When Iris fell silent in response to Miles’ question, Cas peeked at her over his shoulder and frowned. He wished he could know what was going on inside her head, but there was no time to open that can of worms while they were still fleeing from the scene of their crime. He would just have to wait until he had a chance to be alone with her, like everything else he wanted to say and do. [color=#b97703][i]Although who knows when that will be?[/i][/color] He thought with a pang of wistfulness. When they got to Miles’ house, he wasn’t going to be able to whisk her into another room to talk in private without raising suspicion. He’d told his friends that they weren’t romantically involved to keep the word from leaking back to his father somehow, so he had to keep pretending like they were just acquaintances, at least for now.

[color=#b97703]“Miles, manners,”[/color] he sighed, turning around to fix his gaze on the dimly lit highway in front of them. [color=#b97703]“She’s had a rough few days. Give her some time to process everything before you interrogate her…”[/color] As he spoke the words, he faltered slightly, suddenly connecting the dots in his head. It had probably been the questions themselves that had caused Iris to clam up. After everything she had been through at the penitentiary, undergoing intense questioning and even being injected with the most potent truth serum in Aspiria, the thought of answering any more inquiries must have left a bad taste in her mouth. He wished he could be the one sitting in the back seat of the car with her, so he could hold her hand or do [i]something[/i] to show her that he was there to comfort her.

“My bad,” Miles backpedaled sheepishly. “I didn’t realize it was a touchy subject.”

“Speaking of it though,” Jay spoke up this time, shooting the prince a curious glance. “When are you gonna tell us more about what happened after you disappeared? We’ve only heard bits and pieces since you got back. I think you owe us the whole story after everything we just did tonight.”

[color=#b97703]“I know, and you do,”[/color] Cas agreed earnestly. [color=#b97703]“I promise I’ll fill in the gaps as soon as we have the time for it. Deal?”[/color]

“Deal,” Jay nodded, satisfied with the answer.

For the next ten minutes or so, everyone lapsed into silence, and Jay drove the car down the highway that would take them to the residential district where Miles’ family lived. The streets were blissfully quiet, and they made it without any unwanted appearances of the police or the military. Jay steered the vehicle into the garage in the back and put it into park, but before they got out, the three men took off the hospital scrubs they had been wearing over their other clothes. Balling them up, they threw the stolen garments into the trash bin, and Miles once again offered Iris a hand to get out of the car if she needed it.

“[i]Mi casa es su casa[/i],” he grinned, flourishing a hand toward the door that would take them inside the building. “Come on in. My parents are never home, and my sister went to bed hours ago to get her ‘beauty rest.’ We pretty much have the place to ourselves.”

[color=#b97703]“His parents are luxury travel advisors, and his sister is a model,”[/color] Cas explained as he stepped up to Iris’s other side. He offered her a warm smile, [color=#b97703]“That’s why we thought this would be a good place for you to stay while the capital’s security is out looking for you. The house is usually empty, so you’ll be safe here.”[/color]