The adrenaline was wearing off, the previous hour playing on loop. My ears hurt from all the shooting, and I probably had a little bit of hearing damage.
“Was that a wetwork team?” I asked, remembering the term he and Jason used.
He nodded. “They knew we were coming.”
“Late?”
“Four was here days ago. If he was killed there, there would be no reason to show up.”
I stared at him. The gravity of what that meant was heavy. “So, there’s a leak in the system.”
He nodded again. “That many men? They wanted to make sure I didn’t leave.”
“Why?”
His grip on the wheel tightened. “That’s the million dollar question. Two of us, maybe three, are dead. Hunted down and killed.”
“You’re contemplating something,” I said as I studied his expression.
The muscle in his jaw jumped. “You said Three probably drank the drugs.”
“Yeah.”
Six shook his head. “I just don’t see that happening.”
“Why?”
“We’re all very careful, paranoid, about where our drinks come from.”
“You drank from the bar.” He’d ordered for the both of us.
“But I kept careful watch over where he was pulling it from.”
Well, shit. “What do we do now?”
“First thing is get patched up. You’re going to have to go into a drugstore and get us some supplies.”
I hadn’t been anywhere on my own in two months that wasn’t a hotel room. “Me?”
“You’re less bloody.”
I looked at him, then down at myself. People would be wondering where the body was, while I just looked injured.
A half hour later, we pulled into a drugstore and I climbed out of the car. Six handed me a few twenties and listed off some necessary items.
There was no covering up the wound on my leg or the trail of blood, and as I walked in, I tried to think up a plausible scenario.
Dog scratch? No, too big.
Rope burn? Too bloody.
Cooking accident? Yeah, right.
Blowtorch experiment gone wrong? Not in my outfit.
A few heads turned my way as I hobbled to the first aid section. With the adrenaline gone, the pain had settled in.
The odd bit of relief I had from the small amount of freedom was strange. Six wasn’t there breathing down my neck, making sure I didn’t step out of line.
Six said he had some supplies back at the hotel, but gauze and a larger bottle of hydrogen peroxide was needed. He also needed a sling for his arm, and we both needed some Biofreeze for muscle pain. Some aspirin, a few cold bottles of water, and I hobbled my way to the checkout, picking up a bag of M&M’s as I greeted the checkout clerk.
“Oh, honey, what happened to you?” she asked in a sweet southern accent.
“Contact burn.” The words popped out and were quite perfect. It was possible I leaned against something super hot, burning off the top layers of skin.
Then again, I hadn’t actually taken a good look at it.
She looked down at my basket of goodies and nodded. “This should help. Maybe throw in some tequila shots to take the edge off.”
I smiled at her. “That’s a great idea. Thanks.”
Change in hand, I headed toward the door just as a cop walked in.
The expression about blood running cold was very applicable.
He smiled at me, and my lips twitched to match. I watched his eyes widen.
“Are you okay, Miss?”
I held up my bags and smiled. “Yup. Teach me not to pay attention when my boyfriend tells me something’s hot.”
He let out a little chuckle, but the humor didn’t spread to his eyes.
“You should let a doctor take a look at that.”
I nodded. “First thing in the morning. Have a nice night!”
I was out the door before he could respond and searching for the car. Six had moved around the corner of the building, and I quickly climbed in.
“Go. I don’t think he bought it.”
There was no pause, no questions. He understood. He made sure not to cross in front of the storefront in our getaway.
“Think it might be time for a new car,” I said once we were a few miles away.
Six let out a surprising laugh and shook his head.
“What?”
“You’re officially my companion.”
I blinked at him, my brow scrunching. I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.
Over the course of the evening, I had done many things that were not Paisley like. The dynamic in our strained relationship had changed.
It had been changing for weeks, but it was the first time I’d really noticed how much.
And how much I was losing myself.
But that was part of the bargain, I supposed.
Anything to survive.
The moment we were back in the motel room, I set the bags down and grabbed some towels from the bathroom. Six was trying to work his jacket off, but it wasn’t cooperating. I grabbed both sides of the collar and flipped it over his shoulders, allowing him to let it slide off his arms and down to the ground.