freak.”
The furrow in his brow deepened. “Did you really get up without me noticing?”
Oh, I wasn’t the only one who noticed that.
I nodded and he pushed past me, opening his toiletries case and pulling out his toothbrush. Without a word, he frantically brushed his teeth, and once done, pushed past me as he hurried to throw on some clothes.
He glanced down at my ankle, then threw all of the bags into the farthest corner. There wasn’t a word said as he stepped out of the room, the door slamming behind him. A minute later the car fired up, and the tires crunched on the gravel.
I was left standing, staring at the door. “What the fuck?”
Shaking my head, I turned back into the bathroom. After running a brush through my hair, I tossed it up in a loose bun, then washed my face and brushed my teeth. Deodorant, lotion, body spray, and I was set.
Left waiting.
Again.
I should have reveled in my first free period without him in over two weeks, but instead I was stuck contemplating his strange behavior.
Changing my clothes would have been nice, but he threw my suitcase in the corner with the others and one leg was unavailable at the moment.
My book was also in there.
Some lawyer forbidden romance with lots of sex.
I was alone, hungry, and with no idea when Six would be back.
Yes, things had been weird since I woke up in a car the day before, but why? I understood his anger and reprimanding me, even locking me up again, but the other stuff left me scratching my head.
I couldn’t even hazard a guess on what was going through him because he always kept himself closed off.
Luckily I had access to my water bottle and the TV remote, but as I switched it on and flipped through the limited channels, I found myself hating the shithole once again.
It took four hours of talk shows along with some soaps for Six to return. The tires on gravel stopped my heart for a beat, then I heard the slam of the car door. I stared at the door, watching as it opened and he stepped in.
The strange man of the morning was gone, replaced with the normal cool, collected version.
He threw a bag onto the bed as he walked over.
“What goodies do we have today?” I asked.
The bag had no markings, but inside was a wrapped deli sandwich and some chips. I licked my lips and smiled up at him. The tick of his jaw caught my eye just before he held out a can of Coke.
I grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward onto the bed where I moved up to my knees and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. A quick squeeze before pulling back and, just to confuse him, I placed a light kiss on his lips before I settled back down on the bed.
Turnabout being fair play and all.
“What was the hurry about this morning?” I asked as I unwrapped the sandwich.
He had to have driven far, because I doubted the tiny town we were in carried a delicatessen housing dark rye bread. There was turkey, swiss, lettuce, mayo, pickles, tomato, and sprouts. Definitely not local.
I opened my mouth and ripped a bite out of the sandwich like a starving animal.
He didn’t respond, but I didn’t expect him to. Instead, he startled me with a subject he hadn’t broached in quite some time.
“I need you to tell me what you know about Three.”
My chewing slowed, and I took a hard swallow. “Can I eat before we do this?”
“Tell me.”
I shook my head and put the sandwich down as a vice wrapped around my chest.
“Lacey, fucking tell me.”
Tears filled my eyes as I screamed out, “I’m not ready to die!”
He sat down, his elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward. “I am going to kill you. I am going to shoot you in the head. Quick, clean, painless. But it’s not going to be right now. I need you, and not just for the secret information you’re keeping from me.”
“To fuck?”
He smirked. “There is that. If someone is out to erase the Cleaners, you make a great cover.”
I laughed. “So, I’m only around to help keep you alive, and you’re still going to kill me?”
“Yes.”
I jumped up from the bed. “Why? I want to fucking live too, you asshole!”
He stood back up and walked around the bed to me. “Do you think I care about that?”
“No. You just think about your desire