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Orin pulled his phone from his pocket and made a phone call, ignoring my question completely. “Finnan, work has forced me into hiding. I’ll be gone a few days … Can’t. Mannix will have his clan looking for me … I don’t want to draw attention to the location of the safe house … I’ll check in in a few days.” He hung up.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere that’ll be safe for now, but not before we dump your car and get another one.”
Dump my car?“Dump it where?”
He shrugged. “Don’t care, but it’s too conspicuous.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later,Orin pulled into the parking lot of a 24-hour Tesco and turned off the engine. Getting out, he said, “Take what you need from the car, including the gun,” then began walking away toward the store’s entry.
I wound down the window. “Wait!” I called out. “Where are you going?”
“To get supplies,” he called back over his shoulder.
“You don’t even have a shirt on!”
He waved off my concerns.
Infuriating man. I did as he asked though, getting out and opening the trunk to find the first aid kit I kept there, as well as a blanket and a towel. Popping open the lid of the first aid kit, I took a quick inventory, then retrieved the gun.
Touching it a second time wasn’t a comforting experience, and I grappled with the fact that I had killed a man. I was studying to be a nurse. Sure, I hadn’t taken the Hippocratic oath, but I would have to recite the nurse’s pledge when I graduated nursing school. I would swear to serve humanity. I would promise that my patient’s health came first—always.
And now, I felt like a complete and utter hypocrite for what I did tonight.
I blinked rapidly when a man started walking my way, and my fear—the one that seemed to lurk in my brain’s subconscious—began to stretch out. He was backlit by the store’s bright lights, so all I could see was his silhouette, but he cut an imposing figure.
Instinctively, I retreated a step.
“Fallon?”
I relaxed at the sound of Orin’s rough voice, even though he was the antithesis of what would be considered safe.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stopping in front of me. Now dressed in a black t-shirt, he had an armful of protein bars, fruit, bottled water, and frozen meals. “Did someone say something to you?”
I shook my head, still unable to speak.
“What’s wrong then?”
I blew out a breath and shook my head. “Nothing. I just … it was nothing.”
He studied me for a full minute before placing the groceries onto the hood of the car. “I’m going to get us another ride. Stay here.”
I glanced around the lot. There were maybe two dozen cars parked throughout, and I knew he wasn’t going to try to hail a cab. When Orin said he’d get us another ride, he really meant he was going to steal us another ride. I watched him stalk through the lot, bypassing cars I thought he would choose until he stopped at a small hatchback. Glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, he pulled out a wire coat hanger that I hadn’t even noticed he’d had and began to break into the car.
When he popped open the handle, he got in and started it, backing out of the spot and driving my way. He pulled to a stop beside me and opened the passenger door.
“Grab our stuff and get in.”
I did. Once we were out of the supermarket parking lot, he headed northeast.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s somewhere we can lay low tonight. In the morning, we’ll go to my safe house.”
“Why not go now?”
