All I've Never Wanted(22)

There is no justice in the world.

Something rustled in a nearby bush, and I jumped nearly ten feet in the air. I stared at the bush warily until a furry brown squirrel hopped out, bushy tail sticking straight up. It stopped and stared at me for a second before scuttling up the trunk of a nearby tree.

I let out the breath I had been holding and laughed. God, I was paranoid, but it was getting dark, and I had never been to this area before. I wasn't even sure how to get home.

My smile morphed into a grimace as I stared forlornly at my broken phone. I'd tried to put it back together after leaving the Fiori residence, but it wouldn’t work. Valesca was as safe as a town could possibly be, but that didn't mean I was ok with wandering the streets at night with no means of communication. Besides, my mom would flip.


Having resolved to phone home at the nearest pay phone, I had just resumed walking when I saw a car coming my way from down the otherwise empty road. I immediately stiffened. The black Range Rover looked awfully familiar…

It slowed to a stop next to me, and the windows lowered to reveal the handsome face of Carlo Tevasco.

I let out a groan. Are you freaking kidding me? Was today Harass Maya With Your Car day?

"Hey."

I eyed him suspiciously. "Hi…"

"What are you doing here?" His voice was surprisingly low and gentle.

"Walking," I answered blithely.

He raised his eyebrows. "I can see that." Then his eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't tell me you just came from Roman's house."

I didn't say anything.

Carlo laughed softly, his expression one of amusement and something else I couldn't place.

"Are you planning to walk all the way home?"

"Yes." I tilted my chin up. "It's good exercise."

"And a good way to get killed."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, the probability of me getting bludgeoned to death with a designer stiletto is pretty high at this time, given my current social status." I pursed my lips. "Shouldn't you be yelling insults at me right now? After all, I did offend your good buddy Roman." My voice dripped with sarcasm.

Carlo shrugged his broad shoulders. "It's not like he didn't deserve it." His mouth quirked up into a smile at my shocked expression. "Don't look so surprised. He's my friend, which means I'm well aware of both his strengths and weaknesses."

"Strengths?" I snorted. "I wasn't aware he had any."

"Yeah, well, I guess it's all relative," Carlo said rather amiably.

I cocked my head to one side as I studied him. Now that I looked more closely, he really wasn't as intimidating-looking as I'd once thought, unless you count how intimidatingly good-looking he was. His thick, wavy black hair just reached the top of his collar, framing a strong, masculine face with thick dark brows set above fathomless ebony eyes, chiseled cheekbones, and smooth olive skin. Despite the overwhelming masculinity of his appearance though, there was a touch of vulnerability that I couldn't quite put my finger on, which softened his entire look in the best way possible.

"Are you done staring at me?" Carlo's tone was wry.

I flushed. "I wasn't staring at you," I lied crossly.

"Right." He shot me a skeptical look but didn't say anything else. Instead, he looked me over, and with a sigh, said, "I'm taking you home."

"No you're not," I replied almost involuntarily. I couldn't help it—it was a knee-jerk response. Part of me still couldn't quite believe I was having a civil conversation with a Scion. I was half-convinced I was going to wake up in my bed any minute now.

Carlo draped one arm over the open window and eyed me. "I don't usually do charity cases, but you've been through more than enough already. I really don't want to hear about you getting kidnapped or raped on the news."

"What are the chances of that happening?" I demanded, bristling a bit at the term 'charity case.' I was nobody's charity case. Nevertheless, a shiver of unease went down my spine. Call me superstitious, but now I was a little afraid something was going to happen just because I voiced my opinion that it wouldn't.

Carlo shrugged. "You never know. Valesca's pretty safe, but it's dark, you're a pretty girl walking alone, and there's some crazy people out there." As if to punctuate his point, a dog howled somewhere in the background, the sound echoing eerily in the otherwise silent neighborhood.

I nearly shot into the passenger seat. "Fine, I give in," I said, buckling my seatbelt. "You can take me home."

He looked at me incredulously. "Only you would be able to make it sound like you're doing me a favor," he chortled, making a sharp U-turn that threw me against the passenger door.

"Ow," I complained. "The reason I got in was so I wouldn't get killed, you know."

"Sorry. So where do you live?"

I gave him my address, and we settled into a comfortable silence as he navigated the pristine streets.

As I stared out the window at the passing scenery, I was surprised that I really was comfortable. I had never spoken to Carlo Tevasco in my life before today, and I'd never had any desire to, but my vibes about people were generally pretty accurate. I could tell Carlo had been genuine the entire time we'd been talking, and he was a lot nicer than I thought any Scion could be. Plus, he had a sense of humor, which was always a plus.