Page 11 of Harbor

Renzo’s boots hit the sidewalk lining the small convenience store just before the Nebraska border. A few miles away from here, and they’d be out of Iowa. His fucking heart suddenly felt like it was going to explode inside his chest. He hadn’t been cocky enough to think that he wouldn’t be nervous at all, but he hadn’t expected it to hit at once without any kind of warning, either.

Aching lungs.

Clenched fists.

Sweaty palms.

Fuck.

It wasn’t like him to be so overt with his emotions, either. He was typically better at hiding it. Hell, he’d beat a guy to death once for stealing from him, and while he felt like he was going to vomit the whole time, he’d been told his expression hadn’t changed from a cold, blank slate even once.

Apparently, this wasn’t going to be the same. Renzo didn’t know how to feel about that, honestly.

Get in, and get it done, his mind said.

Yeah, that sounded about right.

He’d shrugged on a hoodie before he left the SUV—a baggy, black sweater with a hood just large enough to cover the top of the baseball cap he’d pulled on his head, too. As long as he kept his face tilted down, the brim of the hat would give his face some sort of cover as he looked for any cameras, and the hood would add extra shadows.

Would it be enough?

That was yet to be determined.

Renzo couldn’t really think about it for too long. He didn’t need to go down that rabbit hole when he was already two steps away from going inside the store, and far too many steps away from heading back to the SUV. Still, he knew the faster he got this done, then the quicker he could get back to where he wanted and needed to be.

It was that simple.

As he rounded the corner of the store, and reached for the entrance doors to pull it open, Renzo tossed one last look over his shoulder. He couldn’t see the SUV across the street and parked around the side of the building. But he knew it was there, and for some reason, just looking that way was enough to relax him a bit.

Not a whole lot.

But it helped.

It grounded and solidified his decision. Get in, and get it done. Then, he’d be right back there with them, and on the road again. That’s all he needed to do.

Renzo tightened his hold on the black duffle bag he’d taken from the back of the SUV after dumping out all of his clothes. As he swung the door open to the store, he stepped inside and reached in the bag to palm the butt of the gun resting at the bottom. Glancing upward, but not turning his head up so that his face could possibly be caught on camera, he eyed the most common spots for them and soon enough, found two.

He was aware of the woman at the back of the store digging through the fridges for a soda she wanted. He stepped aside for the man to leave the store with a pack of cigarettes tight in his grasp. He took note of the man behind the counter who was busy watching the game on the small television in the high, right corner.

He was hyperaware of all those things, really. It was like time slowed in his mind as he grabbed tighter to the gun, and readied to pull it out. Like everyone slowed down—everything caught his eye, and he took note of it in his mind—and his mind shifted again, just like that. All those nerves were gone, and that fast beat of his heart that felt like it was going to explode just moments before was now nothing more than a gentle thump-thump-thump in his chest.

Not painful, or distracting.

Simply there.

Renzo waited until the store door was closed behind him before he decided to move and act. He could have waited for the girl at the back of the store to get the hell out, but as it was, he’d already been standing there far too long. The guy behind the counter was looking his way, and he figured he looked like the stereotypical fucking idiot about to rob a place dressed in black with his face mostly hidden, and a black bag in his grip.

Might as well prove the theory right …

Pulling the gun from its hiding spot while holding onto the bag at the same time, he raised the weapon and aimed at the first camera he’d seen when he came through the door. The one on the far wall, watching each person that came in and out. He’d already had the gun racked and ready to fire before he even came into the store.

It was good to be prepared.

Renzo pulled back the trigger, and watched that bullet rip through the camera. Several things happened then—the woman at the back screamed, and Renzo couldn’t see her anymore when he looked that way. She probably dropped to the floor, but he didn’t check. As long as she stayed there, then everything was going to be okay for her and him.

The second thing that happened?

The guy behind the counter fell off his chair.