Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 125

McKenzie

Shep had a nice truck, which meant Will and I weren’t packed like sardines in the back. I still leaned against him, but at least Will’s knees weren’t in his ears.

“It’ll be about another four hours,” Dolly said, handing us sandwiches she’d made.

Along with the jeans and tank top she’d managed to find me, and the straining T-shirt and sweatpants she’d found for Will, Dolly had also gotten together a small cooler of food. While we’d offered to take it in the back by us, she insisted on having it at her feet. Now, she doled out food in a motherly way.

Shep crunched down on some Fritos, expertly navigating the road. If he’d been good with a rig, then he was magic with his truck, threading it through traffic like a needle. On the crowded I-95, we were still making good time.

Will and I ate ham-salad sandwiches and Fritos right along with Shep and Dolly. The drink of the day was Dr. Pepper, and I was grateful for even the smallest amount of caffeine.

“You could still have some trucker crack,” Shep teased, shaking a bottle of caffeinated pills at me when I yawned.

“No thanks,” I repeated while Shep laughed.

Dolly rolled her eyes. “I don’t even let him have any most of the time. But we do need to get to D.C. in one piece, and it’s been a while since any of us have slept.”

“It’s not going to make him jittery, is it?” Will asked cautiously.

Shep snorted. “Will, this is trucker crack. You don’t think we’d use something that’s going to give us the jitters while we’re driving, do you?”

“Good point,” Will conceded.

I put my hand on Will’s thigh, and he blinked down at me. His arm tightened around me, and I nodded my approval. It was exactly what I’d wanted.

Well, a close second, anyway. Okay, maybe not a ‘close’ second, but it wasn’t like we were going to have sex in the back of Shep’s truck, especially right in front of Dolly and Shep. That would be… creepy. And disrespectful. And… creepy.

Will kissed my hair and tucked my head under his chin. I could feel his steady heartbeat, and it was almost hypnotic. I yawned again.

“I think Will’s plenty alert for the both of you, McKenzie. You should go back to sleep,” Dolly advised me. “Like I said, we’ve got another four hours on the road.

“I’m fine, thanks,” I replied. The truth was, I didn’t like what I saw when I closed my eyes, awake or asleep.

Will rubbed my arm. “It’s okay, honeybee. I’m here,” he whispered.

I shook my head vigorously. “Later,” I mumbled back. “I just… can’t now.”

“Okay.” I liked that he didn’t push, just held me tighter still.

“Don’t suffocate the poor thing,” Dolly warned.

Will let up a bit, and I pouted. But Dolly was right. His embrace had started to get a little too tight. I knew it was because he was worried about me. I wished I didn’t give him cause to worry, but then, I was worried about me, too, so there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about that.

I’d killed my uncle.

And I could still see my dead grandparents.

I shuddered.

To his credit, Will didn’t say anything stupid like, ‘It’s going to be all right.’ He just kissed my hair again.

I liked that he didn’t lie to me. And I liked that he gave himself to me fully. I never had to beg. Hell, I never even had to ask. He was just always there, a solid presence. The truth was, he could have used his money and run off to Borneo, leaving me in the dust. But he hadn’t, and he wouldn’t. Will had made it more than clear that we were in this together.

He also felt bad for starting the domino effect, I knew, no matter how clear it was that his grandfather would have had the upper hand if things had been left alone until Will Masterson Sr. got out of prison. Hoot had been right about that one thing. It was a shame he’d been working for the sheik the whole time.

“Will?” I asked after an hour had passed, and Dolly had dozed off.

“Yes, honeybee?” he responded, looking down at me.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said.

He smiled and kissed my forehead. “I am, too.”

“You two are good together. Don’t let my mama make you feel bad about the age difference. I know a good couple when I see one,” Shep commented, making me jump. I’d almost forgotten he was there!

“Thanks, Shep,” Will chuckled.

As the scenery flew by, and the truck weaved easily between lanes, I started to get lulled to sleep despite myself. My eyelids drooped and finally drifted closed.

Instead of the carnage I was expecting to see, however, I just saw Will. Solid. Steady. Smiling.

It finally felt all right to sleep.

***

“We’re here,” Dolly said, and my head shot up, knocking into Will’s chin.

He grunted, and I could hear from the roughness of it that he’d been sleeping, too.

I rubbed the top of my head, then kissed Will’s chin. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, honeybee.” Will kissed the spot on my head I’d been rubbing.

We got out of the truck after Shep and Dolly. I saw we were parked in the parking lot of a large office building.

“So, definitely not the mansion, then,” Will grinned.

“Definitely not. That’s all we’d need, that witch riding her broom up to this situation,” Dolly muttered.

Shep patted his mother on the shoulder. “Be nice, Mama. We’ve got to get him to help.”

“Helping is in his best interest. I don’t see why I need to be any nicer for him to have the brains God gave him to help himself,” she grumbled but managed to plaster something resembling a smile on her face when an older version of Shep came out the door of the office building. Xavier Pope looked around him as though expecting sniper fire before scurrying over to us.

“Let’s get inside,” he said. “I dismissed Ms. Perkins for the day. It’s just going to be us, for now.”

Dolly frowned at him, but waved at us to follow and the five of us headed up to Xavier’s office. I assumed Ms. Perkins was his assistant, and as the assistant’s desk was empty, I decided my hunch was correct.

Xavier sat down behind his desk and gestured for the four of us to sit down in the half-circle of four chairs he had in front of his desk. I could tell from the divots in the carpeting that the setup was usually just two chairs. He’d thought ahead.

“Have you eaten?” Xavier asked.

Dolly plopped the cooler on Xavier’s desk. “Help yourself.” She took out more sandwiches, tuna salad this time, and passed them around to all of us, along with Doritos and Coca-Cola.

“Always prepared,” Xavier chuckled.

“Sometimes prepared.” Dolly smiled fondly at Shep. “Though I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“Thanks, Mama,” Shep smiled.

Xavier sniffed his sandwich before taking a tentative bite.

“I didn’t poison it, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Dolly growled. “You can’t help us if you’re dead.”

“True.” Xavier took a more aggressive bite then sat back in his chair. “You two are in quite a lot of trouble, you know.”

“We’ve gotten that impression, yes,” Will said dryly.

“A lot of people are after you. And you’re in trouble for aiding and abetting an assassin who just killed five cops,” Xavier explained.

I stared at him. “What?!”

“Relax. I know it was you in his clutches and not the other way around. I think most sane law enforcement officers know that. It’s just that they’re looking for someone to pay for the murders, and you’re alive and ‘Hoot’ isn’t,” Xavier said, gesturing idly with his sandwich.

“Hoot died?” Will asked.

“He lost a leg and bled out at a gas station. That’s quite a shotgun you’ve got, Dolly,” Xavier commented.

Shep coughed, choking on a Dorito. Dolly pounded him on the back.

Xavier’s eyes narrowed. “Milton, did you kill that man?”

“Yes, Dad,” Shep replied once his throat was clear. “I was just going to kneecap him, but I was using his gun, and he must have had hollow-points or something in it because it blew his leg off at the knee instead.”

“Great. Just great.” Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. That I can deal with. This price on your heads is going to be a hell of a problem.”

“Were those good cops that Hoot killed? It sounded like they were after the ransom, too,” Will said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Most of them didn’t exactly have clean jackets,” Xavier sighed. “Let’s not worry about that now. I need to figure out where I’m going to keep you two until I can get you to a proper hearing.”

“That proved quite an undertaking for those who were in charge of Caleb and Jacey Killeen,” Will reminded us all.

“My parents,” I added.

“I know.” Xavier rubbed the bridge of his nose again. “I know. On the one hand, you two falling into my lap is like mana from the sky. On the other, we could all get killed for helping you.”

I looked at Dolly and Shep. “You should go now. Thank you for your help, but I don’t want you two to die.”

Dolly drew herself up, and I could tell she was gearing up to give me what for, but Shep put a hand on her shoulder.

“That was always the plan, Mama. Get them here and get out of it,” he said.

“I’d prefer it that way as well,” Xavier added. “I love you, Milton. And I love you, Dolly, despite circumstances keeping us apart. I don’t want anything to happen to you. And this situation is too hot for any of us to handle. I still don’t know how I’m going to handle it. But, as a law-abiding judge….”

“Who wants a place on the Supreme Court,” Dolly inserted.

Xavier frowned. “As a law-abiding judge, I have to do something about this. It’s my duty.”

Dolly grunted but finally gave in with a sigh. “Fine. We’ll go. But if Felicity does anything to fuck this up, Xavier, so help me God….”

“Yes, I know. You’re going to twist my balls off. I believe you,” Xavier said.

Shep helped his mother out of her chair. “Good seeing you again, Dad.”

“Still wish you would do something more meaningful with your life than being a trucker, Milton. You did so well on the LSAT…” Xavier lamented.

Shep just laughed goodnaturedly, stroking his bushy beard. “Trust me, trucking’s a lot better than what you’ve got going on here. Good luck to you.”

“I’m going to need it,” Xavier muttered.

“You remember the name Milton Pope if you ever get into trouble,” Shep murmured to us. “Ask any trucker on the road, and they’ll find me.” Then he put a hand at Dolly’s back and ushered her out of the office.

Xavier visibly relaxed. “All right, you two. I’ve assembled a team in the conference room. I didn’t want to tell Dolly and Milton because I didn’t want them to be targeted. The fewer people who know about this, the better. Let’s go.”

We rose and followed him.

Xavier pushed open the conference room doors, but instead of a team of people, there was only one. A dark-haired, swarthy man in a suit.

“Well,” the man said. “Aren’t you two cuter than a puddle of puppies.”

“Ibrahim.” Will swore.