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“You were just looking at me like …”
“Like what?” I slide the too-big jacket on over her T-shirt, then grab a piece of rope from the trunk and cinch it tight.
“I don’t know. And that’s the thing, isn’t it? I didn’t know Mr. Baines was so bad. I had no idea I was working for a killer. I mean, he had this list, you know? A list full of names.” I collect the rest of the supplies from the back of my SUV as she follows and continues, “And I recognized some of them. I’m pretty sure there were a couple of dead politicians on there. One was that guy from Texas. The one who got caught with his pe--” She pulls up short, and when I turn to her, her cheeks are red. “You know the guy who put his um, his thing in the hole and got busted.”
“Glory Hole Gary?” I smirk as I shoulder the rifle, then offer her my free arm.
She takes it and we start off toward the creek. “Yeah, that’s him! He died in some sort of boating accident, right?”
He died with my bullet between his eyes, but there’s no need to fill her in on that fine point. After all, I want her to keep talking. Something about her voice soothes me like nothing I’ve ever felt. And the quick way her mind works--I want to hear her thoughts on anything and everything. So, instead of revealing the facts, I let her put it all together herself. “A boating accident. That’s what the news said, yeah.”
“Okay, but what if it wasn’t an accident, Mr. Black?”
“Jacob.” I stop and turn to her. “Always call me Jacob, babe.”
She smiles, and I go warm all over again. How much will be left of me when she’s done melting through all my walls?
“Babe,” she whispers as we keep trudging down the leafy hollow to the creek. “Anyway, so what if Mr. Baines is like, I don’t know, in charge of some sort of murder ring? He runs the legitimate businesses, the ones I worked for. But healsodoes bad stuff? Right? That’s the only thing that makes sense. And when he discovered that I’d seen the bad stuff, that’s when he decided to have me killed. What do you think?”
“Seems like the math adds up.” I help her over a boulder and lead her to the water where the trees hang over and the creek enters the lake.
When I drop to my haunches, she follows suit.
“What are we doing?” She peers at the worn leather bag as I open it.
“Since I lost some daylight by going on that errand--which Iwantedto do,” I add quickly so she doesn’t think I meant it any other way, “I figured I’d set up some weirs to catch fish. That way I’ll have more time to set up small game traps, then hunt for deer once the sun begins to set.”
“You hunt for deer in the dark?” She watches as I set up the fish trap using the rocks that have been in place on this lake for centuries. My father or his father or maybe even his father before him set the same sort of traps.
“Not in the dark. Deer bed down during the day. They like to move around at sunrise and sunset.”
“Oh.” She casts a long look at my rifle. “Are you really going to shoot one?”
“If I can.” I nod. “We need food so we can last out here.”
“That’s another question. How long do you think we’ll be out here? I mean, what’s the plan?”
I load the weir with some bait--some bits from an old MRE I found.
“Also, I need you to tell me what this is.” She gestures at the weir.
As I arrange it in the water, I explain how it works and show her how to do it herself if she were so inclined.
“So the fish swim in but are too dumb to get out?” She nods with appreciation. “That’s good to know.”
I stand and pull her up with me. “Now that’s set, we can go work on some small animal traps, then settle in for the big hunt.”
“Okay. I’ve learned to fish. Now I’m ready to learn to … What is it we’re trying to catch now?”
I pull her close again as we maneuver over the boulder, and I can’t help but love the way she holds on to me. She trusts me, and that trust is something I’ve never felt before. It’s delicate, like a beautiful glass object that men like me are bound to break. Even so, I hope with all my being that I never so much as crack it.
When I put her on her feet again, we walk back up the hollow and into the flatter spots where the trees are thicker.
“I’ve noticed you don’t answer half my questions.” She leans against a tree as I begin to craft a small game trap.
“How’s that?”
“Well, you never told me how you knew Baines was sending people to kill me. And you never told me the plan for how long we’re going to be here. I feel like those are sort of important. I mean, my plan would be to lay low with you for as long as it takes.” She smiles down at me, and fuck me if I don’t tingle all over. But then she asks, “So, tell me, how did you know I was in danger?”
