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Chapter 15
Dani
Igrab a pair of shoes, a package of socks, a few shirts, and some jeans off the shelves, and walk straight to the checkout counter with the cash Fox gave me to find something to wear. It’s a low-end department store, somewhere I’d usually never shop, but Fox insists that’s the point.
I’m not Roxie Roberts right now. I’m just Dani. I’m not a movie star. I’m a normal person with thick sunglasses and short black hair, buying some clothes because I have nothing else to wear other than a man’s shirt and boxer shorts. Just a normal girl with a target on her back.
Nothing to see here, folks.
“Do I know you from somewhere?”
I look at the cashier through tinted lenses. “I get that a lot,” I mutter, dropping my voice deeper than usual. She stares at me for an extra-long second before finally shrugging and requesting seventy dollars from me. My heart resets to its normal rhythm and I get out as fast as I went in.
Fox waits outside for me, leaning against a new car by the curb. I’m not quite sure where he got it, but I’m not about to question it. His eyes move back and forth in his skull on constant watch. Each passing person could be a danger. Each one another possibility for me to get recognized, however unlikely that is, especially with a fresh bandage covering half of my face.
“So, where is this secret master file decrypter guy?” I ask him.
He seems annoyed with me. He wanted me to wait in the car, but I wasn’t about to let him go in and buy me clothes.
“Denver,” he answers.
“Denver? Why aren’t we flying?”
He pops open the passenger side door. “Because that requires going through security, flashing IDs…”
“So?”
“So…” He jerks his head, gesturing me into the car. I step off the curb and lower myself down into it while he moves to the driver’s side. “Snake Eyes has access to those systems. Chances are we’ve already been flagged by them and the LAPD.”
“Why them, too?” He glances at me out of the corner of his eyes, giving me a quick second to figure it out for myself. “Oh, right. My dad.”
He turns the ignition. “We need to stay off-the-grid or we won’t make it out of California.”
“It’s a good thing I look nothing like myself then…”
I pull the visor down and flip open the mirror to look at my reflection. Black hair. No make-up. Giant gash on my cheek. I slide my sunglasses up onto my head to check my eyes. Still blue. That’s something, I guess.
“Put those back on until we get out of the city,” Fox says as we start rolling down the busy street.
I do as he says and shield my eyes again before tossing the bag of new clothes into the backseat and sliding back there with them.
“Dani, what are you doing?”
“I’m changing,” I say, flicking the buttons free on his borrowed shirt. “Just keep your eyes on the road.”
“We have windows, you know.”
“I’ll be quick.” I grab a black t-shirt out of the bag and lay it open on my lap. “It’s not like you’ve never seen it before anyway.”
I regret it the instant it leaves my mouth. Up until now, we’ve been actively avoiding the nitty-gritty details of that subject. Sleeping in the same room together was awkward enough, even with him on the floor.
I glance at the rearview mirror in time to see his dark eyes dart away.
I slide the jeans on quickly and pull them up over my borrowed boxers. Maybe we’ll both just silently agree to pretend that never happened.
I take the shoes and a pair of socks from the bag and climb back over into the front seat. “Time to hit the road?” I ask, clearing my throat.
“We need to make a quick stop first,” he says.
