Blood and Bone | 1

3 | 9

      Mariette didn't miss a beat. "Because I want to watch Adiago Hundsen burn as much as you do."

      "I doubt that," was all Jake had to say.

      "Can you give us more information on Hundsen if we meet up again?" I asked, testing her to see the extent of what she would do for us.

      "Yes. I'll get as much as I can."

      Jake broke in. "Good. Meet us here tomorrow morning at nine. Make sure you're not followed." Then he stepped closer and held the knife he'd stolen to her chin. "And if you double cross me, you will regret it."

      The girl nodded slowly and took a shaky step back on her injured legs. "I won't fail."

      "We'll see about that," Jake muttered coldly at her back as the girl walked away. We both stood there motionlessly as Mariette disappeared into the shadows between two buildings.

       "We need to find somewhere to stay for the night," I realized as the sky darkened to a navy blue above us.

      "I can take care of that." Jake pulled out the wad of cash he'd stolen from the gas station during our first night after escaping.

      "There," I said, nodding towards a building that was being entered by a family with a multitude of suitcases. As we walked over, I noticed a glowing sign in the window. I guessed that it was advertising the various rooms and amenities in Romanian.

      When we entered, I held my hand out for him to place the money in it. Glancing down at my outstretched palm, Jake questioned, "What do you want?"

      "The money," I told him, rolling my eyes. "I'll talk to her about a place to stay."

      He raised an unamused eyebrow. "I'm not going to run away with the money," I assured him flatly. "I just have better manners than you."

      "I can be polite if I want to be."

      "Polite, my ass."

      "I saved your ass today when you had no plan," Jake countered matter-of-factly.

      "This isn't my first rodeo, Evans. I can handle myself just fine." I looked over to where the receptionist was gaping at the two of us arguing. Sighing, I grabbed the money from Jake's hand and placed it on the counter before her.

      Thankfully, the woman spoke a bit of English and I was able to get us a single room with Jake's money. The family I saw earlier stared at us curiously, and I realized how suspicious we must have looked with no luggage whatsoever.

In the room, Jake sat down in an armchair and began looking over a map he'd taken from the lobby. I found a small kitchen knife sharpener by the kitchenette and ran my blade through it again and again.

There were a few moments of blessed quiet before Jake broke it. "I've been meaning to ask you, what did Hundsen have you do that day that he sent you out of the warehouse?"

"What?" I asked, though I knew exactly what he meant.

"He tortured you. I heard the screams. And then he told you that he had something for you to do. He said you'd be back in a few days. What exactly did you do for him?"

      I gave no answer and continued the sharpening of my only weapon. The scraping sound filled the room.

      "You're ashamed of what you did. You didn't want to do it, but he backed you into a corner. What was it that made you so nervous?" I glanced over at him. He'd lowered the map and was staring at me with narrowed eyes, trying to manipulate me into revealing the information.