He met my stare. “No exact address, no unit number, no attorney number, not while any phone in this cabin can wake up and make trouble.”
“That sounded almost paranoid again.”
“Still experience.”
Crystal nodded. “I can get us there.”
“No public stops,” I said.
“No cabin office,” Crystal added.
“No calling the storage place,” Dex said.
“No using Crystal’s car unless we lose the truck,” I said.
Dex met my stare. “We won’t lose the truck.”
“I’m feeling judged.”
“You should.”
Crystal breathed out a small laugh, then lowered her attention to the map. “If headlights come up behind us, what do I do?”
“You get low behind the front seat until we know who it is,” Dex said.
“I’m not hiding on the floor.”
“You are.”
She glared at me.
I shrugged. “I’m older.”
“By seven minutes.”
“Seven important minutes.”
Dex’s attention moved between us. “That explains a lot.”
“It explains nothing flattering,” Crystal said.
The plan went quiet after that. Not because we had every answer. Because we had the only one that mattered.
Before dawn, we would move.
Until then, the cabin became a place for waiting.
Crystal stretched out on the small sofa under a faded quilt from the bedroom closet. One hand stayed near the chain at her throat, guarding the key even in sleep. I sat on the floor beside her with my back against the sofa and a kitchen knife across my lap.
Dex stood near the front window. “Is that for intruders or for me?”
“It’s versatile.”
“It’s dull.”
“So are some men. They still do damage.”
He accepted that with a nod and checked the road again.
