Tony doesn’t force me inside, he simply waits. My bullshit radar is oddly quiet. I take a step forward, another, and then I’m behind the door. He clicks it closed and nods to a small fake leather sofa at the back of the room. “Take a seat.”
I fold myself onto the creaky piece of furniture with my duffel bag on my lap. He taps on a computer screen with multiple angles of the waiting area and bus station. “Watch,” he instructs.
He rewinds the feed to an hour ago when I arrived, before erasing everything after that point in time. He navigates to recently deleted and permanently destroys them.
He spins around to face me. “We good?”
I nod.
“I’ll see you soon, Joanna, I’m going to hang up now and concentrate on driving, okay?”
“Okay.”
The phone goes silent. I unzip a tiny pocket on the inside of my bag and slip the phone inside. Tony shuffles around the small space. He opens something perched on the floor before turning toward me and stretching his hand out. In it is a can of soda, and a bar of chocolate.
“The sugar helps with the shock.”
As if my body has just realized how hungry I am, a wave of dizziness comes over me. The snacks I’d gotten from the vending machine were left in the room with Gideon, and I’ve avoided going into any stores with cameras. I take the items. “Thank you,” I whisper.
He huffs before taking his own can and returning to his seat. At this angle, no one can see me from the outside. My shoulders slump, and I tear into the chocolate with relish. Tony hums and jerks his chin at my soda.
“Drink too.”
“Do you do this often?” I wonder.
“More than I like.”
I frown. “Sorry.”
“That’s not what I meant. I wish there weren’t so many souls running for their lives, is all.”
I pop the tab. “Me too.”
We drink our sodas. He says little and leaves me to gather my thoughts. As soon as my can is empty, he takes it from my hands and drops it in the recycling bin. He tilts his head.
“You are sitting funny. Are you hurt?”
I blink. “I’m okay.”
“No, you are not okay. But that’s not what I’m asking. I need to know if you need medical help so I can call the doc, and she will meet you at Louise’s. So I’ll ask again. Are you hurt?”
I roll my lips together and suck in a breath. The gnawing, stabbing pain between my legs is getting worse, not better. Not bathing for two days won’t have helped, I’m sure. Maybe it will improve after a shower.
Tony grabs a box from under his work station and retrieves one of those head thermometers. He waves it over my forehead and frowns as it beeps. “Fuck sake. You’re burning up.”
I am? Someone taps on the window, making me jump. Aslim woman with blonde bobbed hair and a tanned complexion waves at him.
“Come on, Tony, I’m freezing my tits off out here.”
He unbolts the door, and she bustles into the room, her gaze landing on me as she smiles, but keeps her distance. “I’m Louise.”
“Hi.”
“She’s hurt,” Tony blurts out. “She needs the doc.”
I shake my head. “No medical centers. I can’t risk it.”
Louise crouches so she’s eye level with me. “No, honey, she would come to us. How urgent is it? Can it wait until morning?”
