This just proves to me that Tinsley is more than meets the eye, more brains than beauty, but her fucking beauty already has me on my knees, ready to worship the ground she walks on. Tinsley doesn’t even know the effect she has on people around her, the way men would openly leer at her when she was walking in and out of her classes. How I had to put Dumb and Dumber in their place, to let them know she was off fucking limits. Holding a gun to Matt’s head while David looked on probably told them I was not screwing around. Shit, if Slade were here monitoring me on this case, I would have been in the same damn position as those two rent-a-cops.
“Might have a slight change of plans. We’ll more than likely travel through the night, sleep for a few hours at a hotel or truck stop, then get back on it. Your father hasn’t caught on yet, but he will as soon as you don’t show up to that event tomorrow evening, and I’d like to get as far away as we can. You okay with that?” I ask Tinsley. My only thoughts now are getting her back to my place. All of us who work at Nighthawk Security have the top-of-the-line alarm systems, thermal motion sensors that let us know if someone’s on the property, without night goggles. Keeping Tinsley safe is my number-one priority, even if that means hiding her from the Suttons.
“I’m good with whatever. We’ll need food soon though. I’m running on empty, and I’m definitely in the need-caffeine department.” She dances in her seat while she talks about breakfast and coffee. It’s a routine for her as soon as her feet hit the floor. I’d be in the sitting room waiting for her, she’d come out fully clothed, grumbling, ‘If were at my apartment making breakfast. Pajamas would be allowed. Not like when you’re in the Sutton household.’ Tinsley isn’t the dressed-up person if she doesn’t have to be.
“We’ll stop at a drive through soon. Looks like if we can make good timing, we’ll be in Virginia in about three days, four max. It’s not going to be very scenic though, lots of interstate driving.”
“That doesn’t bother me. This will give us time to get to know each other. If you want me to, I can drive. I know you’ll probably say no, but the offer is there.” I hate like hell she’s going through this. I see the brave face she’s putting on, and it makes me pissed as hell at her parents. No child should have to go through this. If my parents knew what Tinsley was going through, they’d swoop down and give her all the love she could handle. For that matter, so would everyone and their spouses at Nighthawk, including Bridger’s sisters.
“Tell me about Drake and Braxton?” It’s like she’s reading my mind.
“Drake was in the service, got out and partnered with Slade at Nighthawk along with Bridger. He and Giana are happy and living their best life. Braxton just bought a shop that services and repairs cars. He’s living and breathing it right now. Something all of us are keeping our eyes on. Though, to be fair, once we all set our eyes on our goals, we stop at nothing until it’s firmly in our grasp.” I take my eyes off the road to look at Tinsley, letting her know in more ways than one that I’m not going anywhere and that she’ll be mine.
“It sounds like you Martinez men know what you want. Was it the same way when your parents met?”
“Oh yeah, my dad took one look at her when she was sixteen, he was eighteen, and he was gone for her. He’d just moved into the neighborhood, was washing his car, and my mom was staring the entire time. They started talking and became inseparable. When Mom got pregnant with Drake, they got married, and here they are, all these years later, happy as clams. They travel more than they are home now, so it’s rare for us all to be together. Drake says the same thing happened to him with Giana when he woke up in the hospital after his shoulder surgery. She was the first person he saw, and he said he knew the minute they met. Braxton is still single, though from what I hear, if Bridger’s sister has anything to do with it, he won’t be for long,” I tell her.
“That’s sweet. I wish I could say the same thing about my parents. My granddaddy didn’t want them to get married for anything in the world. My mom saw the last name—apparently, the Sutton name is one of those old names that had deep pockets. Mom was oblivious to her surroundings and only wanted Dad for his name, the old money side of things you hear about. Not the working till you make money and a name for yourself, I guess. They lived within their means, invested wisely. She didn’t see that though, not Cynthia. Robert somehow schmoozed his way into her life, all too aware of the family money my granddaddy had. It’s ridiculous though, honestly. I mean, they are meant for each other. Evil attracts evil. Neither of them knew that granddaddy left the trust in my name. Cynthia doesn’t get one red cent. Ever since they found out on my eighteenth birthday, it’s like they keep me around for convenience. I’m not dumb though. Things may seem like everything’s copasetic. If Dad doesn’t get this design out though, they’ll be on the verge of bankruptcy. Dad likes to gamble and Mom likes to shop. It makes for an expensive habit.” In the past few weeks, we’ve talked, but nothing like we have in the past twenty-four hours, and I have a feeling she wouldn’t have opened up to me like she is right now if things didn’t escalate last night. Tinsley was bold as ever too, and I love that she teased me, getting me to the point of not giving two shits about her parents.
“That’s interesting. You think they could be coming up with some sort of plan?” I ask, already knowing the answer, and that will definitely be on my to-do list when we get back to Virginia. I told Slade that except for daily check-ins, we’d be going dark. It’ll be less for everyone to worry about if Robert decides to play hardball.
“As hard as it is to admit, nothing would shock me. It hurts to know your parents could be so deceitful, but after my granddaddy died, shit really went downhill.” Tinsley is lost in her thoughts, and I leave her be. She needs to process this. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now or how she’ll continue to handle things if my hunch is right about Robert Sutton, and I’m never wrong when it comes to my gut feeling.
Eight
Tinsley
We drove for fourteen hours today. Let me rephrase that, Leo drove for the entirety of today. He was going to drive through the night but thought better of it, saying we got a lot of miles between us and my father.
Now, we’re inside our hotel for the night in a no-name town in Montana, close to the South Dakota border. Leo mentioned it would be a hole in the wall most times, but from the looks of it, this place is normal, nothing elaborate. Not that we need anything like that. A shower and some sleep, then we’ll be doing the same thing again tomorrow. Leo’s hoping we can make the forty-three-hour trip in less than three days. I somehow doubt that is going to happen. I mean, he won’t even let me drive.
“Why don’t you grab a shower, then I’ll take one when you get out,” Leo offers. I can see the tiredness in his eyes, the weariness in his voice.
“You can get in before me. I feel like I’m barely pulling any weight. The least I can do is let you shower first, order some food, and let you rest,” I counter.
Leo’s sitting on the edge of the bed. I’m standing in front of the dresser with the television humming low in the background.