Page 22 of Cast in Shadow
“Don’t you want to take the elevator?” Zeke asked, looking pointedly down at her ankle.
“No. I try to avoid them.”
“Why?” he asked before he could stop himself.
She huffed. “Does it matter?”
“It does if I need to factor that into an exit strategy.”
“You don’t. I can ride them. I simply prefer not to.”
She hobbled a few more steps, then shot over her shoulder, “I saw a horror movie when I was a kid about a possessed elevator car, okay? I still can’t get into one without thinking about it.”
“Okay,” he said, surprised by the fact that she’d shared that with him.
The stairwell was narrow enough that even her petite arms could reach the bars on both sides. Zeke’s heart stopped several times as she gripped the handrails and swung her way downward several steps at a time, keeping the weight off her bad leg. She grinned cheekily at him when they reached the bottom.
He grunted softly in grudging appreciation, careful not to let on how impressed he was. He’d always had a thing for lithe athletic types. They were usually flexible and had incredible stamina.
He shut those thoughts down pronto. He was already walking a fine line where she was concerned. It was important to keep things professional, especially since their time together was limited. Three days to get to the safe house under optimal conditions, with minimal rest stops, good weather, no tie-ups, and changing vehicles once per day. Then, she’d be Charley’s problem, and he’d have enough cash to hold him for a while, maybe even put a down payment on a tattoo shop of his own somewhere.
Sure, there was money in what he was doing, but he didn’t like the way it made him feel. He especially hadn’t liked the way Aggie had looked at him the night before when he told her about Charley, as if he were the bad guy. He wasn’t.
“Wait,” he called out as she pushed at the exit door.
She paused and looked back at him expectantly.
He held out a pair of sunglasses. “Here.”
“That bad?” she asked softly.
“Less likely to draw attention. Someone might think I’m the one who gave you those bruises and decide to play Good Samaritan.”
“Yeah, that would be a shame, huh?” she said as she donned the glasses and moved into the sunlight.
He didn’t know if she was kidding or not.
He led her across the parking lot to a different car, one he’d pinched earlier when she was dead to the world. He smiled, thinking of the way her tiny body had somehow taken up the entire queen-size bed. She’d kicked off all the covers and had been lying spread-eagled, her mouth hanging open, drooling onto the pillow, and snoring softly.
They got on the highway and crossed the state line. A short while later, he pulled into a fast-food place and ordered several items from the breakfast menu.
“You really know how to spoil a girl, don’t you?” she said with a smirk, bypassing the breakfast sandwiches in favor of yogurt and granola.
He envisioned reaching over, pulling her to him, and kissing that sassy mouth. The image appeared so suddenly and in such vivid detail that it startled him. Instead, he focused on getting back onto the road and making short work of his bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits.
They ate and sipped coffee in relative silence, the constant hum of the tires eating up the miles beneath them. She gathered the remains and stuffed them into the takeout bag.
“How does Charley know about me?” she asked.
He wondered what had taken her so long to ask. As someone who lived in the shadows himself, it would have been the first question on his mind. Then again, the last twenty-four hours had been chaotic, and she hadn’t been in the best shape.
“I get the feeling Charley knows a lot of things,” he said honestly, thinking about those initial communications.
“Do you work for her often?”
“No, this is a first.”
“Why?”
