“Why don’t you go in and pick out your own while I pump gas? I’ll join you inside in a bit.” He reached for my hand again, and I squeezed it tightly. “Are we okay?”
“Yeah, I just have to get used to this. I know if I want you, I have to accept this. So, I do.”
“Scout, you know I love you. I’m only doing this to give you the life you deserve.”
“I don’t need all that, Desi. I just need you.” I climbed out of the car. “I’m starving. Let’s get some bear claws and get back on the road before I think too hard about this.” I rolled my eyes and gave him a goofy grin. He relaxed and joined me outside the car.
I grabbed donuts and poured coffee into two Styrofoam cups for us.
“Who’s our first… guy?” I asked during the drive. The coffee perked up my mood and my eyelids. I sat forward and turned up his radio.
Journey played through, and I sighed happily. Despite the dark parts, the good parts were really good. And this was a good part.
“I’ve got names all over the country. Just pick a state.”
“Do you have a list?”
“I do, actually.” He shifted in his seat and tugged a spiral notepad out of his pocket. “If they aren’t crossed out, they are available.”
I gaped as I started flipping through the pages. “You did all these?” There were so many names, and pages of them were crossed out.
“No!” He chuckled. “I did some, but others I either declined the offer or someone else was faster than me. Go to the last page, that should have some good ones.”
I flipped through.
“Hmm…”
“Pick one, that’s who we’ll kill.”
My stomach tightened. I was determining someone’s fate.
“Okay. What about Bradley Donavon? What did he do that made him get put on this list?”
Desi’s smile fell instantly. “We’re not doing him. Pick another name.”
“Why is he on your list then?”
“He’s only—It’s complicated.”
“I’ve got time.” I wasn’t trying to irritate him as much as I was interested in the politics of it all.
“That person was put on that list because my boss’s daughter is seeing him. It’s stupid. Until he gives me a reason, he lives.”
“That seems dumb.”
“It is,” he agreed. “Another name please?”
I looked back at the list. “Okay, oh, this is a woman’s name. Ida Persner. How old is she?”
Desi scrunched up his nose. “I’ll have to look at my other notebook. She’s old. I think she’s way up north. That could be fun. You ever been to the Great Lakes?”
“I barely got out of our town, let alone travel the country.”
“Great!” He beamed. “I love being able to show you new things. Let’s go to a hotel and we’ll plan our schedule.” He reached for my hand again and squeezed. “Let’s go kill Ida, the rich woman with a passion for dating and killing younger men.”
