“What do I wear?” Jodie asked.
Meghan frowned and then grabbed a bag. “Sorry to do this.”
“You’re putting me in a body bag?”
“Temporarily.” Then Meghan turned to Reyna. “I think it might be safer if you’re in one, too. I’m sorry.”
Both of them looked at her in horror, but Tye yelled, “Meghan?”
“Coming,” she called. She stripped out of her nurse uniform and pulled on the coveralls as Reyna and Jodie unzipped the body bags and shimmied inside. Meghan jumped out the back, and the truck doors slammed shut behind them, casting them into total darkness. Reyna took a deep breath and closed the bag over her head. She heard Jodie grunt as she slid into the bag next to her. Only their breathing could be heard before the rumble of the truck’s engine roaring to life drowned it out.
Reyna’s heart began to pound. A body bag. She was being transported out of here in a body bag. She wasn’t usually afraid of small spaces or the dark, but these weren’t usual circumstances. She couldn’t believe they’d even made it this far.
“Hey,” Jodie whispered.
“Hey.”
“Thank you for doing this.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Reyna whispered. “We still have to get out of here.”
“But still…thanks.”
Reyna smiled, even though Jodie couldn’t see it. “You’re welcome.”
The truck rumbled forward. Reyna clenched her hands at her sides and tried to breathe slowly. This would all be over soon.
Only it wasmuchtoo soon for the truck to stop again.
“Why are we stopping?” Jodie asked.
Reyna had no idea, and she strained to listen to what was happening in the front cab.
“We’re right on schedule,” a male voice said from the driver’s seat. That must be Xavier. The one who’d wanted to leave them.
Someone must have responded, because Meghan piped up. “We’re all set here, boys,” she said in the flirtatious tone she’d used with the guard. “Have all the samples secure.”
Another voice entered the mix. “You’re going to need to open up the back. We’re on a high-security breach.”
“Oh no!” Meghan gasped. “And you think somehow we’re part of the breach? Aren’t we on your schedule?”
A rustling noise and then a grunt. Maybe that meant yes.
“Open the back.”
Reyna could practically feel the tension rolling off their rescuers. Of course they couldn’t deny them access to the back of the vehicle. That would raise more flags than complying. But if they complied, would the guards open up the body bags?
A door opened up front, and someone got out. Reyna didn’t so much as breathe. Jodie had gone completely still beside her.
This was it. This was life or death. This was freedom or captivity. This was the end.
The back door opened.
She could hear voices at the far end of the truck. A foot stomped on the bumper, and a body hoisted into the cavity. The truck rocked at the extra weight.
Reyna balled her hands into fists to keep from trembling.
“What’s in that?” a gruff voice asked.
