Tap. He rapped his knuckles against the window. She adjusted her rearview mirror.
Tap. Tap.Over the sound of the engine, he yelled an unintelligible slew of words. When she didn’t respond, he yelled louder, cupping his hands over his mouth and catching the curious glances of passing TCA agents. Throwing up her hands in exasperation, she rolled down the window.
He scratched the back of his neck, “Can I get a ride? I was dropped off.”
“That doesn’t seem like my problem,” she shot back.
“Help a fellow agent out,” he pleaded, jogging to the passenger side. “Plus, we have a lot to discuss.”
She put the truck in reverse and locked the doors. He hopped onto the side step, twisting his hand through the hole where her window had once been and unlocking the vehicle.
He stepped down and reached for the handle.
She locked it once more and backed the vehicle up a few feet.
He hopped onto the side step and unlocked the door.
Their game of chicken lasted down the dirt driveway, stopping only when a frustrated stomp on the acceleration almost ended with a neighbor’s curious kid on a bike flattenedunder her tire. At that point, she unlocked the door, shooed Jonah in, and took off like a bat out of hell.
Roughly half an hour of driving later, they found themselves in the bathroom of a convenience store. Jonah sat on the closed toilet lid, scrubbing his shoe clean of vomit, while Ruby stood at the sink, brushing her teeth with the travel kit he’d picked up for her and patting at her wind blasted hair.
“You drugged me,” she said through a mouthful of toothpaste, glaring at him in the mirror.
“In my defense…” he trailed off under her pointed stare. “It seemed like a better idea in my head. Kavya, my partner, is terrified of thermies. I wanted to show her that even in the worst-case scenario, you could be trusted.”
“Why couldn’t I be trusted?” she asked, spitting the gritty mix of toothpaste, dirt, and ash into the sink. She cupped her hands under the faucet, rinsing out her mouth. “Outside of how much I’m thinking about shoving your head through the mirror at the moment.”
“You’re a thermy.”
The disgusting mouth mixture swirled down the drain. “And you’re a drugger. Only one of us started the night with the intention to hurt someone.”
“You threw a pitchfork into a guy’s chest.”
Her temples throbbed with every word he spoke. “I saved your life.”
He leaned back on the toilet seat, elbows propping on the lid and legs crossing. “I don’t think drugger is actually a word.”
“A druggist. An enabler. A fucking pharmacist. Whatever you want to call it.” She pointed an accusatory finger in his face. “You’re missing the point. I could’ve relapsed. I could’ve killed you and your friend and anyone else who showed up to the farm.”
“But you didn’t.” He grinned, cheeky and confident. “Fine,” he pulled on his damp shoe and stood. “There was probably a better way to introduce myself to my new partner.”
She scoffed as she took in the dingy surroundings—the peeling paint, the rust-stained sink, and the persistent hum of the aging ventilation fan. “Partner?”
He extended a hand. “Jonah.”
Her arms stayed crossed. “I know who you are.”
His smile faltered for a brief moment—more of a twitch than a full fade—but Ruby caught it.
“Obviously anyone in the TCA knows who you are, but you—"
“Met you a few years ago. During basic training,” she said, grabbing a paper towel, wetting it, and starting to wipe her arms. Her sundress was torn and likely beyond repair, which was a shame since it was a luxury brand. “I recognized you back at the barn. Pretty much as soon as your hat came off.”
He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember us meeting back then.”
That stung, but she didn’t call him on the lie. The only thermophile in the TCA and he just so happened to forget the months they spent every night together? Unlikely. Pretending he didn’t remember so he could deny being friends with a thermy? Much more likely. Her anger simmered into fresh disappointment.
Ruby studied Jonah under the harsh fluorescent lights of the convenience store.Fine, if he wanted to play stupid, she would play stupider.She coughed, straining against the tightness in her throat. “Why would you? It was years ago. Think we only met once or twice.”
