Evade (The Ever Trilogy) (17 page)

“R
ise and shine, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Hmm.”

I stretched my legs, curling and uncurling my toes, then began to stretch my arms, eventually moving to my neck and shoulders, when I realized my pillow was moving with me.

Good Lord.
I froze.

My pillow moved again as Toby laughed, the rumbling sound in my ears coming from deep in his chest, and I realized he’d felt me tense up. I squeezed my eyes shut harder and grumbled, “You’re laughing at me again.”

“I can’t help it. You just froze up like if you moved even an inch I’d bite you or something.”

Well, if the shoe fits…

“What time is it? It feels like I only fell asleep an hour ago.”

“Well, it was
slightly
more than an hour.”

I opened one eye and realized the only light in the room came from the small lamp on the bedside table. The curtains were drawn, but not even a sliver of morning sun crept in.

“Ugh,” I groaned.

“Aw, it’s not so bad. We’ll get to see the sunrise.”

“I don’t
want
to see the sunrise.”

“Come ‘ere.” Toby pulled my face up by my chin and looked down at me, his eyes slightly heavy from sleep, and his mouth quirked in that usual smirk of his.

I smiled back at him, unable to stop myself.

“Good morning, Miss Van Ruysdael.”

“Good morning, Mr. James,” I said with a pout.

He held my gaze for a few long seconds, then his fingers moved to my mouth, tracing my bottom lip gently, before moving to tuck some unruly hair behind my ear.

“You slept well?”

I glared at him.

“I mean, aside from having to get up before the sun?”

“I did.”

“No bad dreams?”

“No.” That was a strange question, but even stranger—I hadn’t had any dreams at all, actually. My nightmares had ceased months ago, replaced by dreams about Toby that were way past PG, but last night I’d slept soundly. I couldn’t remember any snippets of a dream at all.

Toby’s lips twitched.

“Why? Did I talk in my sleep or something?”

The twitching smirk pulled into a full-blown grin. “Maybe. You may have said a name a few times.”

“A name?”
Oh dear God, please don’t let it be the name I think it is.

“Yeah,” he said, as his fingers grazed my lip again. “I think you missed me.”

“Oh my God.” My face slammed into his chest, and then I slid down to the side of him to bury my face in the pillows.

“Stop,” he said while laughing at my expense. “Come on, it was sweet! Don’t be embarrassed.”

“Oh my God,” I groaned again, my voice muffled by the pillow. “Just leave me alone, Toby. I’m never getting out of this bed again.”

“Then I’ll stay here with you,” he said matter-of-factly. He slid farther down into the covers and curled up around me.

Oh, hell no. This is
not
happening.
I jumped up out of the bed and grabbed my duffle bag to head into the bathroom and shower. I didn’t look at him as I made my way across the room, but I didn’t need to see him to know he found this entire situation hilarious.

“You’re a jerk, you know that?”

“Me? What did I do?”

He continued laughing even after I’d closed the door. I looked at myself in the mirror, prepared to give my subconscious a really good scolding.
Come on! I was saying his name in my sleep? Seriously? What could be worse?

Then, adding insult to injury, I noticed the dried drool on my chin.

That. That could be worse.

Good grief.

After showering, then waiting for the redness to fade from my skin—whether caused by scalding water or my embarrassment—I exited the bathroom, ready to take on the world.

Judging by the bags all packed up and waiting by the door, however, it appeared I’d be
running
from the world, not taking it on.

“Where to now?” I asked.

Toby sat at the small table, quickly typing away into his phone. He stood when he heard my voice, then set his phone down and crossed the room. He reached for my face, then delicately ran a finger down my cheek, letting his hand fall back to his side.

“I know we’re not together, and even if that was a possibility, you’d want to move slowly…but, man, I really want to kiss you right now.”

My cheeks flushed again.
No, no no.
I wasn’t going to allow any of that. I just about jumped out of my skin when Toby’s phone beeped and vibrated all over the table.

Toby tilted his head, then closed his eyes and sighed as he turned away from me to answer the call.

Saved by the bell.

Move slowly, he’d said. I didn’t know how I felt about that, about any of it. Was there a possibility of something happening between us again? Was I even open to that idea after everything that happened before?

Was there something more than just a small reconnected spark between us? A fleeting touch of attraction?

Was I running from the world with my ex-boyfriend at my side, or someone more? I mean, I knew Toby loved me, but what about me, my feelings? What about Frankie?

Frankie left me, I know, but still. What if he—

“Right,” he snapped, pulling my attention away from my frantic analyzing, which was fine by me. The last thing I wanted to do was ponder the whys and what ifs of my relationship with Toby freaking James.

Relationship?
Ugh.

“We’ll meet you there, then. Got it. Yes. I got it.” He shoved the phone into his jeans pocket, then grabbed his wallet and keys. He turned to me, the tension in his face melting away. “Ready to hit the road, babe?”

“Do I have a choice?”

Toby cringed. “Nope. Sorry.”

“Well then, I’d love to hit the road.”

“Good answer. I have a little surprise for you anyway, so if you’d refused…” Toby opened the hotel room door, grabbed the bags in one hand, and with the other hand waved me out in front of him, bending over at the waist in a grand gesture. “Your chariot awaits.”

Once we were out of the hotel parking lot, we refueled, grabbed some bottled water at the gas station mini mart, then headed back toward I-5 northbound. Oregon was north of us—I knew that much. I briefly wondered if Interstate 5 would take us all the way there.

“McDonald’s okay for breakfast?”

“Sure. Are they open this early?”

Toby shook his head. “It’s really not that early, Ever. Look at all the other people out and about.”

I didn’t really care what time these crazy people thought they should wake up. I didn’t want to be awake while it was still dark out, but I didn’t say anything. No use complaining when I was already out of bed and on the road.

We drove through the McDonald’s drive thru and ordered breakfast, but when they handed Toby the bags, he didn’t pass them to me, but instead, set them in the back seat.

“Wait a minute. You’re going to starve me of sleep
and
food?”

“Relax. We’re almost there.”

“Where?”

Toby looked past me out the window, staring at the horizon, then brought his gaze back to the road. “Perfect.”

I tried to see what he saw, whatever he thought was so perfect about the desolate, flat highway ahead of us, but I just wasn’t seeing the appeal.

Toby turned his blinker on, then veered off at the next exit. The road was empty of any buildings—no fast food or gas stations, and definitely no people. Had I been with anyone else, I’d probably be nervous, but I trusted Toby not to take me off into the wilderness and skin me alive.

I think.

I looked over at him and caught the slightest smile forming on his lips. “What are you up to?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Are we still heading to Oregon?”

“Yes. Soon.”

Hmm. So cryptic with his one word answers, but the small grin on his face gave me pause. I’d let him have his fun. I crossed my arms and watched as the scenery became much more green than brown.

After driving for a few minutes, Toby pulled the Mustang off the road, then parked it in the dirt.

“What are we doing?”

“Come on. Grab the food.”

I did as I was told, reaching around to grab the bags of food from behind my seat, then fumbled a bit as I tried to pick up the drinks as well. When I finally managed to get everything into my hands, I climbed out of the car.

Toby stood in front of the Mustang with a huge smile on his face. He’d laid out a red plaid blanket on the hood of the car and gestured for me to climb up.

“You want me to sit…on the
Mustang
?”

“I laid a blanket down. She’ll be fine.”

“What are you up to?” I asked, as he took the food and drinks out of my hand.

“You’ll see.”

After making sure I was settled, Toby climbed up to sit next to me, then handed me my food and orange juice.

After a few minutes of eating silently, Toby elbowed me gently so I looked up at him. He smiled down at me and raised his eyebrows, then tilted his head toward the mountains in the east.

When I followed his gaze toward the horizon, I gasped. I’d been so busy destroying my sausage breakfast sandwich and hash browns, that I hadn’t even noticed the beauty in front of me.

The sky was vibrant lavender, mixed with shades of orange and red, as the sun peeked over the faraway ridge. Without another soul for miles, and the highway empty of any traffic or buildings, this was like our own private show.

We sat on the hood of the Mustang for a long few minutes in silence, shoulder to shoulder, and witnessed the most beautiful sunrise I’d ever seen.

After a little while, Toby spoke, “Well? Did you like the surprise?”

“Yes. Wow. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“I know. It’s never the same in Orange. Even when you find an open area like Irvine Park, or up on Santiago Canyon Road, it just never looks quite like it does in the desert. Those places are still too populated.”

Toby was a sunrise expert? Who knew? “It was beautiful. Thank you. And thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome.” He held my gaze for a few long moments, then took a deep breath. “Well, if you’re ready, I guess we should probably hit the road.”

I sighed. Back to running. Even stopping for nature’s beauty was cut short by the hopeless predicament I was in. How would I even beat this? How would my life ever be the same? I felt myself slump as the weight of everything hit me again. Would I ever be able to pause for a sunrise again?

Toby slid off the hood, then reached his hand out to help me climb down. “Ready?”

I slipped my hand into his strong grip, and he smiled. He squeezed my fingers and whispered, “You can do it.”

I realized I could. He was probably talking about getting off the hood of the car, but I’d been thinking about running for my life. Everything had changed in such a short timeframe, but I realized as he watched me expectantly that I could do it.

I’ve got this
, I told myself.

“I’m ready.”

“W
ho were you talking to at the hotel earlier? Ted?”

We’d been in the car for about an hour or so, riding mostly in silence. I didn’t know what Toby focused on during that time, but I imagined he worried about what the next few days would bring us as much as I did.

“Yes. Your mom and Ted haven’t stopped driving yet—taking turns until they need to switch for sleep—but with the ass-backward way they’re taking, they should arrive a day or two after we do, not tonight like I’d originally thought, and now we’re headed straight into Seattle, not Portland.”

“Geez. How far out of the way did they go?”

“Not sure. He hasn’t told me. I haven’t asked.”

Toby’s clipped response reminded me of how snappy he’d been on the phone. He was obviously mad at Ted, and I figured I knew why, but since we’d ridden in mostly silence yesterday, I was feeling a bit chatty today.

“So. Why are you mad at Ted?”

Toby snapped his head over to look at me, his eyebrows raised so much they disappeared under his bangs. “You’re kidding me, right? Have you forgotten what he did?”

“To me, Toby. This all happened to me. To
my
family.”

Toby’s mouth opened and closed, then his eyebrows slowly slid back down to their usual place, and he brought his gaze back to the road without saying another word.

I turned my attention to the world passing by my passenger side window, even though not much was visible under the early morning sliver of light. Minutes passed, and my brief chatty feeling dissipated. Why had he looked at me like that? Surprised at first, but then he’d seemed so…destroyed. Was I wrong? Was it not me, my mom, and even Ariadne that were totally thrown by these recent developments? Had I somehow missed something huge that involved Toby?

Aside from being forced to babysit you?

In my selfishness, I overlooked the fact that his life now consisted of running away, keeping me safe, and driving toward an area of the United States that he’d once wanted desperately to leave. The Pacific Northwest. Of course he was mad. He had to drop everything to cart me around. Who
wouldn’t
be pissed?

“You’re mad because Ted ruined your life.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

Toby slowed down and pulled to the side of the near-empty highway. He grabbed my hands, pulling them to his lap, so I turned toward him. He focused his dark eyes intently on mine and leaned forward.

“Listen to me, and listen good. No one ruined my life, Ever. You
are
my life. I haven’t been the same since we parted ways, and I realize now that I never will be. There’s a huge gaping space in my chest when you’re not around. So, whether you want this to work”—he waved our clasped hands between us—“or whether you even want to try, I know now that I have to be in your life, in one form or another.”

Wow. Um…
What was I supposed to say to that?

“And if you’ll allow it”—he reached up, tucking a long dark strand of hair behind my ear, then brought his hand back down over our entwined fingers—“I want to try to be your boyfriend again. But if that’s not what you want, I’ll be your friend. However you’ll have me.”

I sucked in a breath, struggling to process this declaration and the meaning behind his words. He wanted to be my boyfriend again, and that brought back such chaotic feelings. Feelings of love and excitement, but also of disappointment and—

“Will you have me?”

I focused on his bottom lip, realizing that he chewed on it as he awaited my response.

The air felt charged as I pondered the question, as though the air itself was on edge, waiting for my answer. A feeling like someone holding a balloon just above the fine hair on my arms slowly covered my body, and every hair stood on end. It was both strange and comforting at once, and my stomach flip-flopped in response to the feeling, or possibly in response to what I knew was coming.

Toby’s gaze didn’t waiver, and as he held my focus, my pulse accelerated. Butterflies danced and twirled in my belly.

Would I have him?

Yes.

As a babysitter? A friend?

Or as a boyfriend?

I nodded, unable to think of an appropriate response for the boy who just poured his heart out to me, not completely ready to commit to anything specific. Toby’s face split into a grin—so much more than the usual half-smile he was known for. I smiled in response, unable to help myself. I wasn’t ready to be his girlfriend again, but I wasn’t about to say goodbye to him either. And deep down, something in my heart just knew. Knew that this was right. That he was right. That I was exactly where I was supposed to be, with whom I was supposed to be with.

“Can I kiss you again?”

No!
my conscience warned, but the voice was subtle, growing easier to ignore as time passed by. I nodded again, though it may have been more of a jerking movement than an actual nod. I just wanted his lips on mine and for the strange charge in the air around us to either ignite or disappear.

Toby wasted no time pulling me toward him. With both hands in my hair, he brought my lips to his and kissed me in an all-consuming way that made me want to melt into him.

“Well, well, isn’t this interesting.”

The now-familiar voice startled us apart, and I pushed myself back against the car door as much as I could. The Seeker sat in the center of the back seat, exactly where he’d been the last time he’d surprised me in the Mustang. Toby turned in his seat, trying to cover me but unable to do so in the cramped car.

The old ghost laughed a gravelly laugh, and I was surprised to hear a hint of honest amusement in the sound. When he finished, he turned toward Toby, ignoring me completely.

“What have you gotten yourself into, Collector?”

“Who do you work for,
Seeker
?”

The Seeker clucked his tongue. “Tsk-tsk, Collector. It is quite rude to respond to a question with a question. But, not to worry, I see with my own two eyes what you’ve gotten yourself into. Falling in love with a Mark. Can’t say I haven’t heard of this before, but it is quite rare. And for good reason. You know the score, boy, yet you allow yourself to feel for her. Why?”

“That’s none of your business. What do you want? Who do you work for?”

“Who I work for doesn’t matter. As you can see, I’m not turning her in.”

Toby chanced a glance back at me, and his eyebrows drew down in thought. I shrugged, unable to answer the question in his eyes. I mean, shouldn’t
Toby
be the one answering
my
questions?

We both turned our attention back to the Seeker.

“Eleanor. I told you I liked you, and I meant it. Clearly, your character is not in question here or lover boy wouldn’t risk”—he paused, and the vague outline of his eyebrows rose over his blurred forehead—“my, my, was I wrong? Have you decided to keep her for yourself?”

Keep me for himself? What does that mean?

“Hmm,” the Seeker continued in his raspy drawl. “I’ll make you a deal.”

“No.”

Geez, didn’t he at least want to know what the deal was before he answered? I did.

The Seeker turned toward Toby. “I’m sorry. No?”

“No. I don’t negotiate with
Seekers
.”

“Oh, yes, the silly pride of a Collector. You really think you’re better than me, boy?”

Toby’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t respond.

“Indeed. Well then”—he brought his gaze to mine and leaned into the front seat—“Eleanor, here’s the deal: I will allow you to continue on your way—for now—but as soon as you hit the Oregon/Washington border, I will collect you myself and turn you in. However, should you find a way to talk some sense into your boyfriend here, I would be willing to forgo this deal for a much more…
mutually
beneficial arrangement. Don’t delay; I won’t renege on my promise.”

As the final word hit the air, the Seeker vanished, and with him the charged feeling I’d sensed in the air before Toby and I kissed. It hadn’t been a spark between us at all, but an indication that our Seeker wanted us to know he was near.
Silly girl.