Ten Below Zero(49)

There was only one car in the parking lot, so Everett pulled the Jeep in beside it. The door to the hotel room directly in front of the car opened and Mira stepped into the doorway. The sounds of something loud on the television came through the door as she ushered us in.

I walked in first and sat on the bed closest to the door. Everett closed the door to the room and stayed by the door, as if he wasn’t sure what to do.

Mira was jittery, pacing the room. I could tell she was craving a cigarette to calm her. It made me nervous.

Her hair was blue now. Bluntly cut at her chin with bangs that came down over her eyebrows. She was wearing tight green jeans and an oversized heather gray University of Michigan tee over that. Mira was always like this: a mess of colors pulled into a style that worked with her.

She laughed and then put a hand in her hair, pushing the bangs back and holding them with her hand on top of her head while she paced. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Maybe an introduction?” Everett asked. “I’m Everett.”

Mira stopped pacing for a minute, as if noticing Everett’s presence for the first time that night. She looked from him to me and cocked her head in question. “Who are you?” she asked warily.

“I just told you, I’m Everett.”

Instantly I knew Mira and Everett would not get along. Both of them were headstrong and brutally honest. And both of them were looking at me.

“Everett is…a friend.” It was the best I could do. “And you already know about Mira,” I said to Everett before realizing I shouldn’t have said that.

Mira’s head swung back to me, her blue bob swinging with the movement like a bobble head. “What does that mean?” she asked me, annoyed.

“Ugh,” I groaned. I was already annoyed with the situation. “Mira, I told him you found me, saved me. Everett is a friend. We’re on a road trip together. Can we move on?”

Mira looked at me shrewdly, as if I’d revealed her deepest, darkest secrets to Everett. Which would be impossible, because Mira was a fortress, impenetrable. She didn’t tell me her favorite color, much less her deepest secrets. When she seemed satisfied with my answer, she finally stopped pacing. She grabbed a chair and turned it around, straddling it so she was facing me. “I have a problem.” She was still a nervous ball of energy. Her leg was dancing up and down, making her head bob more.

“Here,” Everett said, pulling out his lighter from his pocket. “Fiddle with this.” He tossed it to her and she caught it without giving him even a glance. A second later she was flicking it open and on. Over and over.

“Okay,” she blew out a breath, staring at the lighter. “It’s a long story and I can’t totally get into it, but I need you to be a decoy tonight, to replace a girl that’s recently been moved from here.” She blew out another breath. “This girl was in danger. There’s a man here looking for her. I need you to be a decoy, to make him believe you are her enough for him to realize you’re not, and that this trip, for him, was a waste.”

Just then her phone rang. She climbed off the chair and swiped it from the bed, answering it. “What?” She paused for a second and looked at me. “Mouse is here. She’s got Andra’s build and hair color.” There was silence before she held up a hand. “Wait, let me just put you on speaker. I don’t want to say what you’re already saying.” She muttered a swear word as she turned the phone on speaker. “Okay, they’re listening.”

“I thought you said it was Mouse. Who else?” It was Six’s voice. No doubt about it. He sounded impatient and annoyed.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it under control.”

I heard a loud sigh from Six’s end. “Okay, Mouse. Mira is going to take you to a ranch. You’re basically going to hang around the property to see if he shows up. I don’t care where you are – he’s going to be looking for someone who looks a lot like you.”

“Wait,” Everett walked away from the door, towards the phone. “Mira said this girl, the one Parker is being a decoy for, was in danger by this man. Does that mean Parker is in danger as well?”

“Who’s this?”

“Everett. I’m with Parker. Is she going to be in danger?”

There was silence from Six’s end. Mira was looking at me and Everett with concern in her eyes. Six finally spoke again. “Not necessarily. Mouse can run, and she’s strong. Mira taught her to be strong. Mira will be there looking from a safe distance and I have another guy on the property too.”

“Her name is Parker.” Everett was agitated. He looked at me, as if I was crazy for agreeing to this.

“Yeah, well we call her Mouse. And nothing will happen to her. Right, Mouse?”

Everett and Mira looked at me. I fidgeted. I hated having their attention on me. “It’ll be fine,” I said. It would. I felt a small tug of fear, but I knew I would do it. Not for Six, but for Mira. “I’ve been running still.”

“Great. That’s really all there is to it. If he gets to close, you run. Run towards the cabins. I’ll have a guy there waiting. I’m sure Mira has a handful of things she can give you to keep yourself safe. Now Mira, take me off speaker.” Mira did and walked away with the phone to her ear.

“Are you kidding me right now?” Everett asked, anger seeping through his voice. “I veto this idea right now. Let’s get back on the road.”