Hidden Flames (3 page)

“Filter,” Owen corrected, breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn’t putting up more a fuss about this. He wasn’t going to question his good fortune and was already running a list of things through his head that they would need for the trip. The items would have to be condensed to fit on the back of his bike. A sidecar might hinder them, depending on the path they needed to take. “We’ll only need one since we’ll be taking my bike. It’ll cut down on potential issues we might have.”

“I’ll be riding my own damned bike, Owen.”

Owen gritted his teeth at Prue’s obstinate nature. She had to argue with everything that was said and he’d had just about enough of it. She walked right past him and into the garage, leaving a trail of vanilla fragrance in her wake. The scent somehow managed to overpower the ever-present odor of grease and he followed the alluring aroma so that he could convince her the hazards of taking two bikes.

“Prue, we’re short on time here. It would be best to make one filter and then travel with as little as possible, with the exception of weapons. We’ll need to be prepared for—”

“What route are we taking?” Prue asked, cutting him off. She reached his workbench and picked up the items he’d put down a few minutes prior before turning to face him with that stubborn tilt of her chin that he used to find rather endearing. That was wearing off fast. “I assume we’re not making a direct line to Washington, considering that would take us through the Midwest.”

“We’ll go up the East Coast and then west from there,” Owen replied, wanting to get back to the discussion about taking one bike. It only made sense and he
would
get her to see reason. “Since we don’t know what we’re going to run into, we should—”

“We’re going west from here,” Prue announced, as if that solidified their plans. She took the needed parts over to her workstation. “We need to hit Northern California on our way up to Washington.”

Owen stood there and debated on whether or not he’d heard her right. Five minutes ago, Prue hadn’t believed him and had planned on staying behind. Now she thought she was running the show and he intended to put a stop to that…until she threw him for yet another curve when she dropped a bombshell.

“My sister is in Yreka, California…at least according to her last address which I just looked up on your desktop.” Prue stopped what she was doing and met his gaze, her brown eyes filled with determination. “We need to reach her, which means traveling directly west from here. I won’t be showing up to Washington without her, so you can either ride alongside me or go your separate way. Which is it going to be, Owen?”

P
rue glanced at
the smudged clock hanging in Owen’s office from where she stood at her workbench. It had taken her around an hour to create two oil bath air filters similar to the ones designed for the endurance motorcycles that ran the long distance desert races. It would have taken even less time had her fingers not been shaking.

The typical oil bath filter was designed to draw particulate filled incoming air over an oil filled reservoir, thus reducing the amount of debris drawn into the second stage sponge type filter by ninety-eight percent. They could still make decent headway if they ran into a heavy amount of ash fall, provided they stayed on top of their need to flush the bath with fresh oil and brushing off the accumulated residue clinging to the cylinder’s fins every couple of hours.

While constructing the filters, Prue couldn’t get the morbid thoughts of people dying in a massive volcanic eruption out of her head. A part of her still believed that Owen’s friends were pulling one over on him, but she’d turned on the radio and the media reports were just as bad with their coverage by saying that nothing catastrophic was going to happen. She’d learned at a very young age that one shouldn’t jinx matters of such importance.

“Prue, we really need to head out soon,” Owen stressed, pulling her attention away from the two devices in front of her to see him walking toward her with a small backpack. She quickly took her hands off of her workbench, not wanting him to think that she was nervous. It made her appear vulnerable. “I packed up several one quarter bottles of standard motor oil for each of us to carry. We should be covered if something happens and we get caught in an ash cloud during the trip.”

Owen Quade had been a thorn in her side for over a year. She technically couldn’t complain. He’d hired her, giving her exactly what she wanted in a job. She worked by herself on the very machines that gave her the freedom she needed for her sanity. She clocked in and she clocked out—no one bothered her and Owen didn’t micromanage her various jobs. It was a win-win for both of them, with the exception of the fact that she wanted him.

Owen wasn’t classically handsome by any means. His blond hair was quite messy and nowhere near as short as when she’d first met him. The fact that he could easily tan and somehow have a surfer look totally went against the grain of a biker. He’d said on numerous occasions that she was a contradiction, but she was nowhere near the severity of the description as he was. His full lips made her think of sex and she did her best to look away when he smiled. She had no interest in what he was offering. She’d always thought his six-foot frame was too tall for her…until the other night when he’d kissed her. She would have really liked to have blamed her behavior on the alcohol, but one beer wasn’t responsible for the fact that she’d made a poor decision, regardless that her body still craved his touch. They weren’t compatible and he’d eventually want more than just sex…and she wasn’t into traditional relationships.

“Prue?” Owen was now standing directly in front of her, making her realize how long it had taken her to answer. She wasn’t the type of woman to blush, but her cheeks did heat up a degree at getting caught looking him over in her evaluation. “Did you call your sister like I told you to? She can be in Lost Summit, Washington by late tonight if she lives in northern California. That frees us up to travel up the East Coast and then along the northern border. It’s the best course of action.”

“I can’t do that.” Prue grabbed the two filters, along with a few things that she felt they needed for the duration of the trip. She really wished he would drop this subject. She told him before that she wasn’t calling Rosa. An hour hadn’t changed her mind. “Are we meeting back here after we hit our places?”

“Give me her number. I’ll call her.”

Owen’s tone indicated that he’d reached his limit of patience. He only spoke in a clipped voice when he thought people should just follow in line. Prue didn’t really care one way or the other. She was more than capable of riding to California on her own and meeting him up in the town he kept mentioning. He also said something to the effect that their destination was a valley that would be able to marginally protect them from the harsh elements that were likely to develop due to the supervolcano.

“I don’t have her number.” Prue wasn’t about to go into her nonexistent relationship with her sister. The only thing he needed to know was that they needed to go to California. “I’m riding over to my apartment to pack what I need and then I’ll meet you back here.”

Prue turned with both air filters in her hand to find that Owen had placed himself between her and the door. His brown eyes were usually sparkling with humor, but right now they were darkened with annoyance. Her heartbeat stuttered when he backed her up against her workbench, his body flush with hers with the exception of the motorcycle parts up against his chest.

“We aren’t in a place or time where you can withhold information to keep me at a distance anymore,” Owen said softly, leaning down until they were at eye level. Their underlying sexual attraction reared up, catching her by surprise. Prue wasn’t used to seeing this side of him and she was beginning to comprehend just how much restraint he’d had with her over the last year. She would have buckled long ago had she witnessed this amount of passion, but getting a glimpse now would strengthen her resolve in the days to come. He was right. This wasn’t the time to keep secrets, but it was the perfect time to keep the emotional distance. Why get close to someone when the chances of them living to see tomorrow were diminishing with each passing moment? “Why don’t you have her number? And just what is her name?”

“My sister’s name is Rosa Hernandez,” Prue disclosed, tilting her chin so that he wouldn’t think he had the upper hand just because she was sharing a bit of her past. “And I don’t have her damned number because she doesn’t know I exist. Are happy now? The best thing to do is drive to California and pick her up on the way to Washington. I’m not forcing you to come with me. I can meet you later and—”

“What if I can get you her number?” Owen asked, his serious gaze never leaving hers and he certainly wasn’t rising to her bait. Prue didn’t like the feeling that she was somehow losing an uphill battle. “Would you call her then? You’re risking her life—as well as ours—by waiting when the caldera could erupt at any moment.”

“She wouldn’t believe me even if I were able to call and she would most likely hang up on me before I could explain myself,” Prue said defensively, not comfortable with the closeness between them and the fact that she was sharing personal facts with him. She shoved the filters against his chest and breathed a little easier when Owen took a step back. “I’m riding to California—west then north.”

Owen stood there for a minute and studied her, causing a hitch in her breathing. Was he actually debating on driving up the East Coast and leaving her to go to California herself? She honestly hadn’t thought he would do that and became irritated with herself for even caring what he did. Hell, she technically still wasn’t one hundred percent positive that his friend was even telling the truth. She didn’t like feeling as if the floor was going to drop out from underneath her at any moment.

“Fine.”

Owen turned on the heel of his boot and proceeded to walk out of the garage. Prue remained where she was, not certain what
fine
meant. Did that mean he took her explanation for what it was? Did that mean he was going to ride with her to California? Or did that mean it was fine by him that she go alone? Annoyance flashed through her that it even mattered to her and she quickly followed behind him to find out what his plans were.

“What do you mean
fine
?” Prue squinted slightly when she walked out of the building and into the sun, grateful that she still had her cap on to keep the intensity of the rays at a minimum. She was so used to the humidity that it didn’t bother her anymore. The small parking lot couldn’t say the same from the cracks in the pavement. “Owen?”

He waited for her to clear the doorway before using his keys to lock up the shop. Owen’s movements stilled and she understood in this moment how much this garage meant to him. He’d mentioned in passing how he’d dreamt of owning this place during his combat tours, but she’d never given any hints to wanting to know more. It was easier to be given bullet points than it was to
really
know a person and be open to vulnerability.

“I’ll follow you to your place.” Owen finally turned and walked to where his bike was sitting. He stowed the small backpack in one of his recently installed saddlebags, not even bothering to look behind him as he answered her question. He then snatched the helmet that he’d left hanging from the handle of his bike and finally met her stare. It was unusual that she couldn’t read him, but right now it appeared that he’d shut down all emotion. Prue didn’t like that at all and she glanced behind her to the garage. She had wanted to ask if he truly trusted his friend over something of this magnitude, but watching him leave behind something he’d built over the years with his hard work was her answer. She was somewhat jealous, but all she had to do was think of her upbringing to set things to right. “While you’re packing, I’ll install your filter. Vice versa when we stop at my house. We’ll then hit up a store so that we can load up on staple food supplies and try to take as much as we can, as well as a five-gallon gas can. With two bikes, I’m thinking we can make it through to Washington without a problem.”

“We can save time if we both separate and then meet at a gas station in an hour,” Prue suggested cautiously, not wanting him to see where she lived. He wouldn’t understand and then more questions would come that she didn’t want to answer. She truly did appreciate that he took her word for how this trip had to pan out. Her family history was quite complicated. She carefully placed the filters in her saddlebag along with her utility cap before reaching for her helmet. “Does that sound good to you?”

“No.” Owen placed his helmet over his head, buckling the black strap and then reaching into the pocket of his cammies for his keys. Prue had done the same and wasn’t sure she heard his reply correctly until he repeated it. “No, I gave concession for the trip west to pick up your sister. You can compromise on the rest.”

Owen lifted his right leg and effortlessly swung it over his bike. That simple action somehow appeared sensual and Prue shook her head to expel the thought, not needing the added complication. She’d made it more than plain that she didn’t do relationships, regardless that their kiss had practically burned down their place of work. He started the engine before she could argue with him.