Page 53 of Truck Up

“No,” Ember says quickly. “Your confusion is not my problem. We stay together. Always.”

“The car I arranged isn’t big enough.” Edge points out.

“Not my fault.” Ember crosses her arms over her chest and steps closer to Edge. “Figure it out.”

“Lady, these extractions take days, sometimes even weeks, of planning. I can’t just figure this out at the last minute. I planned for four, not five.”

“Edge,” I whisper as I step up next to him. “We can make it work if one of them rides in the back.”

He shakes his head before I finish. “It’s not safe. If you get pulled over, you’ll be fucked.”

“I won’t get pulled over.” I insist.

“You can’t know that.” Edge’s voice has a hint of anger in it. He’s usually cool and collected at these exchanges, but he hates surprises. Especially one like this. “We have to operate as if anything can go wrong. Lives are at stake.”

“We accept the risk,” Ember says. “Whatever it takes to keep us together. We’ll do it.”

“I can’t put my men at risk. It’s not fair to them,” Edge says.

“I’ll do it,” I say. I study the girls on the cot. This may not be a typical job, but it’s obvious they’re scared even if their sister isn’t. A couple of them have bruises.

“Christian.” Edge looks at me with annoyance. “If the rumors in the media are correct, you can’t afford to take that risk. It needs to be a clean job.”

“I said I’ll do it.” I meet Ember’s determined gaze. “Let’s go. It’s a long drive.”

“Christian!” Edge yells.

I snap my eyes to his. I’ve never argued with his orders or ever showed him any disrespect. I respect the hell out of Edge, but I’m doing this job. These girls may not be like most of the women we help, but they deserve safety too.

“I’m doing this,” I say with more determination than usual. “I welcome their company.”

Edge looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. I’ve always preferred solitude to being around people. But I’ve lived a lifetime with shitty parents. I relate to these women. That’s not something anyone should experience. I may have had it bad, but something tells me these girls had it worse.

Edge shakes his head, clearly not happy with me.

“Fine.” He pulls an envelope out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Here’s everything you need. Cash, stopping points, and the location of the drop off point. If you run into any trouble, use the burner phone. Got it.”

I nod and take the envelope. It’s always the same deal, but he insists on telling me what to do every time like it’s the first time I’ve helped. He’s cautious if nothing else and cares a great deal about his team and the women he helps. I can’t fault him for that.

“Okay, let’s roll out,” Edge growls. He’s still not happy, but he’s not canceling the job.

Thank fuck for that, because I’m not ready to head home just yet. I still have too much shit to work out in my head before I face that damn town and its nosey citizens.

Chapter 11

All men are assholes.

Amelia

No matter how much I stare at my phone, it does nothing to make Christian message me back. I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve opened the message thread and reread our conversations. It’s my only connection to him at the moment.

It’s like I think if I stare at it long enough, he’ll feel my gaze and message me.

He’s not. He’s hardly said three words to me since he left. If I have to read one more ‘I’m fine’ from him, I’m going to scream.

Even worse, he’s been silent for almost forty-eight hours. At least when he messages that he’s fine, I know he’s alive.

I got three days of ‘I’m fine,’ and now it’s nothing but silence. I hate silence more than ‘I’m fine.’