Page 16 of Contested Crown

“I need you to ask yourself, Miles, have I ever given you the impression that I’ve been to a drive-through before?” When I looked over, he had raised an eyebrow, his face nearly a sneer, but I caught the hint of a smile in the corner of his lips, and I realized he was teasing me.

For a second, I wanted to laugh. In the past few hours, Cade had been the most like himself I’d seen since we’d fled House Bartlett. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed his snark, the tension he filled every word with.

“I got it. Jack in the Box.” I pointed at him. “I know how you club boys are. Jack in the Box and their curly fries.”

Cade shook his head, but the smile turned into an actual grin before Cade smothered it. I found one near the freeway, and Cade perused the menu with the sort of expression I was used to seeing when he looked at whatever motel room we were staying in for the night.

“Get me whatever.” Cade leaned back, arms crossed, and I felt the challenge it was.

When I pulled up to order, I got two cheeseburger combos and a spicy chicken sandwich combo. As we waited, Cade looked at me in surprise.

“Which one is for me?”

“Spicy chicken,” I said.

“Really.” Cade’s dry delivery made me smirk.

“Really.” I tilted my head. “Try it. I bet you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure I’ll love the food poisoning that comes after.” But Cade accepted the bags into his lap when the employee handed them over. I took the drinks, and one spilled all over the bottom of the car.

Swearing, I searched in the back for anything to mop up the mess. The Jack in the Box employee looked on dispassionately, handing me a handful of napkins only after I asked.

The expression on Cade’s face had gone from playful to seething. I swore again, and the employee handed me another handful of napkins, then said, “There’s cars behind you.”

Taking a hint, I pulled forward, parking far enough away that hopefully no one would be able to see us. Cade was still silent, his expression doing all the talking.

I opened my door, getting out and opening his door for him. The Coke had soaked into his pants, sloshing around in the footwell when he stepped out.

Pointedly, he handed me the bags of food, and I put them on the roof as I tried to figure out what to do. The smart thing would be to drive back to the safe house and then deal with everything there.

One look at Cade’s face said he was not getting back in the passenger seat.

“Do you want to ride in the back?” I asked. “We’ll clean up at the safe house.”

The look on Cade’s face might as well have been a cat arching its back and hissing. If he had feline ears, they would have been pressed back.

“Come on. It’ll only be for a little while,” I wheedled. I even went so far as to open the door for him, a gesture that didn’t seem to help.

With a long breath through his nose, Cade took a seat in the back.

That was when I saw them.

A pair of wolves were leaning against a nearby car, arms crossed as they stared at us. Something in my stomach clenched. I’d never met them before, meaning they weren’t part of Declan’s Los Santos crew, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t outsourced, or the wolves we’d fought the night before hadn’t put out the word about us.

They were clearly pack, between the shared vehicle to the matching skull patches on the shoulders of their jackets. Hesitating, I didn’t close the door. If I did, it would take that much longer for Cade to get out, and those might be seconds that we needed.

The wolves stood, and Cade glanced at me, his pissy expression melting away. He looked over his shoulder, saw the wolves, and tensed.

When he looked at me again, I saw the question in his eyes, a significant glance at the car steering wheel.

Run?

I shook my head. They had their own car, and I might be familiar with Vista de Estrella, but this was their town. I couldn’t take the chance that I would lead them back to the safe house.

“Can we help you?” I called out.

“Hey, Vito, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” one of the wolves asked.