn signal and moves over to the exit lane.

“Are we stopping somewhere?” I inquire.

“No,” he says. “I just think we can make better time on the back roads since it’s so late.”

“Okay,” I say, yawning. It is late, very late, and I can barely keep my eyes open.

Farren pats my knee, his hand sliding up under the black material of my maxi skirt so he can feel my skin. He likes my skin, he likes touching me.

“Get some sleep, sweetheart,” he whispers.

A few minutes later, with Farren’s comforting hand on me, I fall asleep.