ANNA
We’re in the backseat of an Uber and it’s been an unceremoniously quiet ride, but I chalk that up to not being able to openly discuss what we’re doing in front of a stranger. I catch a few glances of Zane beside me and every time I think he’s about to catch me, I look away.
The driver comes to a stop outside a row of gray brick townhomes. There’s nowhere to park and traffic is already lining up behind us so we make quick work getting out of the vehicle. I changed into sneakers just before we left because Zane was insistent that I shouldn’t wear heels out in the field. I instantly agreed with that sentiment.
The last thing I need is to find myself on the run from bad guys while wearing three-inch heels, although Zane assured me it wasn’t going to be an exciting day. Still as the Boy Scouts always say, it’s best to always be prepared.
Zane thanks the driver before he pulls away and we’re left standing alone on the sidewalk. The white car is parked just ahead in a carport situated between one of the townhomes.
“Okay, so here’s the deal,” he says as he turns to me with a serious look painted across his face. “I put a tracking device on that woman’s phone earlier so while I’m pretty sure she’s not here—”
“Where is she?” I question, interrupting him.
“Unless she left her phone behind at the bar, she’s about four miles down the road getting shitfaced—”
“It’s not even five yet,” I point out, and then immediately correct myself. “Right, I’m asking too many questions.”
“No, you’re fine.” He looks both ways, cocking his head to each side of the sidewalk. “It’s just important that you stay behind me at all times.”
“I thought the coast was clear.”
“Are you ready for rule number one?”
I nod.
“Always expect the unexpected.” He digs the spare key out of his pocket as he steps into the carport. “Because it’s the unexpected things that get people killed.”
That’s a fair point, I suppose, but it’s not a very comforting one. I stay behind him as he unlocks the car door remotely and then pulls it open. Once he’s inside, he reaches across the seat and pushes my door open for me. I slide into the seat and pull my seatbelt over my shoulder before he’s even turned the key in the ignition.
Once the engine roars to life, he reaches for the rearview mirror and adjusts it. I manage to catch his gaze in the mirror and then cock my head sideways to pretend as if I’ve been looking out the window the whole time. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a curious smile hitch across his lips just before he shifts the car into reverse.
He stops short of the end of the driveway and presses his foot against the brake, resulting in a sudden jerk that steals my attention. I glare at him, but he seems to be amused. He chews into his bottom lip and shakes his head gently.
“What are you doing?” I question. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
He props one hand behind my seat and cranes his head over his shoulder to get a good look at the street behind us. “Hold on tight, Princess.”
Huh?
He accelerates in reverse and whips the car sideways so that we’re in the middle of the street with traffic closing in on us from behind. He throws the car into drive and peels out against the asphalt just in the nick of time. The car behind us slams on their brakes, avoiding a collision.
My heart pounds, races, beats against my chest. I pass him a disapproving glare, forcing a playful chuckle from his throat. “You said you wanted to go on an adventure.”
“Yes,” I say, “but I’d like for my body to remain in one piece.”
He rolls his eyes and steers the wheel with one hand as he reaches for his phone and dials a number with his free hand. He props the phone against his ear as we come to a stop behind a red light. The same car that almost ran into us—thanks to Zane’s reckless driving—comes to a stop behind us and honks their horn. I glance up to the rearview mirror to see a man dressed to the nines in a business suit giving us the finger.
Zane returns the favor in kind, dropping his hand out the rolled-down window and offering the man the middle finger. I swallow a nervous gulp in my throat, hoping the situation doesn’t escalate. The man hangs his head out of the window and begins yelling obscenities just as the light turns green.
Zane drops one hand back onto the wheel and then begins to talk into the phone. “Yeah, Johansen, it’s me.” I can faintly hear a man’s voice through the phone, but it’s low and jumbled so I can’t make out what he’s saying. Zane nods as he listens. “Yeah, I’ve got her location pinned at Willies on St. Claire Avenue.” His teeth mash against his lower lip and I can’t help but to fantasize about his lips pressed against his mine, his teeth sinking into my lips. “Yeah, but just be warned, she’s a crazy lady and she’s armed.” We come to a stop behind another light—rush hour in this city is the worst. “Honest to God, I think she’ll make a scene when you show up to arrest her, therefore giving you probable cause to lock her ass up. I know my anonymous word isn’t going to hold up in the court of law, but I’m telling you she’s unhinged.” The light turns green and my attention shifts to the rearview mirror. Gone is the man who’s been following us. Instead there’s a black SUV trailing close behind with tinted windows so dark that it has to be illegal. “Just make sure you take back-up with you and please for the love of God, don’t let her get away. I have enough on my plate without having to deal with that lunatic.” Zane’s eyes trail to the rearview mirror. “Okay, Johansen. Let me know how it goes. Something’s come up and I need to get off here.”
I pass him a quick look of curiosity as he drops the phone into the console between us. His eyes trace back to the rearview mirror just before he swats the blinker and merges over into the left turning lane. The SUV merges into the same lane two cars back without using their blinker. I like to pride myself on being a rational person so I push the ominous thoughts to the back of my head.
“So, was that your guy?”
“What do you mean?” We take a left turn, heading deeper into the city when we’re supposed to be heading back to the factory.
“You’ve always said you had a contact within the system but you’ve never given a name. I’m assuming that contact is Johansen.”
“Astute observation.” He smiles, his attention focused anywhere else but on me. “If you tell anyone, I’ll have to kill you.”
“I’ll be buried in the grave with your secret.”
“Good.” He smiles again, but this time it’s more forced. He swats at the blinker again before merging into the right-turn-only lane. “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
My stomach growls. “I hadn’t even thought about it.”
“Would you like to grab something to eat?” He turns the wheel right, cutting down a two-lane side street that seems to go on forever. We’re on the outskirts of downtown now and all the buildings are made of brick and carry an eclectic, worldly charm. “Maybe a pizza or something.”
“Yeah,” I nod. “That sounds really good right now.”
Could it be that this might turn into an actual date? I mean, not in the typical sense. It’s not like he’s asking me out on a date, but he is asking me to get dinner with him and I’m choosing to believe that it’s the same damn thing. My eyes check the rearview mirror to see that the black SUV is nowhere to be seen. My chest heaves as I sigh with relief.
It’s been a rather boring hour and a half since we left the factory. I’m not sure what I had in mind when he first agreed that I could go out into the field with him, but it certainly wasn’t a quiet Uber ride followed by an uneventful ride in the company car. For a brief moment when I thought that SUV was following us, I was almost excited at the mere thought that I was about to see some action. That excitement quickly turned to silent dread as I realized that perhaps that’s not quite the adventure I’m after.
Now that I know we’re not actually being followed, and I’m just a paranoid woman, I’m relieved that this has been a quiet adventure. I might not have gotten one wish, but with a dinner date on the horizon, I’m about to be granted another.
We come to a red light at the end of the long, narrow road. I lean back against my seat and let out an embarrassing yawn with my mouth held wide open. He cocks his head towards me and I about die from embarrassment. I choose to look away from him while I suffer through the five stages of embarrassment and wait for my reddened cheeks to turn back to their normal pale color.
We turn right, back onto a main road and heading back towards the highway where we should have been heading earlier. I’m not sure why I’m so tired, but I almost feel like I could fall asleep while staring out the passenger window.
“Shit,” Zane exhales sharply, stealing my attention and pulling me back from almost passing out. I cock my head to him to ask what’s going on, but he answers my question before I can even pose it. “I think we’re being followed.”