Lies(25)

He shifts in the seat, slipping his hand into his pants pocket to retrieve the ammunition as requested. “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

“See?” He smiles. “We work well together.”

I say nothing. I don’t know what to say. The hope and enthusiasm he has for our faux relationship throws me. Though to be fair, the last few days have been real. Strange and hellish in parts, but genuine.

Without too much trouble, I remove the empty clip and slide in the new one. My aim may not be the best, but I don’t totally suck at guns. And his enthusiasm over us doesn’t weird me out due to my not believing I’m worthy of a loving and honest relationship. Or that having someone fight for me is such an out-there notion. Just to clarify, by “fight” I didn’t mean guns blazing, et cetera. But a person willing to stick by my side through good times and bad. A best friend. Maybe even a soul mate. All we have is a bundle of lies to build on. Where would a rational and sensible person stuck in this particular situation even start? I mean, seriously.

“Babe,” says Thom. “I realize you’re thinking deep thoughts. But please don’t tap the gun against your thigh like that.”

“Oh.” I place the loaded weapon into the mostly empty glove compartment alongside a small half-used packet of Kleenex and an out-of-date protein bar. Nice and safe.

He gives me a nod, satisfied with the precautions. The other gun disappeared back into his ankle holster earlier. If necessary, he can get his hands on one or the other relatively quickly. Now that we’re on the move once more, on a busy-ish highway, he’s back to darting his eyes from the road to all the mirrors and back again. Making sure we aren’t being followed. Yet he’s also obviously watching me too.

“How did you know I was thinking deep thoughts?” I ask, curious.

“You’re always overthinking something. It’s pretty much your S.O.P.”

“And you don’t?”

“Wouldn’t have stayed alive long if my thoughts drifted when I’m on missions,” he says. “I’ve been trained to collect the data and crunch it. Decide upon a plan and carry it out.”

“You never change your mind?”

“If factors alter, of course I do. You have to be willing to be flexible.”

“So why haven’t you changed your mind about us?”

“I see no reason to change my mind about us.”

“Even though I know your secret now and all the parameters you set on this relationship have been shot to hell?”

He glances my way. “I figure if anything, Betty, you knowing should make our relationship better. In the long-term. Once we get through this somewhat rocky period.”

“Only you would describe being on the run for our lives as a somewhat rocky period.”

“Only you would make me pay for this piece-of-shit car.”

I laugh. Apparently fear makes me giggly sometimes. Go figure.

We pull off the highway, taking a one-lane road deep into some different woods. These are on flat ground.

“I’m still not going to kill you and bury your lovely body among all of this natural splendor, just in case you were wondering,” he says.

“I wasn’t. I know you’re not.”

The smile he gives me is kind of glorious. The way it reaches his eyes. Old Thom’s grins kind of left me unmoved a lot of the time. Unsure about his true intentions or feelings. They were perfunctory things. Now I know why, of course. But also, now I’m seeing something so much better. It’s even a little tummy fluttering and knee weakening. Damn him.

“You do trust me,” he says.

“Eh. Maybe.”

He smiles some more as we pull into a small airfield. There’s one large hangar and a sleek white private jet waiting on the tarmac. We might be on the run for our lives, though if I’m not much mistaken, Thom is actually starting to relax around me. To be himself. I don’t know how I feel about this. It is harder to sustain the anger when he’s being all charming and protective and so on. But maybe our relationship or lack thereof doesn’t require an emotional status update. Maybe I can just let it be.

Bear comes down the little jet’s steps, the big man lifting a hand in welcome. With his long blond hair neatly tied back, he’s dressed to impress. In a pilot’s uniform, by the look.

“You think he’s safe?” I ask.

“Yeah.” Thom nods and we pull to a stop near the jet. “He was the first to be cleared by our new hacker friend. She’s pretty efficient at searching for offshore accounts and so on. Any possible dodgy or coded communications that might coincide with recent events. We can’t be a hundred percent certain of anyone, but I’ve known Bear a long time. Switching sides isn’t his style.”

“Your hacker works fast.”

“She does. Charges a fortune too,” he says. “But you get what you pay for. Can’t afford any more mistakes with this. Whoever is involved needs to be found. You hop out here and I’ll go stash this thing around back, out of sight.”

“Okay.”

Bear opens my door, giving me a hand out. What a gentleman. “Nice ride.”

“Fuck off,” replies Thom without heat. “Wheels up in five.”

“On it.” Bear tucks my hand around his elbow, leading me toward the plane. “There’s fresh clothes for you onboard. We need to get rid of everything you’re wearing, okay?”