Page 21

CLOVER

Phoenix inhales sharply, clearly faking a smile, then turns to me. “No, nothing at all. You gonna get some shots of this place before we’re overrun with food?”

Grimacing, I immediately start setting up a small camera to capture some time-lapse footage of the diner. “Seriously, how are they going to fit it all on this table?” I giggle as he sits back, continuing to absorb the ambiance.

I can’t resist taking some shots of the diner, the jukebox, the vintage signs on the walls. Phoenix watches me with a half-smile, and feeling his gaze on me the entire time somehow calms me.

“This is amazing,” I breathe out, taking in the retro decor.

Phoenix looks around with a bemused expression. “It’s… pink.”

“It’s the artistic appeal,” I correct him, already plotting my angles. “Those milkshakes are going to look incredible on camera.”

“You never stop, do you?” he asks.

“When inspiration strikes, you don’t question it.” I pause. “Does it bother you?”

He shakes his head. “Nah. It’s cool seeing someone so into their thing.”

Spinning to face him, I raise my brow. “So then, what’s your thing?”

He snorts out a mocking laugh. “I don’t have a thing.”

Bringing my camera back up, I peer through the lens, aiming it at him. “Everyone has a thing. Presley, maybe you just haven’t found yours yet?” I reply, clicking a few times to get candid pictures of him, the sun shining through the window behind him perfectly, causing his face to be shadowed out.

An audible groan comes from him just as Carol steps up beside us with our milkshakes. Picture-perfect creations topped with whipped cream and cherries. She slides them onto the table with a wink but says nothing and scurries off. Smirking, I arrange them carefully, adjusting the angle, the lighting, and the general vibe.

“You’re are gonna let me drink that before it melts, right?” Phoenix asks dryly.

Rolling my eyes, I scowl at him. “In a minute. Don’t touch it yet. I need you in this shot.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Me? Why?”

“Because we’re on this road trip together, and it makes sense to show that. It’s more authentic.” I position my phone. “Just pretend you’re about to take a sip. And please try not to look like you’re in pain.”

He rolls his eyes but does as I ask, leaning forward over his chocolate milkshake. I snap a few photos, then switch to video.

“Perfect! Now you can drink it.”

Phoenix takes a long sip and raises his eyebrows. “Damn, that’s actually really good.”

“ See? Sometimes, the aesthetic places have substance too.”

I edit a quick story for the campaign in their account, tagging both the diner and the company I’m working for. Then, without thinking too much about it, I tag Phoenix too.

He frowns when the notification pops up on his phone. “What the fuck are you doing, Clo?”

“Just tagged you. No big deal.” I shrug.

His expression darkens. “It is a big fucking deal. We’re supposed to be keeping incognito, remember? That’s the whole point of this trip. To get away from anyone who might be looking for club members. To keep you fucking safe.”

My face flushes with embarrassment. “I didn’t use your real name, just your username. And your profile is private anyway.”

“That’s not the point, Clover!” Phoenix’s voice is tense. “This isn’t a vacation. This isn’t just some fun road trip for your social media. There are people back home who might die because of the Cartel, and you’re treating this like it’s a goddamn game.”

The words sting more than they should. “I’m not treating anything like a game,” I shoot back, keeping my voice low. “This is my job. And just because I’m trying to do it well doesn’t mean I don’t understand what’s at stake.”

“Then fucking act like it!”

“I’m not just a task for you to take care of, Phoenix.” The words come out sharper than I intended. “I understand exactly what we’re running from and why. But that doesn’t mean I have to spend every second of this trip in fucking misery.”

He stares at me for a long moment, then looks away, his breathing harsher now. “I don’t ever want you to be miserable, Clover. I don’t.” He turns back to face me, his eyes sincere now. “But if that is the alternative to you being dead, I’ll take it. Any day of the week. Miserable, I can fix. I can’t fix dead.”

My eyes begin to water as I stare back at him. Dammit! I hate that he makes me so fucking furious at him one second, then weak at the knees the next.

“I should have thought about it before tagging you. It was just a force of habit. I’ll take it down.”

Phoenix sighs, running a hand through his hair. “No, leave the post up. It’s a good one. Just untag me. A nd be more careful, okay? There’s a lot riding on us staying under the radar.”

Suddenly, multiple servers are beside us, piling on the food, breaking the tension. Phoenix and I both widen our eyes, staring at the massive amount of food covering every inch of our table. Almost in unison, we both break into a fit of laughter as Carol is the last to bring over the curly fries, placing them in front of Phoenix. “I sure do hope y’all enjoy. And just holler if ya need anythin’ else, all right?”

Phoenix lets out what can only be described as a ‘we have bitten off more than we can chew’ type of sigh. “We will, for sure. And thank you, Carol. We appreciate you.”

She winks at him, then takes off as Phoenix and I glance at each other, say nothing, and then begin to dig in.

We eat in silence for a few minutes, both cooling off from our minor argument moments beforehand. The tension begins to grow between us again the longer the silence continues.

So, I decide to end it.

“The thing is,” I say finally, setting down my burger. “I feel guilty enough as it is. For leaving. For being excited about this job while everyone back home is in danger.” I swallow hard. “If I have to think about that every second, I’ll go crazy. So yeah, I’m trying to focus on the work. On making these stupid videos. It’s the only way I can cope right now.”

Phoenix’s expression softens. “I get it. I do.” He takes a sip of his milkshake. “And for what it’s worth, your videos aren’t stupid. You’re actually really fucking talented. You have an eye for this shit.”

The corners of my mouth lift. “High praise from such a connoisseur of social media marketing.”

He snorts out a laugh, almost losing some of the milkshake that was in his mouth, but he manages to swallow it. “Smartass. Eat your food. As it is, we’ll be here until 2059 trying to finish it all.”

I giggle, and we continue to eat as much as we can while I also film various things in between. By the time we finish what we can, the tension has fully dissipated. There’s something different between us now—a new understanding, maybe. We both know we’re walking a fine line between doing my job and honoring the weight of what we’ve left behind.

We grab a heap of containers from Carol because this food is too good not to take with us, and then we head off on the next part of the trip for the day.

Back in the truck, I check the map again. “Next stop is Calico Ghost Town. It’s about an hour from here.”

Phoenix nods, putting the truck in gear. “Ghost town, huh? Sounds cheerful .”

“It’s an old mining town that was abandoned when the silver ran out. Now it’s this preserved historical site.” I scroll through some photos on my phone. “It’s got this really cool, eerie vibe. Perfect for some moody content.”

“You really have this whole trip planned out, don’t you?”

I shrug. “It’s my job to know the best spots. Plus, I may have been researching weird roadside attractions since I was like twelve.”

He glances over at me. “Twelve, huh? What got you into all this?”

The question seems casual, but I sense he’s genuinely curious. “My mom, actually,” I say, surprised by how easy it is to talk about this with him. “Before she died, she used to take us on these random day trips to the strangest places. There was this museum of medical oddities she took us to when I was five that Maverick still hasn’t forgiven her for.”

Phoenix laughs. “Sounds like quite a woman.”

“She was.” I feel the familiar ache whenever I think about my mother. “After she died, I guess I started collecting weird places as a way to feel close to her. Like maybe someday I’d find a place she’d been.”

Phoenix is quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry about your mom. I know life changed a lot after she died.”

My stomach flips just thinking about it.

How Maverick had to fight to gain guardianship of me.

How he struggled so hard to work for the money for my medicines. It was just the two of us for so long, and it was hard.

So. Fucking. Hard.

Until we found a life at Defiance.

Clearing my throat, I shake my head from the emotion washing over me. “It was a long time ago.” I turn to look out the window. “Anyway, that’s why I’m obsessed with off-the-beaten-path stuff. Guess it worked out for this job.”

Phoenix goes quiet as the landscape changes the more we drive, becoming increasingly barren and rugged. Mountains rise in the distance, their slopes bare except for scattered scrub brush.

It’s beautiful in a stark, unforgiving way.

When we finally reach Calico Ghost Town, the sun is high overhead, casting harsh shadows across the weathered buildings and dusty streets. The place has a haunted beauty to it—faded signs, weathered wood, the ghosts of a bustling mining town still lingering in the empty storefronts.

“Wow,” I breathe out as we park. “This is even better than the pictures.”

Phoenix looks around, a strange expression on his face. “Reminds me of the Serpents’ compound after we left. All these empty buildings full of bad memories.”

I glance at him, struck by the comparison. “Do you ever miss it? Not the bad stuff, obviously, but your home?”

He thinks about it, his eyes zoning out. “Sometimes. Maybe some of the people, I guess, but that life was hell. I’d never go back, even if there was something to go back to.”

With a curt nod, I say nothing in reply and just start walking. He follows, and we walk through the ghost town, me filming while Phoenix hangs back, letting me work. The vibe between us is not quite comfortable but not tense either.

As long as we’re not yelling at each other, I’ll take it.

I set up a shot near an old saloon—the wooden building weathered to a soft silver-gray.

“Would you mind being in this one?” I ask Phoenix this time. “Just standing in the doorway? It’s a good scale reference.”

He hesitates, then shrugs. “Can you black out my face or something?”

Weakly smiling at him, I nod. “Yeah, I can.”

He groans but then starts walking over to the doorway. I direct him to stand in the deep shadow of the doorway, hands in his pockets, looking out at the empty street. The shot is perfect—the contrast of light and dark, the solitary figure in the abandoned town. The shadow clearly masking his face.

“That’s freaking perfect, just like that,” I tell him, reviewing the footage. “You’re a total natural.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“No, seriously. You have this presence on camera. It just works, Presley,” I tease.

He looks uncomfortable with the praise. “If you say so. And really, Clo, quit with the Elvis nickname shit.”

Giggling to myself, I continue moving about taking content footage. We explore more of the town, finding an old church, a schoolhouse, and the remnants of the silver mine that once made this place prosper. As we walk, Phoenix stays close, always aware of our surroundings, but he’s more relaxed than I’ve seen him since we left.

“Do you ever think about what you would’ve done?” I ask as we stand, looking out over the valley below the town. “If your life had been different. If you hadn’t been born into the Serpents.”

Phoenix is quiet for a long moment. “I don’t know. Never really had the luxury of thinking about it.”

“So, think about it now.”

He glances at me, then back at the view. “Something with my hands, maybe. Building things. I always liked taking things apart, figuring out how they work, putting them back together.”

“Like a mechanic, like Mav?”

“Maybe. Or more like construction.” He shrugs. “What about you? If you weren’t tied to the club, what would you do?”

The question catches me off guard. No one’s ever really asked me that before, always assume I know exactly what I want.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I love all this…” I gesture to my camera, “But I’m not sure if it’s what I want to do forever. I just know I want to create things. Tell stories.”

“You’re really fucking good at it. I can see you behind the camera in Hollywood. Your name rolling on the end credits of blockbuster movies.”

My cheeks warm at the compliment. “Shit! You really think I could do that?”

His eyes meet mine, a genuine smile crossing his face. “Yeah, Clover. You can do any fucking thing you put your mind to.”

I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the adrenaline high from us being on the road and having to leave home with the thought we may not have a home to return to. Or maybe it’s the way those luminous blue eyes are staring into mine. Or maybe it’s actually the idea that there is life beyond the club that has my stomach churning in knots right now.

I’m not sure what the answer is, so instead, I say nothing at all and turn to look out at the beautiful landscape. He follows my lead, and we stand there a little longer, watching the sun begin its slow descent toward the western horizon. There’s a strange peace here among the ghosts of Calico.

It’s as if time has slowed down just for us.

“We should get going,” Phoenix says eventually. “Still have a lot of ground to cover today.”

As we walk back to the truck, I find myself studying him when he’s not looking. The way he moves, confident but always alert. The line of his jaw, the intensity of his bright blue eyes. The tattoo that peeks out from under the collar of his shirt. The way his tight tank top clings to his body shows his clearly defined abs beneath. The way the summer sun hits his tanned skin and the slight sheen makes him look like some kind of walking calendar model.

Jesus Christ, he’s so fucking hot.

I bet he’d be amazing in bed!

The thought catches me off guard, and as he spins to look at me, I feel seen.

Like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

Panic washes over me suddenly, my knees giving way beneath me as I almost stumble on the uneven ground.

Phoenix reaches out, grabbing me instantly, his hand warm on my arm. “Fuck, you okay? Did you have too much sugar at the diner?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” I say too quickly, pulling away. “I just tripped. Clumsy old Clover at your service.”

He gives me an odd look but doesn’t press the issue. “All right, let’s get going.”

Grinning, I give a wide smile. “Okey dokey,” I chime like an idiot.

He furrows his brows, like he has no clue what the fuck is wrong with me right now, but turns for the driver’s side and moves to get in. When he is out of my line of sight, I clench my eyes shut, internally berating myself.

You fucking idiot!

“Clover?”

My eyes snap open in response. “Yep, coming!” I answer, then open the door and slide in.

Back in the truck, I busy myself with my camera, reviewing footage, and doing anything to avoid thinking about what I just admitted to myself. Phoenix starts the engine, and we leave Calico behind, the ghost town disappearing in the side mirror like a mirage.

I can’t be sexually attracted to Phoenix.

It’s exactly the kind of complication we don’t need right now, with everything else going on. Besides, Maverick would absolutely lose his mind if he knew. And Phoenix is Sadie’s brother, which makes this all kinds of weird.

But as we drive toward our next destination, I can’t help stealing glances at him and the fluttering in my stomach when he catches me looking.

This road trip just got a whole lot more complicated.