Page 8 of Nine of Swords
Blade
Pretty soon,I arrive at the safe house. This is one of the locations I selected myself. It’s not much, but it’s safe, is stocked with a decent food and water supply, is equipped with indoor plumbing, has a couple of escape routes in case of an emergency, and it’s nicely tucked away. We can hunker down here for days without attracting much attention.
As soon as the SUV slows and comes to a stop at the curb outside, Sydney stirs.
“We’re here,” I announce as she straightens in her seat and looks around.
“Here as in where exactly? Are we somewhere upstate?”
Putting the car in park, I turn off the engine. “Close. In New Jersey. You probably haven’t heard of the city. It’s just west of the Pocono Mountains.”
Sydney grabs her stuff and is out the door in a hurry. “Show me,” she says before slamming the door and stepping onto the curb.
I jump out of the driver side and walk around to the back for my things. “Hang on.”
“I don’t see anything around here that could work as a proper safe house,” she mutters. “It’s all storefronts.”
“Exactly,” I answer. “Not many people would think to look for you here.” I close the trunk and lock the SUV with a click of the car remote. “Follow me.”
Keeping some distance between us, she walks behind me Her soft yawn betrays her drowsiness even after the three-hour nap. Hopefully she’ll sleep for a while. The more rest she has, the better prepared we’ll both be. I stop at an unassuming frosted glass and metal front door between a barber shop and a Polish delicatessen.
“We’re staying here?” she asks as I sort through the set of keys for the right three that open the two deadbolts and lockset on the front door.
I stop what I’m doing and turn to meet her gaze. Her head is cocked to one side, her face showing her dissatisfaction.
“We are.”
“In this dump?”
“Haven’t you heard not to judge a book by its cover?”
She scoffs out a laugh. “If a book had a storefront like this on the cover, do you know what kind of story it’d be? A horror or a murder mystery. That’s what.”
“Wait until you get inside,” I grunt as I turn the last lock and push the door open. It doesn’t help that the doorway immediately leads down a dark rundown set of stairs to the basement.
“See what I mean?” she asks, but I don’t answer. “Like I said. A dump.”
“We’re not there yet. Hold your horses, for fuck’s sake.”
“Don’t get defensive,” she says playfully.
“I’m not.” When we reach the landing at the bottom of the stairs, I unlock a more modern red door. “Wait here,” I tell her, and do a thorough sweep of the space before returning to her.
“Come on in,” I tell her, and step to one side.
“Oh, okay. This is… not horrible,” she remarks and heads inside ahead of me.
“Not horrible? It’s pretty fucking awesome for a safe house. Look around. Everything is brand new and remodeled.” I point toward the open concept space, complete with a fully stocked kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a modern living and dining area with brand new leather and wooden furniture, and a small storage space at one end containing a laundry folding area, plus washer and dryer. Two bedrooms are side by side at the back of the space. She walks into one of them and I hear an audible sigh. Finally, something that impresses her. I knew she’s like the fact that although we’re in the basement, the back of the stores all have walk-out basements that open onto a ravine. She barely notices the king-sized bed in the identical bedrooms, walking right through the room to the floor to ceiling glass windows and French doors leading to a covered porch.
“Wow. This is actually… nice,” she says without looking at me.
“Exactly. As you’re in here already, you can stay in this room. I’ll take the other one. Go ahead and settle in. You saw the bathroom, right?”
“I did.”
“That’s the only downside of the place. We have to share.”
She doesn’t move from her spot at the bedroom door as she stares out at the densely wooded ravine. “It’s fine.”
