I did, followed by, “Now the two real marks are in the wind, which has made the people I care about the sole targets. I need a safe place for them, so I have a clear head and track those fuckers down. I can’t be bogged down or distracted by having my people strapped to my hip. Can you…” I swallowed harder this time. Desperation clogged my throat. “Please, I’ll owe you several markers.”
Markers were a rare gift to be bestowed. For Regina and Krew, I’d gladly be indebted to Merrick if it kept them safe.
A heavy exhale came across the phone. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Though, I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Me and Mrs. aren’t home right now. We’re on an extended holiday for a month. So, the place up north is empty. All you need is provisions. You have a month. But Decker?”
“Yeah?” Relief washed through me.
“You will owe me big time for this, and I will call it in.”
The pressure in my chest eased and I was able to suck in a lungful of air, enough to commit myself to that promise. “I know. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
He grunted. “Sabrina will text you the address. And Moss, once this is done, forget that address.” Then Merrick hung up.
I glanced at both people I had once loved with all my heart and knew I had made the right decision. I only hoped it wouldn’t take the month Merrick gave me to track down Maya and Jess.
When the text from Sabrina pinged on my cell, I memorized Merrick’s address, then deleted the information. I got back in the truck, put it into drive and headed straight to Vermont. Neither Krew nor Regina questioned where we were going.
Chapter Fourteen
Krew
Decker drove nearly straight through, almost sixteen hours, including stops for gas, on-the-go food and bathroom breaks. In all that time, he refused to let me take the wheel—hell, he wouldn’t even tell us where we were heading. Only that it was the safest place he could think of. I believed him. Although, I doubted any place on this earth was completely safe, especially with killers who could probably obtain information as easily as Decker could.
Decker may not have told us where we were going, but I wasn’t blind. I caught the highway signs and knew we were heading east. And I saw the Welcome to Vermont sign on the side of the road.
I could understand it if Regina had demanded to drive, since she had done nothing but bitch for more than half the trip. But me? I’d given Decker no reason to not trust that I’d get us where we needed to go. He expected us to trust him, yet didn’t return the favor. Even so, I truly did trust this man with my life—and with Regina’s, so I didn’t fight him on driving.
On the first leg of the drive, Regina argued with and baited Decker. She went as far as to try to climb into the front seat to face-off with him. Without being rough with her, I urged her back, but she wasn’t having it. I told her if she didn’t stop arguing, I’d kiss her until she did.
She clammed up immediately and stayed in the back seat. I wanted to laugh, but my chest felt as though she’d thrust a knife in my heart. It hurt to see her reaction—her lack of comment—it cut deep.
If Regina didn’t want me to touch or kiss her, why did she let me hold her in the motel room? Her mixed signals only deepened my confusion. Still, it was that question—the why—that kept my hope for us alive.
At least I had gotten to feel her, and taste her.
Since then, the glower she’d worn like armor proved she wanted nothing more to do with us. Especially me. She refused to look at me whenever I turned in my seat and glanced at her beautiful face. Each time, she quickly averted her eyes, like it hurt her every time our gazes met.
Eventually, Regina fell asleep—and we needed her quiet. However, even in sleep she was restless, like she was fighting off something or someone in her dreams.
As Decker drove up a steep hill, the truck’s headlights cut through the dark and lit up a little white house. He parked on the dirt drive a few yards from the door, but he didn’t turn off the engine right away. My stomach cinched up, looking out the window before peering back at Decker.
“What’s wrong?” I didn’t like the frown on his face.
He turned off the engine, opened the driver’s side door, and the overhead cab light turned on. “Nothing.” Decker’s left eye twitch. It was a tell. He was lying.
I covered the light with my hand and leaned toward him and whispered, “No. It’s something. Spill, Deck.” I glanced back at Regina, who was still sleeping, then at the house and finally back to him. “Do you think it’s not safe here?”
He closed his door, which shut the light off. “It’s just that…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s kind of surprising to see the normalcy of this place. Merrick was like me. A loner. He didn’t mix well with others. That’s why this job—this life, comes easy for people like us.”
People like us? I couldn’t believe that. I knew Decker—well, the old Decker. And that guy wasn’t evil like he made himself out to be now.
“Merrick walked away from this life clean, all for a woman and for a normal life. I don’t know if I could do that.” No twitch.
Truth. I didn’t know what to say. With Decker’s confession, a bit of my heart died from the realization that he might never give up his life as a paid assassin. Maybe he found that he enjoyed killing people. Maybe Decker was right, and I didn’t know him anymore.
Saddened by that thought, I let the matter drop and asked, “Should we wake Regi?” Without meeting Decker’s eyes, I glanced over the seat to Regina, who was curled up with a blanket we’d bought at one of the warehouse stores we’d stopped at a few hours prior.
