“Let’s go find a convenience store.” I pull my shirt over my nose. Holy mother, the smell. “Before she clears out the entire place.”
“Agreed.” Declan stands and throws a twenty down on the table. Then he grabs Aisling, and out the door we go.
6
Declan
I try notto throw up as I change Aisling’s diaper in the back seat of the car. “God, girl, where does all this shite come from?” Pun intended.
She just giggles, thoroughly enjoying her daddy’s distress.
“March found us a spot,” Fallon informs me as I remove the hazardous waste. “He's sending the coordinates to the GPS. We’ll have to ditch the car once we get settled.”
“Sounds good.” I toss the diaper onto the side of the road. Aisling tries to escape, but Fallon scoops her up before she can get far.
“Where do you think you’re going? You’re gonna have to be faster than that to get away from me.” She places her into the back seat and shuts the door. “We need to get her a jacket. She’s going to freeze to death out here.”
I snort. “You almost sound like you care.”
“Isn’t the whole point of this dangerous venture to keep her alive? That would be some fucking poetic irony if we lost her in our care.”
“True.” I climb into the back seat with Aisling and place her on my lap.
Fallon drives off into God’s country, and soon we’re pulling into a trailer park in the middle of fucking nowhere. “Well, your friend March is an overachiever. No one is going to find us way the fuck out here.” There is nothing but dense forest surrounding the secret clearing.
“He is a master at what he does,” Fallon concurs as she pulls up to a trailer with a sign that readsrentals. “Stay here,” she orders. She’s so damn bossy, and I can’t even hate her for it. It fucking turns me on.
I stand Aisling on my thighs. “Everything I found attractive in your mommy is the exact opposite I find attractive in Fallon.” She bounces as I speak in a soft, silly tone. “Daddy’s a lunatic.” She has no idea what I’m talking about, and that’s okay. Sometimes it’s good just to confess. Sometimes, late at night, I find myself confessing a little too much.
Fallon returns faster than I expect, carrying a letter-sized envelope.
“Number twelve seventy-three. Nice and tucked away, I was informed.”
“Just what we need, a secluded love nest.”
“Secluded, yes. Love nest, no.” We drive through the, I’ll call itcountry, development. Lots of junk thrown about, and lots of unsavory lookin’ guys smokin’ cigarettes outside. Seems like my kind of crowd.
We pull up to a tan-colored double-wide that actually looks half decent.
“We need to call March with a list as soon as we get inside.” Fallon throws the car into park.
“Roger that.”
The inside of the mobile home is just as underwhelming as the outside. But it’s habitable. A little kitchen and dining area take up most of the livable space, with two tiny bedrooms and a bathroom in the back.
The bonus is there’s a love seat with a matching recliner.
Fallon rummages through the kitchen drawers until she finds what she’s looking for.
“Here, write.” She drops a pen and paper down on the little kitchen table. She rips open the envelope and empties its contents as I brainstorm. A few burner phones, a roll of cash, and two pieces of serious hardware.
“Your friend March works fast,” I note as I scribble down essential items and Aisling runs back and forth like a lunatic. She’s got some serious energy to burn.
“He’s the best. That’s why he’s mine.” She slams a loaded magazine into each grip with a loud click.
“You’re so hot when you handle a handgun.”
“Shut up.” She places both the guns on top of one of the high cabinets.
