I dig in deeper at his side. “We’re going to die,” I whisper.
“Shhh…don’t say that.”
I pull back and look at him. “I love you. More than anything. I’m sorry I didn’t say it earlier.”
“I love you, too, but don’t you dare say your good-byes and give up on me. We’re not going out like this,” Ethan says, kissing the temple that’s not hurt. We ride in silence for a while. I have no sense of time or direction and it’s confusing. My head spins with desperate plans to save us, but the pain radiating from the side of my face makes it hard to hold a thought for long.
I blink wildly at the bright lights that spill in from the front windows and realize I must have dozed off.
“I think we’re pulling into a gas station,” Ethan says in my ear.
The van stops and I hear a door open and close. I try to twist around to see if Teeny is all right, but my body has stopped cooperating. Every inch of me hurts.
“She’s still out, but I don’t think it’ll be long before she’s up. She’s been mumbling a lot.”
I nod and get as close to him as I can, putting my mouth right next to his ear. “I have a piece of broken glass in my pocket.” My words come out in a soft whisper since I’m assuming Vader is still in the van.
He shifts his head so his mouth is near my ear. “Which pocket?”
“Left.”
His hands move toward my left side. The way our hands are bound makes doing anything awkward, so I just try to relax. Ethan slowly rolls his hands around and then whispers, “Raise your left hip up a little.” Struggling, I manage to lift up just enough so he is able to get two fingers in my front pocket. I feel it when they wrap around the glass. Ethan slowly pulls it out and it scrapes along my hip every inch of the way. I bite my lip, trying not to think about how much it hurts.
Again, his mouth comes to my ear. “Do you want to try something?”
I shake my head and shift back to his ear. “No. I’m not sure I could even walk right now and Teeny’s not even awake yet. I just want you to have it in case something comes up.” I’m not sure I can physically lift my arms, much less do any good with a dull piece of glass.
We move around again, trying to get the glass into his front pocket. I glance at Vader and he seems oblivious to what’s going on back here. Ethan finally shoves the glass into his jeans.
“Do you know who the other guy is?” Ethan asks.
“No. I don’t think he’s Agent X since Thomas told him to call Hammond. Maybe there’s more than one mole. I keep thinking he looks like Darth Vader in all that black.”
“Do you recognize him?”
I shake my head. “No. And Thomas is freaking me out. He’s a total psychopath. I can’t believe how different he was in Natchitoches.”
The van door opens and the engine roars to life. Once we’re moving, Teeny starts moaning again. I hope she doesn’t hurt as bad as I do. The sounds from Teeny are the only noises that fill the van. Thinking back, I can’t remember a single exchange between Thomas and Vader since I got hit with that tranquilizer gun. When we were outside the van, he wasn’t very tall, maybe the same size as Ethan. I tick through my memories of all the different agents and it’s hard to remember details like their height. Looking through those slits in the mask, I couldn’t make out any of his features. But it’s his voice—I can’t shake the feeling that he’s familiar in some way.
A few miles down the road, Teeny’s moans turn into crying, soft sobs that hit you right in the gut.
The sound of that pitiful weeping washes over me and I feel even more broken. Why is this happening to us?
“We should have left her behind,” Vader says from the front seat.
Thomas answers him in rapid Spanish, his tone harsh.
Vader answers Thomas equally as fast. The two go back and forth in Spanish and the only thing I can make out is Teeny’s name, Vader saying it several times.
Why do they keep saying her name? Is Vader trying to talk him into getting rid of her? Will Thomas use the knife on her like he has so many others?
Images of the blood he wiped across his pants leg fill my head and my body starts shaking. Every inch of it. I try to relax so it will stop, but it only gets worse.
“Whoa, what’s happening?” Ethan asks. He pulls me in a little closer but it doesn’t stop my trembling. In fact, my body is shaking so hard it makes Ethan’s body shake.
I can’t form an answer so I just shrug.
Ethan holds me tight, trying to get me to stop shuddering but it doesn’t work. His face comes close and his cold cheek brushes up next to mine.
