I stare at my reflection in the store’s mirror. At the gas station, Cat picked board shorts and a T-shirt with beads printed around the neck for me. The front claims I’m aShenanigan Enthusiast.
Her T-shirt says she is theQueen of Spring Break 2020.
We got the shirts at a discount.
After that, we rode around for an hour, looking for a big box store to get supplies. We found one next to a truck stop, and Cat wanted to grab a quick shower. I told her I’d gather clothing for the both of us and meet her at the truck stop’s diner.
I grin as I pick jeans and shirts for her. Let’s see how she likes having someone else dress you with a sense of humor.
I’m about to check out when my secondary phone rings.
Tatiana.
I maneuver my cart off to the side to watch the entrance.
“Yes?”
“Ryker, thank the good Lord above,” Tatiana’s voice squeals. “You went dark. Then there was a disturbance at the motel. We’ve been trying to get hold of you for an hour.”
“Kill squad found us there,” I grunt.
A gasp comes through the phone.
“Whoops! Forgot to tell ya - you’re on speakerphone,” Tatiana snickers. “We got Celia and Flint in here, too.”
“Hey.”
“Is my sister all right?” Celia demands.
“Fine. She’s fine. We’re both fine.”
“How did they find you?” Flint’s voice is calm. I know this calm. It means he’s about to track down whoever put his family in danger and kill them with his bare hands, slowly.
He’d have to get in line.
“Trackers,” I lean on the cart. “In all our clothes, her toiletries, the shoes.”
“You’re on your bike?” Tatiana clicks away on her keyboard.
“I am. Cat searched all over that thing but found no trackers.”
“Good,” Tatiana breathes. “That means she didn’t find the one we put on you.”
I shake my head. Kitten came close. A little too close.
“What’chu got for me?”
I hear clicking and a pause. “Something’s up with Cat’s former partner.”
I shake my head. I was afraid of that.
“She really dead?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah, no doubt about that,” Celia adds. “But she was texting with some person named Drum.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Maybe. But their sexting also included secret transport routes,” Tatiana chuckles. “She told him exactly where the Helfinger and Rose convoy would be. The question is, was she in on it, and they turned against her, or is she a casualty?”
