Page 34 of Burn

“Flat white, oat milk if they have it please and the largest size it comes in.”

I passed on the message before I added a couple of the breakfast wraps and sandwiches. I wasn’t sure which she’d prefer and we weren’t going to be stopping for a while. I had a theory to test.

After accepting the drinks and passing hers over, followed by the bag with the food, I paid for it with cash and then we werepulling out again. The darkness began to withdraw as morning slid her gray fingers in to peel back the night.

In addition to the rays of the sun beginning to brighten the sky, the weight of her stare rested on me. She was debating whatever she wanted to ask. I pegged the speedometer at eighty and followed the interstate west through Pennsylvania. We’d be in Ohio soon, and I might turn south then.

We’d see.

I slid a glance her way as I knocked back more of my coffee. It was scalding hot, dark, and bitter. Pretty much exactly what I needed.

She wasn’t looking at me anymore but at her cup. I gave her five more minutes. Ten at the outside.

She lasted fifteen.

Impressive.

“Voodoo?” The way she framed my name it was almost a question in and of itself. Not just trying to get my attention but should she use those specific syllables to address me?

“Right here,” I answered. Keeping my voice even and unperturbed made it more conversational.

“I should call you Voodoo, right? Or do you have another name?”

“I do,” I told her. “But Voodoo is fine. Been Voodoo for years now. Pretty much used to it.” Liked it too. Liked the air of mystery it seemed to give me. Even more, how unsettled it would make others.

“Right.” She didn’t fully understand, but she was attempting to. I’d give her points for the effort. “Where are we going?”

“We told you the plan yesterday.” I was splitting hairs and being vague on purpose. With my attention divided between the road ahead and the road behind, I didn’t make a big deal out of the answer.

“No, Lunchbox said we were going to move back to wherever your base is. I wasn’t sure if that was your actual home or a fort or something. Though, I don’t think you’re active duty military anymore.”

None of that was a question, but she was very observant.

“You didn’t tell me anything.” It was a light, if effective verbal slap and it landed.

“You were briefed,” I reminded her, more than a little curious to see what she would do.

“Where are Alphabet, Lunchbox, and Bones?”

“Ah, you want to know why you’re with me and not with one of them?” When you don’t necessarily want to answer a question, just reframe the premise and redirect the other person’s attention. If that failed, just change the subject entirely.

“Yes,” she said. “You don’t like me and I imagine you don’t want me around. So why am I with you and not them?”

“You imagine I don’t want you around?” I didn’t have to feign surprise or curiosity. It was right there. “When did I say I didn’t like you?”

Instead of answering immediately, she bit her lower lip and frowned. I stole another glance at her. Was she steeling herself or trying to back track? There were a lot of ways she could play this.

“I don’t have to work that hard to imagine your disinterest,” she said, doubling down on her initial statement. “You haven’t spoken to me directly all that much except to inform me of how wrong something could go when you supported everyone else not letting me call my sister.”

“I also told you I’d get you a phone.” If we were going to examine the details, we should be accurate.

“Yes,” she admitted. “You did.” It seemed almost a concession. “But I didn’t realize we wouldn’t all be together.”Not the whole truth there, but we were getting warmer. “You just… You seemed like the last one I would be traveling with.”

I almost smiled. Almost. “Don’t worry, Grace,” I said. “I’ll reunite you with the guys soon enough. Since you asked, we’re clearing up our tracks. You left Manhattan with two men and a dog. You’re now traveling in a totally different vehicle, different man, no dog. If people are looking for you, it’s better to make it as difficult as possible to get an easy bead on you.”

It was also better to clear the way if they were tracking her otherwise to let them make an attempt in the openbeforewe moved her to a more secure location. If we’d had more time, I would have seen about getting a device to scan her. Without some idea of whether they’d been waiting for her at her place or tracked her there, we had to work with the idea it could be either.

The safe house had a Faraday Cage in it, which was why she was in that room specifically. It was also why she couldn’t use any of our phones there either.

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