Chapter 33 Sydney
Sydney
“What time is it?” she asked as she raised her arms and stretched the best she could.
“Nearly noon,” Fink replied.
His voice was rough. Not quite gravelly, but it reflected the drowsiness of someone who had been awake for too long.
She glanced around, noting the colorful foliage.
The leaves had turned from their glorious green to vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red.
It was a sight to behold, but the wrong one.
Not that she’d traveled the roads Fink had taken often, but these didn’t look like them.
Glimpsing a license plate or two, she furrowed her brows.
“Why are we in Massachusetts?” Or near it. That was in the opposite direction from where they were supposed to go. “Did we get another contract?”
“No.” He cracked his neck. “Just passing through.”
Where were they going? He said home. Hadn’t he? From what she could tell, this wasn’t the way to her place.
Shifting her attention toward Fink, she studied the strain on his painted face. “Should we switch? I can drive.”
He shook his head.
“Maybe a potty break?” she suggested.
“Do you have to go?” he asked, flicking his gaze toward her for a moment.
While her bladder was full, she could wait a little longer, but that wasn’t the point. If she did her math correctly, getting to the organ drop-off spot had taken an hour, meaning he’d been driving nearly six hours. They certainly should stop for him—not only her.
“Yes.”
He frowned. “We have about an hour and a half to go. You can’t hold it?”
He needed to rest. She wanted him to get out and stretch. Being hunched over the wheel for that long couldn’t be good for him. He should stop. “Not really.”
With a flick of his wrist, his blinker clicked. “You can pop a squat over there.” He pointed to shoulder of the highway.
What? Did he forget she had internal plumbing? Peeing on the side of the road would be a hell of a lot more difficult for her than it was for him.
“Neither of us should be seen in public right now.” He waved a hand, gesturing toward his attire. “I doubt the baby wipes got everything. There’s probably a bit of guts on me and you.”
“Oh.” The realization kicked in as recalled their most recent festivities. “Right.”
How had she forgotten what they looked like?
Their bloody clothes were tossed in the tarp in a box in the rear of the truck.
Makeup cleansing pads cleaned their faces.
Baby wipes got a lot out of their hair, but the combination of the two weren’t a shower.
They still had some sort of bits of Burke crusted on them.
If anyone noticed something they shouldn’t, there would be questions they didn’t want to answer.
The police would be called. They’d be behind bars before she could say lawyer.
Sydney definitely wasn’t ready to be a contract killer yet. There were zillions of ways for her to get caught. A single misstep could land her in prison or worse. Thankfully, she had Fink by her side to keep her safe and out of jail despite herself.
For how long?
She couldn’t think about that.
As the truck coasted to the shoulder, she unclicked her seat belt. With the tap of a button, the hazard lights flashed. When Fink shifted the pickup into Park, she opened the door. “Be right back.”
Looking left and then right, she trotted toward some bushes. Since he pulled over, she might as well empty her bladder. Sure that she was hidden from the cars whizzing by, she unclipped her suspenders.
Shimmying herself out of her shorts, panties, and stockings, she kept scanning her surroundings.
People rarely hung out on the side of the road, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t stroll by.
Using her clothing as a shield, preventing anyone from a view of her bare ass, she squatted and did her best not to get pee all over herself.
Not trusting her ability to tell the difference between poison ivy, sumac, or oak, Sydney wiggled her bottom. She didn’t want to take a chance and use unfamiliar leaves to wipe herself. Since her stockings were mere strings, they were useless to her.
Tugging her panties and her shorts up her legs, she blew out a breath. Hopefully, a shower was in her future. Trudging up the small hill back to the busy road, she pondered where they could be going.
Apparently, their destination wasn’t Massachusetts. They were merely passing through, according to Fink. What was around here? New Hampshire? Vermont? Had they driven through those already? How far north were they?
Would he tell her if she asked?
Hopping back into the passenger side of the truck, she turned to face him. However, before she could open her mouth to ask him anything, he opened his door and got out.
Well, alright then.
Inhaling deeply, she rested her hands on her lap, and her gaze drifted down toward the cooler on the floor. Hopefully, they’d packed it properly. It’d be awful to have done all that work to have it rot while they drove. How long could a human heart sit on ice?
It didn’t smell, but she wasn’t removing the top to find out what went on within the insulated walls. She’d have to wait. Watching Fink walk around the truck, Sydney realized there were quite a few things she was eager to find out.
Where were they going?
How long would they work together?
What would they do with the heart?
What were she and Fink?
Some of those she’d dared to ask. Others, not so much.
As he settled into the driver’s seat again, she figured there was no time like the present to ask every burning question she had.
Clearing her throat as he got the engine running, she braced herself for his brand of short, evasive answers. She needed details. If they were going to work together, he should let her know what was going on.
“Where are we going?” She asked the most basic and imperative one first.
“Maine,” he replied.
Oh, that was easier than expected. Though it didn’t really tell her anything. It sparked more inquiries. Start with the simplest stuff first—he’d be more likely to answer those. “Any particular place in Maine?”
“Eustis.”
She furrowed her brows. “I’ve never heard of it.”
He nodded. “Not surprised,” he said as he merged back into traffic. “It’s only got a few hundred people there.”
“Why…” The question faded from her lips as she asked it.
Wait a minute.
Blinking, she racked her exhausted brain for details. What had he said earlier? Yesterday? Whenever the hell it was. She’d lost track of time and couldn’t tell anyone what day it was, let alone when they’d had a conversation.
“So, Eustis is in the middle of nowhere?” she asked cautiously.
Sydney didn’t want to spook him. Fink didn’t give up information freely. If she pressed, he might do something drastic. They were in close quarters on a huge highway with cars all around him. If he got scared because she got too personal with him, he might drive into oncoming traffic.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“And it’s not because we have another contract?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I’ll call my handler when we arrive and update him on how things went.”
Keeping her attention straight ahead of her, she did her best not to bounce around in the seat. Her veins popped with excitement. If she were right about her assumption, Fink was about to take her to his cabin—his sanctuary—his home. He maintained the place private from everyone.
This was intense. He was about to show her a side of him she was willing to bet few, if anyone, got to see.
What an honor.
Swallowing her squeal, she tried to focus on the changing leaves. They were supposed to be beautiful this time of year. At least that was what she’d heard, but her mind raced with the possibilities, so she wasn’t able to truly appreciate the scenery.
Would his place be big? Small? Rugged? Or modern? What was Fink’s style? He seemed like a minimalist kind of guy. She expected a lot of neutral tones and clean lines.
But that wasn’t exactly what came to mind when she considered the word cabin. Maybe he used the term loosely. Who knew?
She was about to find out.