Dusty Mile Duet (Dusty Mile 3)

Dusty Mile (Duet)
Isabella Jordan
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2020 Isabella Jordan
Excerpt from Charmer

"Caroline," he began, keeping his voice calm. "We can't stay here. You have a Jeep. I have guns and some ammo. Let's get out of here."

Caroline met his gaze then.

"I know we don't know each other that well," he spoke her thought aloud, thankfully not referencing the night they'd spent together. "But we're both the survivor type to have made it this far. Right?"

"I guess." He was right. They couldn't stay there in the building. Not without starving anyway. Or going absolutely crazy.

She had transportation. He had... "Why do you have guns?" she asked.

"That apartment I picked my way into," Robbie explained. "Guy had a gun safe in there and the key was stuck to the back in one of those magnetic boxes. Three handguns and an assault rifle that I'm pretty sure isn't legal. There's enough ammo to get us started. We can find more on the way. We'll need it with those things."

"And you know how to use guns?" She wanted to make sure before she agreed to anything.

Robbie nodded. "I'm from Texas originally. My dad was a card-carrying member of the NRA. Thought every man should know how to be a decent marksman."

He said the last with a heavy accent and she guessed doing an impersonation of his father. She almost smiled and then thought better of it. "Your parents...?"

Robbie's gaze didn't waver. "Dad's been gone for a while. Long before this. And Mom..." His eyes slid closed and she considered her question answered.

"How about you? Do you have... anyone?" he asked carefully.

"My parents have been gone for a long time. I didn't have brothers or sisters. And the family I did have left, well, I couldn't reach any of them..."

"Anyone else? You know..."

Her cheeks warmed when she realized now he was wondering if she'd lost a boyfriend or a husband. He hadn't seemed worried about that the one night they'd spent together. But in his defense, he'd been drunk too.

Caroline chuckled. "Well, there's an ex-boyfriend I wouldn't miss much if he got eaten. But other than that, no."

Robbie grinned now. He really had a great smile. "Yeah, I had one of those exes. Doesn't really matter now, does it?"

His gaze moved over her face in a way that brought more heat to her cheeks. Such intensity in those deep green eyes... Why was he looking at her like that? Did he realize her heart had just gone from ten to sixty in her chest?

Caroline looked away first, ending the moment, and stepped back. She had to remember it had probably been a while since he'd gotten laid. Maybe not since the world as they knew it ended. That was likely the only reason he was looking at her like that.

For that matter, it had been a long time for her too. The last time she'd had sex had been the night with him. He was good in bed, she'd give him that.

"So what are we going to do?" Caroline asked. "How do I know you won't take my keys and leave me here?" You've left me before. "You're... armed..."

Robbie nodded but his expression remained patient, calm. "I'm not going to leave you, Caroline. You're just going to have to trust me."

Trust him?

"Don't give me that look." Now his infectious grin was back. "You have every right to feel that way. I'll just have to earn your trust somehow. And you could have done worse even though you might not agree with me right now."

Okay, he was earning points for at least alluding to the fact that he was an asshole.

"I guess we need a plan here, right?" Caroline tried to focus on their situation now. "I tried it without a plan yesterday and you see how well that turned out."

Robbie laughed with her. "We'll come up with a plan. I have an idea about where we could go. And it would probably be a good idea to get a solid night's sleep before we try this. It's almost dark now..."

Caroline nodded her agreement. They should absolutely use any advantages they had, daylight being one of them.

"Can I take your couch?" He tipped his head in the direction of her living room furniture which was covered by blankets, old magazines...

"Sure." At least he wasn't making assumptions about how things would go between them. "Wait, don't you have to go back and get your guns and stuff?"

"Oh, shit," he muttered, dashing for her door. "I left them in the hall."

"Why?"

"I needed your trust and I wasn't sure marching in like the Terminator with my assault rifle was the way to go."

While Caroline watched, he pulled a handgun from the waistband of his jeans at his back. He flipped a switch at the top of the handle, the safety she guessed. Then with the gun at the ready, he worked the deadbolt and lock of her door and darted out just long enough to grab an enormous duffle bag and an acoustic guitar. He worked furiously to secure the door again before tucking the gun back into his waistband and dropping the bag carefully to the floor by the door.

"Did you see that... thing?"

Robbie shook his head. "No."

"Those are the guns?"

He nodded. "That and a few travel items. Just in case you said yes." His mouth curved up into a cute half smile. "Traveling light. You'll need to pack too."

Pack. It was a daunting thought. She'd be leaving her apartment, her home, behind. The shock of it must have showed on her face because his expression softened. "I know. It seems crazy to have to just pick up and take off. Leave everything familiar."

One huge question echoed in her mind. "But where are we going, Robbie?"

"South to Virginia."

"Who or what's in Virginia?"

"A crazy uncle who's been predicting some shit like this would hit for years. If anyone's still out there, he is."

Caroline nodded, hoping they would find his relative. But she didn't state the obvious. The odds were against it.

"And if that doesn't pan out, wherever there's food and shelter and whatever else we need to stay alive. That's the main goal now."

Staying alive.

It was one hell of a big change from the daily goals she used to have. Now the thought of what she'd eat and what she'd watch on television before she went to sleep alone seemed so trivial and unimportant. And it really was.

She'd have given anything to have that world back.