What am I doing arguing back? This lunatic could finish me off whenever she feels like it.
“Not one that got the point across so quickly,” she smiles.
I open my mouth to launch a retort, but I have nothing. My brain is going into sleep mode and I have no idea what to do or say.
“The sooner you get in the car, the sooner I can deliver you and you won’t have to see me again.”
“What about Kelley? You can’t leave her like that.”
An eye roll? Really?
“She’s already received medical attention. All my men are trained to cope with wounds.”
Once I am sure that my bout of sickness is over, I take a second to look at the car pulled up just in front of this one. It’s Kelley’s car.
“I want to see her!” I demand.
The scary blonde slips out of the car and advances toward me. I gulp—like cartoon-style gulp. I’ve pushed her too far and now she’s going to shoot me too. Pete was right: I haven’t had a life. I’ve spent all my time either selling books, or with my nose in one. I may have travelled to distant lands and galaxies via the printed word, but in reality, I’ve never left my hometown. How bloody sad is that? And now, I’m going to die at the hands of…
Hang on a minute. She’s not reaching for the gun that’s wedged near her backside. I watch her come to a stop right in front of me. Craning my head to look up, I whimper as her eyes bore into me once more. When she knows my attention is solely on her, she dips forward. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was going to kiss me. But Idoknow better, and I’m more likely to have my throat ripped out by her teeth than any smooching—not that Iwanther to smooch me. Oh, Jesus, I’ve gone delirious.
Her breath tickles the side of my face as her lips reach my ear, “Please don’t make me hurt you, Bonnie,” she rasps. “You have such a lovely face.” Her head pulls back slightly so I can see her eyes in my peripheral vision. This woman is utterly terrifying. “In the car. Be a good girl.”
“I’m not a girl,” I growl, before stomping back to the car.
She laughs quietly at my outburst. I’m crossing all my fingers and toes I’ve contracted a fever or something similar, that would give me an alternative to what is going on right now. Fevered delusion sounds good. I knew I ate too much cheese last night. This could be a really intense dream. Gouda does that to me.
I’m still cataloguing which fromage I snuffled down last night when Blondie slides gracefully back inside the car after I do. She gives a nod to the driver, who says something into a hidden microphone near her cuff before pulling the vehicle back onto the road. Plucking the last vestiges of courage, which are recklessly swimming around my nervous system, I clear my throat. “Who are you?”
“I told you it doesn’t matter.”
“AndIbeg to differ. You must realise you have the wrong person. Do I look like someone who cavorts with thugs?”
“Thugs?” she laughs. “Come now, Ms Moorside, we both know I’m no thug.”
“Government agent?” The question comes out as a hopeful squeak.
“Please, don’t insult me,” she tuts.
“Okay, just give me your name, then. I can’t keep referring to you as ‘Crazy Blonde Lady’.”
She turns in my direction. “Is that what you’ve been calling me?”
“Um…”
“I’ve been called worse. And, it’s Allegra.”
“Right, Allegra. So, who are you taking me to see?”
My new plan is to keep her talking; maybe get her to relax so I can make a move. If I could get her gun, I could hold her hostage in exchange for Kelley.
Even as I think about it, I know it is a monumentally stupid idea, but what other choice do I have?
My plan held up for all of ten seconds. Allegra is a super spy or something. She can read me in seconds. I know, because as I peppered her with questions, she held up her hand, which stopped me talking and said, “Even if you get my gun, have you ever used one? And saying you manage to work it out before I disarm you, are you ready to take on my men?”
I sat there with my mouth gaping, unable to find an answer, so I just closed my mouth and turned my head away.
I still have my head pressed against the glass of the car window. We’ve been driving for hours and I need to pee, but I don’t want to speak to Allegra again. I want this total nightmare to be over. I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out who wants to see me so badly, and I’m still at a loss.
