The buildings of San Antonio give way to trees and small houses as we speed down the highway. I’ve spent most of my life in a county with less than five hundred people.

  San Antonio is the biggest city I’ve seen.

  Just like the man beside me is the biggest and tallest I’ve seen. And it’s true he looks nothing like the bikers Mom dated. I mean, those guys were good-looking in a way. Mom has a knack for finding attractive guys that are hideous inside, but they weren’t this good looking. They also had huge beards that always made me wonder how they ate soup.

  Luke reminds me of a movie star or something. His face is all sharp angles under the scruff that shadows his strong jaw, and he has Tom Cruise hair.

  This is a lucky break for me.

  I don’t think he’s dangerous. At least not the type of dangerous I’m worried about. But I still keep my knees closed, hugging my elbows.

  He ain’t from these parts, as Mom would say. He speaks with a trace of some accent I can’t place.

  A puzzle—that sums him up.

  “You never told me where you’re from,” I say.

  “I’m from San Antonio.”

  “But you’re not from there.”

  “True,” he says.

  “So . . . ?”

  “I’m not from anywhere.”

  I huff. “Well that clears things up.”

  “Excellent.”

  “My daddy’s from nowhere,” I say tartly. “In the beginning, there was nothing. And then bam—he popped into the world. He’s been traveling the road since with a lot of cash, running from bad men.”

  Luke throws me a look. “You got it, darling.”

  I look out the window and ignore him, which is hard to do. Whenever I sneak a peek, I notice some new detail that tugs my interest. Like the silver chain around his neck, or the way his jaw tightens when he changes lanes. My face gets warmer with every passing mile.

  Oh stop it.

  I can’t let my feelings run wild. I can’t trust them.

  So I focus on the side mirror and think of something vile. The image of Gavril Marsh pops into my head. His shaved head and surly, twisted grin. His beatup Dodge sports car with the rickety engine that sounds too loud.

  Gavril is Mom’s latest boyfriend.

  Well, that does the trick. An ice bucket dumped over my head couldn’t have done the job better.

  I get my phone, which I charge every chance I get at coffee shops. I only use it to let Mom know I'm okay. She wants me to come home of course, but I’ll never go back. I text her that I’m on the road to Boerne, where I’ll get a bus. I’m perfectly fine.

  Thanks to Luke. But that part I don’t mention.

  Putting the phone away, I relax for the first time in days and close my eyes with Bandit in my lap.

  When I wake up, the distant houses look nicer, and the trees are thicker. I even see mansions on the far hills. Lots of rich folks in Boerne, Mom had always said. She was right.

  We pull into a Greyhound station with one bus left. Passengers are getting on, but it doesn’t look filled. Maybe I can still catch today’s last bus.

  Luke tells me to wait in his SUV while he goes to the trunk. He returns with a thick fold of cash, all one hundreds. “Two grand in there,” he says. “Take it.”

  “I’m not touching that.”

  He scowls. “Just take it, Piper. It’s a gift. You’ll need it on the road.”

  Luke sounds almost angry. I don’t sense any evil intentions in him, but I also know there’s no such thing as a free gift, not in my world. “Thanks, but I don’t need any gifts.”

  “Consider it a bribe then. You ever meet a cop, you don’t know who I am.”

  “I don’t know who you are now.”

  He tucks the money into my shorts pocket. He’s careful to avoid touching my bare legs, but I feel the thrust of his fingers jamming the money into my pocket.

  “Don’t blow it all on coke,” he says dryly.

  “I drink Pepsi,” I say, just as dry. But I'm anything but dry between my legs. It's the way he stares at me. I'm old enough to know when a man wants you like that, and he's not even trying to hide it.

  Bandit pushes out of my pack and lets out a long meow.

  Luke pets her head. "Good luck, furball."

  I’m surprised Bandit likes him. She’s never let anyone else pet her before, not that many people have tried.

  “You better get a ticket,” Luke says to me. “Go.” His voice shakes like he hates every word out of his mouth.

  When I put my foot out of the car, he stands aside just enough to let me pass his broad chest. I hear him sniff me.

  “Thanks for the ride,” I whisper, turning around. A hot shiver goes down my spine.

  “My pleasure.”

  I notice the rise in his pants before my eyes flick up. Oh my God, why did I have to look down?

  My hands tremble as I hold my backpack between us, with Bandit’s tiny head on a swivel between Luke and me. She meows again, reaching out a paw for him. When I take another step back from Luke, Bandit actually hisses.

  “Now you behave,” he tells her. “Look after my little girl.”

  I suck in a breath. “What did you call me?”

  He rakes a hand through that gorgeous hair. “You made me your daddy.”

  The heat in my belly rises higher. “You wouldn’t let me run off if you were really my daddy,” I say without thinking.

  Something comes over his face, a subtle flicker of the eyes that’s dangerous and intoxicating. He closes the distance between us with one easy step of his long legs. He runs his thumb over my mouth, the gentlest touch that jolts through me like lightning.

  Bandit climbs halfway out of the bag, staring at us, raising one paw at him, then at me.

  Just when I’m about to say something, a sports car roars up the road and parks behind Luke’s big SUV.

  My chest sinks.

  A boy steps out with eyes fixed on me. I say boy because I can’t think of him as a man, even though he’s not much younger than Luke.

  Gavril Marsh.

  He walks over to us with that disgusting swagger. “There you are, Piper Ginn.”

  “H-How’d you find me?”

  “How do you think? Your mother said you texted her. I’ve been trying to find you for fucking days. This is the only station in Boerne still open and here you are.”

  Crap. How many times did I beg Mom not to send Gavril after me?

  Luke gets between us without hesitation. “You know this guy, Piper?”

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  Gavril looks him up and down. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “A concerned citizen. And you?”

  “Her ma Esther is my woman. Piper left home without a word and I’m here to bring her back.”

  “You don’t own me!” I snap.

  “You ungrateful little tramp,” Gavril says, moving around Luke, and he takes only one step before Luke pushes him back.

  “Leave,” Luke says.

  Gavril’s younger than him by maybe five years, but they’re worlds apart in everything else.

  “The lady doesn’t want your company,” Luke says in a voice both casual and deadly. “Leave.”

  Gavril hesitates before he sticks his chest out. “Look pal, you don’t wanna mess with me. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. You have no fucking idea. You need to get out of my face while I still let you, that’s what you need to do.”

  To my shock, Luke laughs. Hard and bitter.

  “Do you know who Santa Muerte is?” he says.

  And when he says Santa Muerte, it hits me what his accent is. A faint trace of Spanish . . . mixed with something else. I don’t know what.

  Gavril stares at him. “Santa what?”

  “Nuestra Senora de La Santa Muerte,” Luke says, his words soft as breathing. “Our Lady of Holy Death. The Lady of Shadows. She’s my guardian angel, you see. She watches over me in life and awaits me in death. Now tell me, do you think I’m afraid of you?”

  The knot in Gavril’s throat moves up and down. “You’re fucking crazy, man.”

  Luke’s back is to me so I can’t see his face, but whatever Gavril sees there makes his mouth wobble.

  I hear an engine rev. The bus that’s been taking on passengers drives past and turns onto the road. There goes my ride to Phoenix.

  Neither Luke nor Gavril takes their eyes off each other.

  “I don’t want to see you again,” I tell Gavril. “I mean it.”

  His face darkens with rage, but he heads back to his Dodge, climbs in, and speeds off.

  Bandit, who’d ducked into my bag when Gavril showed, peeks out and meows.

  “That asshole’s dating your mom?”

  “It’s a long story,” I murmur. “What did you mean about Santa Muerte?”

  “Long story too.” Luke notices the bus gone. “You missed your ride,” he adds lightly.

  “Don’t you sound pleased.”

  “Let me feed you again, Piper. C’mon, even if you’re not hungry, Bandit must be.”

  The kitten purrs, trying to climb out of the bag to get her paws on Luke’s face.

  “Fine. I like steak. Bandit’s fond of fish.”

  He takes me to a steakhouse with linen tablecloth where the servers wear uniforms and the napkins are folded like origami figures. I don’t know if there’s a no-pets policy, but the host takes one look at Luke’s neck tattoo and says nothing about Bandit riding in my backpack.

  Luke asks for a leather booth near the front door.

  “What happens if Bandit goes potty?” he says after the host leaves.

  I giggle.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Just hearing you say potty.” And I like how Luke doesn’t ask more about Gavril. He doesn’t pry about things that hurt.

  “Bandit lets me know when she has to use the ladies room,” I say. Usually a wailing meow or she’d put a paw through the gap that I always leave in my bag for her. “She’s considerate.”

  “The cat’s your traveling companion?”

  “Yup. I found her under a car the first night I left home, I think someone abandoned her. We’ve been together since.”

  “A cat shouldn’t be cooped up in a bag.”

  “How else am I supposed to carry her?”

  Luke shakes his head. “Maybe you shouldn’t.”

  “I tried to drop her off at a shelter in San Antonio, but she went crazy clawing at anyone who tried to touch her. She wouldn’t leave my bag.”

  “That tiny furball?”

  “She may be small, but she’s got a temper. She only gets out when she wants to. Anyway, I can’t leave her now. Where I go, she goes.”

  “Because you feed her.”

  “Oh please, don’t insult Bandit. Once I find a place in San Diego, she’s gonna be a YouTube star. We’ll make millions from cat videos.”

  “Well then, here’s to you, Bandit.” Luke raises his glasses at my kitten perched on the table.

  She raises one paw back.

  I order a porterhouse steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. Another plate of steamed mussels. It’s the most delicious meal I’ve ever had my whole life, and that's no exaggeration. Maybe the most expensive too. Luke gets a plain baked potato with grilled salmon. We take turns feeding bites to Bandit and she looks in kitten heaven.

  But while we eat, Luke stiffens whenever someone walks through the door. He keeps one eye on the front entrance.

  “If you’re worried about Gavril,” I start to say. He won’t be back any time soon. I’d never seen Gavril Marsh so scared.

  “I’m not watching for him,” Luke says. “The bad men after me are much worse than that asshole.”

  “Oh.” I’ve almost forgotten about Luke’s bad men. And the three million dollars in his trunk. “Does your money belong to these bad men?”

  “I took it from them, yes.” He stares at me for a while. “It’s getting late. We should find a place to rest. You can catch another bus tomorrow, or . . .”

  My breath hitches, not knowing how I should answer the inevitable question.

  “Or you could let me take you to Phoenix,” he says. “I’ll keep you safe, Piper. Safer than any bus.”

  I fidget my fingers. “I can’t ask you to do that. Phoenix is pretty far.”

  “It’s on my route.”

  “Huh?”

  “My plan was to leave Texas, doesn’t matter where or how. As far away from San Antonio as I can get.”

  I chew my lip. A warm fullness makes me heady, and it's not all from the food. “Let me think about it.”

  “You need to sleep tonight anyway. I’m not letting you wander around a strange city at dark. We’ll find a hotel.”

  “That sounds good,” I say hastily.

  “You want dessert?” he asks.

  “Sure. How about something with strawberries?”

  Luke grins. “I could eat some strawberries myself.”

  Chapter Three

  Piper

  We end up at the Sunrise Hotel in downtown Boerne, which is so fancy it boggles my mind. Luke books two suites for us at the front desk, each suite with two beds. There are no singles available. When the clerk, a young woman, asks for ID, he hands her a Texas driver’s license and I realize his full name is Lusander Alvarez.

  I’m frowning when the clerk asks for my ID. I never got a license so the best I can do is my high school ID card.

  The clerk raises an eyebrow.

  “She’s with me,” Luke says.

  “I can see that, sir. What are you with her for?”

  “We’re bank robbers,” I blurt out, putting my hands on the counter and rising on tiptoes. I’m a short girl. It gives a certain effect.

  The clerk relaxes. “Aren’t you just precious?”

  I smile my most innocent smile.

  She tells us to enjoy our stay.

  We walk across the immense lobby toward the elevators. I glance at the leather duffle bag Luke seems to carry everywhere. There’s no money in it. A million dollars is pretty heavy, and he keeps his three million stashed in the SUV’s trunk.

  “What’s in your bag?” I say.

  “A shotgun.”

  “You ain’t supposed have a gun in here.”

  “Men aren’t supposed to be after my life. So it balances out.”

  I frown. “You messing with me?”

  He stares my way until the elevator arrives. “I’d never mess with you. I was serious in San Antonio about bad men chasing me. And if they find me, there’s liable to be shooting. The gun’s for protection. For me, and now especially you.”

  I feel my face warm.

  As we ride to the top floor, he gives me a sidelong look. “How old are you?”

  “Age is just a number.”

  “Not to the law.”

  My turn to look sidelong at him. He’s got a gun in that bag and he’s talking about the law. “I’m old enough to smoke. Are you thinking about buying me cigarettes?”

  “That’s not what I’m thinking.”

  “What then?”

  “I’m thinking about you,” he says.

  “About getting me naked?”

  The doors open on our floor, but neither of us moves. The door starts to close before he jams his foot in. “I’m thinking about your age.”

  “That’s not a normal thing to think about.”

  “This isn’t a normal situation, darling.”

  “You’re damn right it isn’t.” I shove past him into the bright hallway paved with marble, holding my backpack to my chest. Bandit peeks out to meow. “Oh hush!”

  “Piper.” Luke’s voice is steady.

  “What?” I shout, turning around.

  “Our rooms are in the other direction.”

  Stupid hallway.

  “By the way,” I say, “what do you get when you add eight to ten?”

  “A disaster.”

  “Try freedom,” I snap.

  We walk to our rooms all the way at the other end, my heart pounding in my chest. Luke’s suite is right next to mine. The suites are huge, more like showrooms for expensive furniture than somewhere to sleep. I try to act unimpressed.

  Luke stands in my doorway.

  I plop down on the bed, so flustered I don’t even care what he thinks as I pull off my rundown Chuck Taylors and rub my sore feet. I must’ve walked forty miles over the past three days before hunger made me stop. Then I found that Walmart and met the man who’s either the best luck I’ve ever had or the worst.

  When I get my socks off, there’s a blister under my big toe.

  “You okay?” he asks.

  I lift my foot to show him. “How’s that for beautiful?”

  Luke doesn’t even blink as he kneels at my feet, and he takes my foot like that guy from the Cinderella story. Before I can say a single word, he’s massaging my tender sole, kissing my toe.

  “W-What are you doing?”

  “You could lose your goddamn foot and I’d still think you’re beautiful.”

  I gape at him, for the first time lost for words.

  Bandit has wormed her way out of my backpack. She stretches out on the big bed, stretching her tiny paws.

  Luke’s hands work their way up my calf, kneading gently. “You feel better?”

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  He tells me to sit still and leaves, and I sit perfectly still for ten minutes with heart in my throat. He returns with bandages and ointment. From the front desk, he tells me.

  Luke has an obvious tent in his pants.

  “What are you thinking right now?” I say suspiciously.

  Bending lower, he puts his sharp nose an inch from mine. “You don’t want to know what I’m thinking. And unless you tell me to leave, I’m staying right here. In fact I don’t think I’d leave even then. Somebody needs to take care of you and I’ve decided that somebody is me.”

  I swallow my breath. “Why? You wanna be my daddy or something?”

  His eyes narrow, the heat in them growing.

  I look away for a moment to see Bandit staring at us intently from the other bed, like she’s watching a frigging movie.

  “You’re a bad boy,” I tell Luke. “I don’t like bad boys.”

  “Bad girls like bad boys.”

  “I’m not a bad girl.”

 

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