“Uh, we can just go home,” I suggested resentfully.
“Nah,” Kingston said as he tapped on the back of my seat. “You got me all excited about stealing a car and escaping on a plane. You don’t know what I’m like when my wild urges get curbed.”
Maverik groaned. “I don’t want to hear anything about your urges.”
“Let’s get to the fun part of the day,” Kingston suggested. “Head to the airport.”
“No,” Maverik argued. “This has gone far enough.”
“Awww, Mav,” Kingston complained. “You’re ruining our bonding experience with our new sister.”
Maverik rolled his eyes. “She’s not our sister.”
“Agreed,” I said snarkily. It looked like the nice Maverik had disappeared again, and his evil alter ego was back.
The smile faded from Kingston’s face. “She could get hurt if we don’t go with her.”
I huffed irritably. “I’ll be fine.”
Maverik shot me a doubting look that set my blood on fire.
“I’m not helpless,” I snapped at him.
Maverik held my eyes. “I wouldn’t let King go alone either.”
Maverik and I didn’t break our stare-down. I gave him my best fuck-off glare, but as I stared into his grey eyes, the heat of my anger started to fade. Maverik could be a complete asshole, but there were also moments when I didn’t completely despise him. As much as I hated to admit it, Maverik wouldn’t be so protective of his brother if he didn’t have a heart.
My eyes searched his, trying to see past the cold shell that he wore on the outside. Why did he have to be so gorgeous that he distracted me from how angry I was? I knew when Maverik changed his mind because his eyes softened slightly.
We broke eye contact, and I shifted uncomfortably. I took a deep breath to clear my mind of all inappropriate thoughts about my potential brother-to-be.
Maverik texted on his phone as I squeezed the steering wheel nervously.
“How long will this trip take?” Maverik asked me without looking up from his phone.
“Just get me to New York, and I won’t be your problem anymore,” I snapped.
“Yeah!” Kingston said with a fist pump. “We’re going!”
“Turn off your phones,” Maverik ordered. “We’ll leave them in the car and pick up a couple of burners.”
Kingston scowled. “Why bother? It won’t take him long to track us down either way.”
“You better buckle up,” Maverik warned him before he got out of the car and walked around to my side.
I scooted over to take the seat that Maverik abandoned as he took the driver’s seat, and he ran his hands over the steering wheel lovingly.
Kingston laughed. “Let’s go, bro. Show us what this beast can do!”
“Whatever,” I mumbled. “Let’s go to the school to pick Abby up.”
“No,” Maverik told me with a frown. “This is a family trip.”
I rolled my eyes. “Since when did you start considering me part of the family?”
“Mav is right,” Kingston said quietly. “Abby can’t come.”
“Abby is the only person who’s been nice to me since I got here,” I pointed out in irritation. “You guys have been giving me a hard time since the moment I met you.”
Maverik sighed. “Abby isn’t who you think she is.”
“You’re going to have to explain a little more than that,” I insisted as Maverik revved the engine.
“You’ll either have to take my word for it or wait and find out the hard way,” Maverik told me with a shrug. “Buckle up, kids, we’re going for a ride.”
Kingston shouted in excitement as Maverik peeled out of the parking lot. I found out he hadn’t been exaggerating about the acceleration capabilities of this car. I pressed myself back against the seat, and my life flashed before my eyes several times, but I couldn’t deny the thrill that I got out of this. Maverik even took pleasure in squealing around the airport parking garage, stopping only inches from other cars before tearing off again.
“I’d hate to see what you’re like in an actual sports car,” I muttered as Maverik finally parked, and I was able to get out.
Both guys had huge grins on their faces, and Kingston’s face was flushed. When I caught my reflection walking past the other cars, I was surprised to see that my eyes were bright, and my face was just as pink as Kingston’s. I enjoyed that trip more than I’d ever admit.
Kingston slung my backpack over his shoulder, and the three of us walked into the airport together, almost like we were a group of real friends.
“What’s the plan here?” I asked curiously.
Maverik frowned. “Dad has us on the no-fly list again with the private jet, so we’re going to have to slum it.”
“We better get first-class seats,” Kingston muttered. “I’m not squeezing my ass into one of those tiny coach seats where I can’t even fit my legs in front of me.”
I gave him an exasperated look. “You’re way too spoiled if you think first-class is slumming it.”
“Says the girl half our size,” Maverik muttered.
Kingston put his free arm around my shoulder. “We’ll corrupt you yet, little Wilder. Let us teach you the ways of our kind.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep back my smile.
“Do your thing,” Maverik told Kingston as we approached the ticket counter.
I looked at him in surprise when he let his younger brother take charge, but he gave me a casual shrug. “If Kingston can’t charm them, I’ll step in and be an asshole. But it usually works better if we play nice first.”
“Good cop, bad cop?”
“Something like that.”
I wasn’t surprised when Kingston not only got us three tickets, but also convinced the saleswoman that we all needed to be seated together. “We have an hour and
