Jessie grinned. "What the hell. Come on."
Twenty minutes later, Katya had an identification card that was "good for one use only," according to the wizened little man who made it for her. "They'll get a bounce on it mebbe ten minutes after you scan it through, so make sure you high-tail it out of there fast."
Katya nodded and handed over most of the cash she'd taken from Tag. "Thanks."
"And if you get caught, you never saw me." Beady black eyes pinned her in place. "Understood?"
"Got it."
"Are you going over the border?" she asked Jessie once they were on their way again.
The other woman shook her head. "My delivery's to a facility about forty minutes shy of it. You can hitch a ride with another trucker from there - I'll make sure it's one of the good ones."
"Why are you helping me so much, Jessie?" Katya asked, running her fingers over and around the hard edges of the ID card. "I'm obviously someone in trouble, someone who could get you in trouble."
"You heard that thing about paying it forward?"
"No."
"Where you been living, in a cave?" Without waiting for an answer, Jessie quickly explained. "It's like this - if someone does something nice for you, you got to do something nice for another person down the road. It's meant to put good back into the world."
"I see," Katya said slowly. "The world would indeed be a better place if everyone did that. Can I ask - whose niceness are you paying forward?"
"When I was a scrawny little sixteen-year-old, a scary fucker of a trucker picked me up on a dark and deserted street." Jessie's smile turned her striking. "After he finished chewing me out about the dangers of hitchhiking, he fed me, let me shower in his truck, and asked me where I was going. When I said I didn't know, he gave this big sigh."
"And?" Katya prompted when Jessie fell silent.
"And I ended up riding with him for the next five years. Isaac's the one who taught me how to drive the big rigs, who got me my first gig."
"He must be so proud of you. Is he retired now?"
"Hah! He's only six years older than me!"
"Oh." Katya bit her lip, but couldn't contain her curiosity. "You don't see him as a brother, do you?"
"God, I'm pathetic. And obvious." The other woman rolled her eyes. "He still sees me as that scrawny kid he picked up. It hasn't sunk into his tiny male mind that I not only have boobs, I'd like to use them, thank you very much!"
Katya burst out laughing just as dawn began to whisper on the horizon. "You're waiting for him?"
"I'm giving him one more month. I swear, after that, I'm taking the first offer that comes along."
"It's wonderful, you know," Katya said, mind filling with memories of pure molten heat. "Being with someone who touches your heart."
"You don't sound very happy."
"I think he's going to hate me now."
A siren pierced the air, cutting off her breath.
"Damn." A scowling Jessie pulled over to the side of the long, otherwise empty road. "I swear," the blonde muttered, "the hick cops have nothing better to do than hassle law-abiding citizens."
"Jessie, we're actually - "
"Shh. Think law-abiding thoughts." Sliding back her door, Jessie grabbed her coat and jumped down. Katya couldn't see her as she moved toward the officer, but she heard her words. "Michel Benoit, don't you have to go eat a doughnut or something?"
"That's Officer Benoit to you" came the drawling response. "I got a report you're carrying contraband, sweetheart."
"Hell you did!" Now Jessie sounded pissed. "I'm clean and you know it."