His gaze swung to me. “What old man?”
“The old guy that recruits?” The way he was staring at me didn't bode well.
“Harold recruits.”
“Only him?”
“Yes. Who are you taking about? Are you talking to humans? Did you tell a human about us?”
There was absolutely no way I was going to say anything else. He obviously didn't know the guy and the way he was looking at me, I didn't particularly feel like admitting to knowing about him, either. When in doubt, say nothing.
“I just figured there was someone above Harold.” He was so arrogant that I couldn't help but get a little joy out of him not knowing something I did.
“No, that isn't what you meant at all.”
“Don't tell me what I meant.”
“Then why would you assume Harold's boss was an old man?”
“I was being sexist.” The words tasted bad even as I said them. There wasn't a sexist bone in my body. My unlaughed giggles died a sad death in my chest, snuffed out by the false label of sexism. How short lived my glory had been.
“You are so full of shit.”
“Please, Fate, let's not pretend you're insulted over unshared confidences.”
He broke out into a deep laughter and something in my stomach fluttered. The scowl erased, a wide smile replacing it. How could such a jerk look so inviting just because he was smiling?
“Why are we at the office?” I asked looking to change the subject and get rid of the offending expression.
“It was closer than my place and I didn't want to leave my car in your lot.” He got out and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
“Don't we need a plane or something?” I looked around searching for a hidden Cessna.
“I'm calling for a door.” He held up a hand to me, gesturing for me to stop talking. “We're ready,” he said into the phone.
A door?
I spun around looking at the dark lot.
“Shouldn't we get going?” I said to him. We did need to get states away and pronto.
“There.”
Ten feet in front of us, a shimmering started until a set of doors appeared out of nowhere. They looked like they were made of platinum, but what was even crazier were the two guards in full armor that appeared next to them.
“I'm guessing that they would be the ones that stopped anyone trying to go through without permission?”
“Yes.” We approached the doors and they glided open. On the other side of them, a forest appeared.
“And we can just call these guys up? How did they know where to lead us?”
“Yes. The number is programmed into your work phone.”
“Why did I need you then?”
“They don't always like new people, even if they are supposed to be here. It's usually better if you travel with someone they know the first time.”
Fate stepped aside to let me go first. I hesitated right before I crossed the threshold and felt Fate's hand on the small of my back. If it was someone else, it might have been a reassuring presence. Him? It was probably to push me through if I tried to stop.
And then I took the plunge forward.
Chapter Eleven
I stood on the other side of the door as Fate came through after me and then it disappeared. Looking around, it wasn't so dissimilar to the forests of South Carolina, especially dark as it was. It was hard to believe we'd just crossed a distance that would have taken hours by plane in less than a minute.
“What time is it?” I asked as he looked down at his wrist.
“We've got about a half an hour to get to the locale.”
It felt so odd that I knew instinctively where to go. If someone asked how I knew we had to walk north to find the couple, I'd ask them how they knew to drink water when they were thirsty. That's how natural and impulsive the urge was.
I took off in search of my job and Fate silently followed behind me. As we traveled in the dark in the middle of a forest, I wondered how I wasn't falling on my ass, tripped by a wayward branch or a boulder. Somehow, my feet always stepped somewhere sound.
I didn't falter until I heard the screaming coming from our destination. I only paused for a second before I took off at a dead run, knowing what was coming.
The hand on my arm jerked me backward.
“We aren't here for that.”
“How do you know what I'm going to do?”
“Because I'm not a complete idiot and I know their fate. You don't need to run to plant the evidence. We'll get there in plenty of time for that.”
“Get off me,” I said. The lawyer in me wouldn't admit to anything. I attempted to yank my arm loose but to no avail.
“You can't save her. This is her fate.”
Instead of pulling away, I stepped closer and got in his space. I'd handled my fair share of criminals, bullies and all around scary bad asses. Weakness didn't back them down. The only thing that happens if you run from a predator is a good chase.
“Get. Off. Me.”
He didn't budge but held his ground. It was exactly what I'd expected of him but like I mentioned, I wasn't one to run.
Instead of letting go of my one arm, he grabbed the other and stared at me with an almost confused look. “How the hell did you think you were ever meant to marry that guy?”
“What?” The question was bizarre in its randomness but no less painful in the remembrance. “Don't talk to me about Charlie.” The shock of the subject was quickly replaced by anger.
“You're right. It doesn't matter. The point is I'm trying to help you.”
“And I'm telling you not to.”
“I guess some people have to learn the hard way.” He shrugged but dropped his grip on me. No sooner was I off and running again that I fell flat on the ground, face to the dirt and gasping to inflate my lungs. I turned to give him a dirty look, sure he was the cause of my fall but he was ten feet behind me.
I pushed myself up, ignoring the sting of nettle beneath my palms and took off running again. A low-lying branch that I knew hadn't been there a second ago knocked me hard in the head. The blow had been so bad that my head spun and my vision dulled.
I moaned, now flat on my back as opposed to on my stomach. I felt a hand run over my forehead and looked up to see Fate leaning over me. His eyes were trained on my forehead where I was sure a large egg was forming and, for just a second, he looked softer, then his eyes met mine and they hardened.
“Are you ready to give up yet? It will just get progressively worse.” He stood up and crossed his arms. Standing in the same place from where he had just been squatting next to me
I stood up, a bit wobbly on my feet and without any offered aid from Fate.
“Are you done?” he asked after I wobbled slightly.
“I guess I don't have a choice.” I brushed off the twigs from my jeans and started walking again. How the universe knew I was willing to stay within my neatly penned box I didn't know, but nothing deterred my progress now. The desire still burned within me though.
I didn't consider myself bloodthirsty, but I wanted it today. I'd seen what that man was capable of. The snippets of what the woman's life had been like. She was probably better off dead than with him but why should she be the one whose life was stolen? If I was Karma, shouldn't I get some discretionary power?
“What if it's not enough? What if I don't agree?” I asked in a hushed voice as we approached their campsite. I could hear the screaming clearly now.
“We don't decide what the job is, we just do it.”
“This doesn't make sense to me. If the universe can stop me from killing him, why can't it do this itself?”
“Some people are just born slightly out of reach.”
“Of the universe?”
“Yes.”
“But why not have me kill him like the last guy?”
“I don't know. Maybe rotting in a jail cell for fifty years is the way things need to play out.”
“You're Fate. Is that what will happen?”
“If you do this, then yes.”
Neither of us spoke as we walked the final distance. I knew exactly what was going to happen next. I'd seen it like a movie clip replaying in my head.
We stopped right outside their clearing and then Fate made a move to walk closer.
“What are you doing? Is that safe?”