Chapter 6
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When Tricia woke up, her back was sore, her head pounding, and all she could think about was getting this freaking nightmare over with. How on earth had it come to this? She glanced around at the men in the car. “I’ll need a bathroom break and some water pretty soon.”
“Water is in the bag by your feet,” Rubin shared, as he turned to look at her, checking her out to ensure she was okay. “How are you doing?”
She gave him a wan smile. “Honestly, I just want to be home and in my own bed.”
“Where is home for you?” he asked curiously.
She snorted. “When I’m not in school,” she replied, her tone sarcastic, “my father considers my home to be in Washington. I have my last semester in New York, once the semester I spent in London is deemed complete.”
“What are you studying?”
She smiled. “I’m almost finished with my Master’s in Economics.” And then she frowned, adding, “Maybe, depending on whether I can still do my final exams for the London program, since that was slated for this week.”
“After we get this situation dealt with, I’m sure you can arrange to take those exams in time to start your final semester in New York. And, if you can’t, your father surely can.”
She moaned. “Thankfully it’s only two exams. I did projects in lieu of the other three.
So, technically I might get out of those too.
” She scrubbed her face, trying to rub off any remnants of sleep.
“I have no idea. College just seems so far away from reality right now. It’s hard to believe that my university life and this shit-show life are even connected. ”
“I’m sorry for that,” Rubin said.
“It’s not your fault. It’s got nothing to do with you. God only knows where I would be at this point if not for you guys.” She glanced around at the early morning light coming through the windows of the car. “It’s morning already?”
“Yeah, some breakfast might be a good idea if we can find anything.”
She snorted. “At least this time I’m in clean clothes, I’m warm, and I got some sleep. Plus, I’ve had a couple decent meals.”
“Exactly,” Rubin agreed. “Give us another half hour to get to the next place that’s big enough for us to stop, and we’ll see about getting breakfast and a bathroom.”
And, sure enough, just under twenty minutes later, they pulled into a gas station.
She knew because she had timed it. Hayden got out and quickly filled up the vehicle with gas.
Everybody else remained in the car. As she looked around to find the bathroom, she realized they were short a man.
She reached over, tapped Rubin on the shoulder, and asked, “Where’s Trent? ”
He smiled and explained, “He’s in a different vehicle, a little bit behind us.”
“Any reason for that?”
“Yeah, so he can see if we’re being followed. We did get the tip-off that we had to leave from one of our other team members,” he shared, glancing at her while keeping his gaze moving all around them.
She saw those scans he was doing, looking for something she could only speculate on.
Hayden finished with the gas, got back into the vehicle, then pulled around a corner and parked. “Let’s go in and get coffee and food and a bathroom break for anyone who needs it.”
“That works for me,” she muttered. She quickly hopped out, looked down, and realized that she was still wearing the big fluffy socks, as she had nothing else except for the slip-on shoes. She shrugged and stepped into place beside Rubin. “What about the rest of the team? Any news from them?”
“Two men went back to the hut where you were captured. They are the ones who sent me the message.”
She shot him a sharp look. “I gather they were there in time to meet Double Chin’s cohorts.”
He gave her a grim smile and nodded. “Yeah, they were.”
She didn’t need to ask him what had happened to them but couldn’t help herself. “Hopefully they at least got some information from them before they were killed.”
His smile sent chills down her spine as he nodded and chose to say nothing.
“Of course they did,” she murmured.
Inside, he nudged her in the direction of the bathrooms. When she was done, she did a quick wash-up, straightened up her clothing, and headed back out into the café.
It was still very early, and only Rubin was seated in the whole dining room. She walked over, and Rubin got up so she could slide into the booth. “So, what’s good here?” she asked.
“Don’t know. Just waiting for you,” Rubin replied.
“The rest of the team joining us?”
“Nope,” he said, with finality in his tone.
From that she guessed not everything was right and kept her mouth shut.
As soon as she was seated, a waitress came around with coffee and empty cups.
She filled their cups and asked if they wanted menus but appeared to be completely disinterested as to whether they did or not.
They asked her what was good, and she shrugged, went into the back, and then returned with menus, without a word of English on them but with large photos and left again.
Getting hungry now, Tricia stared down at the menu using Rubin’s phone for translation, then asked him, “Do we have a price restriction or anything? Can I get a real breakfast? I’m starving.”
“Absolutely,” Rubin replied, “get anything you want. And get lots, even if it’s takeout for afterward.
” She did a double take and realized that meant they would be on the road for a while.
So the safe house wasn’t anywhere close.
No matter how much she preferred four walls, this was all she would get for now.
“Because we won’t get a meal or a place—”
He raised his hands, cutting her off, whispering, “Because we don’t know when our next stop will be.”
Just then Oakley and Hayden joined them at their table.
She nodded at the men, studied the menu, and ordered the large breakfast with sausage, ham, eggs, toast, and hash brown potatoes by pointing at what she wanted on the menu.
When she gave her order to the waitress, all three men added theirs to it, and they were all having the same thing. The only difference was the larger portions they ordered.
She settled back, pulled the coffee toward her, added some cream, not because she necessarily wanted it but because, right now, feeling as rough as she was, it just seemed … soothing. A comfort on a day when she could use some.
She slumped back, waited for the food, and just stared around the small café. “It’s hard to believe that this place is even open at this hour.”
“It’s six,” Rubin shared, looking at her. “It’s one of the reasons we hit it first, since it would be open early. I suspect truckers will be coming and going any minute but nobody quite yet.”
“They probably don’t even have all the grills fired up in the kitchen yet,” she noted, when the food was taking long enough that the men were sharing looks with each other and then back at the kitchen.
She shrugged. “I’m an early riser, and I’m often down in the university cafeteria first thing.
” She paused and corrected herself, “I was there often, looking for coffee and a bite to eat, when the cooks were still trying to get everything fired up.” She smiled.
“I became really good friends with a bunch of them because I was the only one up at that hour.”
“Do you cook?” Hayden asked.
She shrugged. “I do enjoy it when I get a chance. However, when you’ve lived in a gilded cage most of your life, then go to a private university, it’s all taken care of.
When I’m in New York, which is where my apartment is, I really enjoy all the street food,” she shared, with a big grin.
“My father’s not big on that, but I certainly am. ”
“I’m right there with you,” Hayden agreed, with a nod. “Street food is awesome.”
“Getting all dressed up and going out for a twelve-course dinner,” she muttered, with an eye roll, “would be more my father’s style. Definitely not mine.”
“Why not?” Rubin asked curiously.
“I don’t like the power plays that dance behind closed doors. I’m much more—”
“Down-to-earth?” Rubin interjected, his tone teasing.
“And yet she’s studying economics,” Hayden pointed out.
“I am,” she stated proudly, “business all the way.”
“That kind of surprises me,” Rubin admitted.
“Why?” she asked, her tone tart. “When I was a child, I planned to go into fashion design …”
“Then why didn’t you? But I do understand,” Rubin added. “I was thinking of getting into medical care.”
She nodded. “I was thinking about medical at one point. I did a Bachelor of Science and would have headed in that direction, but then I got my business degree and realized that was my real love,” she shared. “So, the Master’s was just a natural follow-up.”
“I’m glad to hear that. If you find something you love, it doesn’t matter what work you have to put into it.”
“That’s the theory,” she said.
Just then, the waitress came back with a decent load of food and put the plates down in front of them.
As she was about to leave, she asked something that no one understood, but as she was about to walk away, Hayden asked for ketchup, pointing at a bottle on another table, which she picked up and returned with very quickly, then promptly left them again.
Tricia dug into her food, but she noticed that the men, although they ate, didn’t really seem to enjoy it. They stared around constantly, looking out the windows, and finally, when it had annoyed her to bits, she had to ask, “I guess you guys never rest, do you?”
Rubin shot her a look and replied, in a serious tone, “We prefer to stay alive.”
At that, she froze and stared down at her food, her appetite gone. “Yeah, thanks for the reminder.” He winced, and she shook her head. “No, it’s not your fault. It’s fine.” She raised one hand.