Chapter 11
Chapter 11
T he great thing about Esther was that she only argued when she truly felt she was right about something. That meant she generally only dug her heels in when it came to work, and since she was paid to be a human computer, Leo almost always deferred to her on work matters. But when it came to nearly everything else, she was willing to follow his lead, almost blindly. For instance, when he told her they were going to sneak out of a guarded hospital room and escape into the night, she sat up, straightened her clothes, and said, “What can I do to help?” Genius woman, in all the ways.
“That was easier than I thought it would be,” she said now as Leo steered the agency’s car out of the lot. “The guard let us walk right out.”
“He wasn’t guarding people from us, we were allowed to move around.”
“Isn’t he going to sound the alarm when we don’t come back?” she asked.
“Probably, but we’ll be long gone by then,” Leo said.
“Gone where?”
When he didn’t answer, she turned to survey him.
“I’m thinking,” he supplied.
“Aren’t we going to the safe house?” she asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“We can’t trust anything from the agency right now, not until I’m certain it hasn’t been compromised.”
“But we’re in an agency car,” she pointed out.
He turned to grin at her. “Esther, how do you feel about grand theft auto?”
“We’re going to steal a car?” she squeaked.
“Of course not. I’m injured and, even without the shoulder wound, people find me suspicious. Too thuggish. You, on the other hand, you’re sweet as Sunday pie.”
“What’s Sunday pie?” she asked.
“Pie so sweet it can walk right up and steal a car.” He parked across from a gas station, watching. “There’s always one person who leaves their car running while they go inside. We’ll wait for that to happen and then you’ll snatch it.”
“But stealing is wrong,” Esther said.
“Yes, it is. But this isn’t a normal situation. We need to ditch this agency car, with all its bugs and tracking devices, and find a clean car. And then another one after that. And we’ll need to buy a burner phone. First things first, that lady is getting ready to go inside. Go boost her car.”
“But I can’t take things that don’t belong to me.”
When he faced her, she looked so upset he had second thoughts. “Esther, being a spy is never black and white. Sometimes we do bad things for a good reason. Think of Maggie tonight. She killed a man, but she did it to protect us. Do you see what I’m saying?”
“Yes, but if I take that woman’s car, she’s going to suffer.”
“We’ll leave it somewhere easy to find in perfect condition, I promise. We’re temporarily borrowing it, okay? She’ll get it back.” She bit her lip, still looking uncertain. He reached over and pressed his palm to her cheek. “I’m going to need you to trust me on this.”
The uncertainty was still in her eyes, but she nodded, slipped from the car, got behind the wheel, and drove off, Leo following behind her.
A couple of blocks away, she pulled to the curb. Leo ditched the agency car and jogged up to stand beside the window. “Are you going to let me in?”
“I think I should be the one to drive,” she said.
“You don’t know how to drive; you don’t have a license,” he pointed out.
“I’ve read all the books, I know all the laws. I merely lack practice. And you’re injured, medicated, exhausted.” The steel was in her tone, the one that told him arguing would be pointless. Stuffing protests aside, he walked to the passenger side and slid inside. Truth be told, he was exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to let go and have someone else be in charge for a while. But Esther weighed a hundred pounds on a good day, had never driven before, had just stolen a car, had also been shot at, was wanted by someone still unknown, and was completely without guile. Leo was not off the clock, not by a longshot.
“Where to?” she asked.
“We’ll have to get a motel room, I guess. Did you bring your usual wad of cash?” he asked.
She shook her head. “You told me not to, remember?”
He rubbed a spot between his brows. “Why do you always listen to me? How much do you have on you?”
“A thousand.”
“Combined with what I have, that makes a thousand and ten dollars,” he said. She sputtered a laugh, and he smiled, reached over, and squeezed her leg. “You’re doing great, Esther, and this will all get figured out soon. Everything is going to be fine.”
She darted him a little smile. “I trust you, Leo.”
They were quiet a few minutes before she spoke again. “Leo.”
“Mm.” He couldn’t, wouldn’t fall asleep on her, but exhaustion dragged at his edges, trying hard to suck him under. He felt as if he were floating in some nether region, his body already succumbed, his mind still half alert.
“Where are we going?”
They were heading out of the city, a good thing. DC had too many cops and too many cameras. “We need somewhere anonymous, somewhere we can hide. It would be great if we could get off the grid for a while.” He said the last ruefully. There was nowhere on the eastern seaboard off the grid anymore, except possibly parts of northern Maine. But that was much too far away. They needed to be within driving distance of DC in case he needed to call for ammo or backup. All he needed was a buffer, somewhere to lie low for a while and figure things out.
“Leo.”
“Mm.”
“I think I might know a place.”
He perked up. “Really? Where?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Always.”
“Good. Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep. You’ve never driven before. That would be crazy.”
“There’s no traffic,” she said.
“Still…”
She reached over and squeezed his leg. “Leo, go to sleep.”
It was the permission he needed to let go of the last threads of consciousness. A minute later, he was out.
He woke an hour later, startled by the realization he’d been unconscious. He jumped, his wound tugged painfully, and he closed his eyes again, fighting a wave of nausea.
“We should get some food in you,” Esther said softly. She reached over and pressed her palm to his brow. It felt so good, so comforting that Leo closed his eyes again and leaned into her touch.
“We need a new car,” he croaked.
“There’s a town up ahead, the last one for a while. I’ll drive through McDonalds for food, then we can steal a car.”
Despite his misery, he snickered. “You’ve settled into a life of crime with a disturbing amount of ease.”
“Maybe I was born to be a villain,” she returned.
He opened his eyes a crack, watching her cherubic profile as she stared hard at the road. “If you’re the devil, it’s his best disguise yet.”
She swung through McDonalds and ordered a meal for each of them. Leo should have been hungry, but his stomach revolted at the thought of food. He forced himself to eat anyway, knowing his body needed fuel. The soda was the only thing that held any appeal, and he gulped greedily. They used the bathroom, a difficult task for Leo with only one arm. No way he was asking for Esther’s help with that part, however. He’d do it alone or die trying. She would likely die, if he asked her. He would bet everything he owned that she had never seen a man unclothed before. Then again she had said she had a boyfriend. What did he know about her, really? He had been careful to keep the line between work and personal life separate, never venturing too far over. He knew the essence of Esther—good, kind, crazy smart, hidden sense of humor. But the facts of her life were still a blur, mostly because he hadn’t asked to know them.
They returned to the car. Esther had cleaned up all their trash and was currently removing any fuzz from the seats. “I want it to be really clean when the lady gets it back,” she explained.
“The sooner we boost another car, the sooner she’ll get this one back.”
“Another gas station?” she guessed.
“Nah, it’s too late at night. Not many people are stupid enough to leave their car running unattended at this hour.”
“Where can we find someone stupid?” she asked.
“Let’s head to a bar.”
He drove down the road to the town’s lone bar. It hadn’t closed yet, was still going strong, in fact, if the blaring music streaming out was any indication. Leo parked and used his good arm to feel on top of the front tire a few times until he held up a key in triumph.
“Drunks lose their keys, so they often leave them on the tire for safekeeping. Why are people so predictable, Esther?”
“We don’t all fit that mold,” Esther said. She plucked the key from Leo’s fingers and shooed him toward the passenger side. He was too sore and exhausted to argue. She adjusted the seat, nose wrinkled. “It smells bad in here.”
“I’d venture to say this car has taken the brunt of too much beer a time or two,” Leo mused. “We might be saving lives with this heist. Guy was probably going to drive drunk.”
“That probably shouldn’t make me feel better about stealing his car, but it does,” Esther said, sounding happy and more than a little relieved. “Will the lady really get her car back soon? You don’t think they’ll impound it or anything do you?”
“Sweetheart, stop worrying about the lady. Her car is fine.”
“I left her money for gas,” she admitted. “In the console.”
“How much?” Leo asked.
“A hundred dollars,” she said, darting him a glance. “I don’t actually know how much gas costs, never having gotten it before. Was that enough?”
“That was enough, Es.” He stifled a yawn.
“Go to sleep, Leo. It’s a long drive.”
“I don’t want to abandon you. What if you fall asleep?”
“I won’t.”
“How do you know?” he asked.
“Because I’ll tell myself not to,” she replied.
Said by anyone else, he would have scoffed, but Esther did seem to have perfect discipline over her body, much more than he did, apparently, if the way his eyes drifted shut was any indication. He wanted to tell her to wake him, if she needed a break. “If you need me…” he began, but the words faded as unconsciousness once again dragged him under. He wasn’t certain if it was his imagination that fueled her reply or if it was real.
“I always need you, Leo,” she said, her words ghostlike and gauzy, the last thing he remembered before sleep claimed him completely.