“We should take turns.” Her voice slurred, and his heart tumbled.
Kissing her hair, he said, “I’ll take the first shift.”
She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder before Dwayne Johnson’s character learned about the fire in the high-rise that threatened his family.
By the time the credits started rolling, he was stiff and achy and ready to jump out of his skin. A still-dozing Lindsey was the only thing keeping him in his seat.
He moved to wake her when his phone buzzed with a text message from a recently programmed number.
The lawyer.
“She’s here.” The low voice slipped into Lindsey’s consciousness on a swell of music. She’d been in that weird state of sleep where you hear everything going on around you, and think you’re awake, but then you wake up and realize you were having weird dreams inspired by the ambient sounds.
These days, though, it was hard for her dreams to be stranger than real life. Lindsey popped up in her seat, reality rushing in like the surf. A stream of names scrolled up the movie screen. Todd watched her, his face drawn and weary.
“You were supposed to wake me for the second watch,” she said.
“I just did. It starts now.” He rose and held out his hand. “The lawyer’s waiting outside.”
She let her pull him to her feet, still feeling sluggish even as her heart sped up at the thought of relying on another stranger and setting the process in motion to surrender to law enforcement.
“You want a drink?” Todd held out the massive soda cup and she took a swig of the warm, watery Coke.
Not great, but she was thirsty.
He scooped up the half-full popcorn bowl, which also held the remains of her nachos, and led the way down the aisle, dumping their trash in the bin. After they parted for a quick potty break, he met her outside the restroom door, taking her hand. “You ready? She’s parked two spots down on the left in a black Porsche Cayenne.”
Lindsey took a deep breath and nodded. Ready as she’d ever be. Todd gripped her hand and they strolled toward the exit as if they hadn’t a care in the world, his snow pants unnaturally loud in the quiet lobby. The kid behind the counter looked up as they passed and Todd offered a casual wave. The boy jerked his chin in acknowledgment and returned his attention to his phone.
“Head straight for the rear passenger side. We’ll get in the back.”
“Okay.” Even if splashing water on her face hadn’t helped shake off the remnants of sleep, venturing out of the perceived safety of the theater would’ve done it. Her body and brain went on high alert, muscles taut, nerves hypersensitive. She cataloged everyone she could see through the glass walls, and Todd must’ve been doing the same, since he hesitated before pushing open the door and leading her toward the old-fashioned ticket booth that sat under an overhang out front.
The cool air reminded her that her jeans were still damp at the seams, but her body was on fire, sweat trickling down her sides. She tried to look like a normal person and not a scared animal, literally shaking in her boots, but no one on the street gave them a second glance.
She spotted the Porsche immediately. A Black woman with a cloud of light brown hair sat behind the wheel.
Todd strode straight up the passenger side and opened the rear door. “Ms. King-Okonkwo?”
The woman nodded. “Get in.”
He motioned Lindsey to go first and then fiddled with the door before sliding in beside her on the black leather. “FYI, I disabled the child lock on this side,” he said.
That never would have occurred to her. One more reason to be grateful she wasn’t facing this alone. She was nervous as hell evenwithTodd. Doing this by herself would be downright paralyzing.
The driver glanced at him in the rearview, her brows scrunched. “Okay.”
“I just wanted you to know in case I forget to turn it back on and you have kids.”
“Ah, not little ones.” She smiled and smoothly backed out the SUV, its engine purring. “But, thank you.”
Todd waited until they were out of town and onto the highway before he asked, “So, what’s the plan here?”
“First, you need to consent to my representation so we have explicit attorney-client privilege.”
“I consent,” Lindsey said.
“Me too.”
