“Easy? Cutting your —”
I interrupted Ian quickly. “That was an emergency. I won’t have to do that again.” I paused for a second. “Right?” I checked.
Ian groaned. “If she goes, I’m going, too,” he said in a bleak tone. “Someone has to protect her from herself.”
“And I’ll be there to protect the rest of us from her,” Kyle said with a chuckle. Then he grunted and said, “Ow.”
I was too tired to lift my head to see who had hit Kyle now.
“And I’ll be there to bring you all back alive,” Jared murmured.
CHAPTER 47
Employed
This is too easy. It’s not really even fun anymore,” Kyle complained.
“You wanted to come,” Ian reminded him.
He and Ian were in the windowless back of the van, sorting through the nonperishable groceries and toiletries I’d just collected from the store. It was the middle of the day, and the sun was shining on Wichita. It was not as hot as the Arizona desert, but it was more humid. The air swarmed with tiny flying bugs.
Jared drove toward the highway out of town, carefully keeping below the speed limit. This continued to irritate him.
“Getting tired of shopping yet, Wanda?” Ian asked me.
“No. I don’t mind it.”
“You always say that. Isn’t there anything you mind?”
“I mind… being away from Jamie. And I mind being outside, a little bit. During the day especially. It’s like the opposite of claustrophobia. Everything is too open. Does that bother you, too?”
“Sometimes. We don’t go out during the day much.”
“At least she gets to stretch her legs,” Kyle muttered. “I don’t know why you want to hear her complain.”
“Because it’s so uncommon. Which makes it a nice change from listening to you complain.”
I tuned them out. Once Ian and Kyle got started, they usually went on for a while. I consulted the map.
“Oklahoma City next?” I asked Jared.
“And a few small towns on the way, if you’re up for it,” he answered, eyes on the road.
“I am.”
Jared rarely lost his focus when on a raid. He didn’t relax into relieved banter the way Ian and Kyle did every time I completed another mission successfully. It made me smile when they used that word—mission. That sounded so formidable. In reality, it was just a trip to the store. Just like I’d done a hundred times in San Diego when I was only feeding myself.
Like Kyle said, it was too easy to provide any excitement. I pushed my cart up and down the aisles. I smiled at the souls who smiled at me, and I filled my cart with things that would last. I usually grabbed a few things that wouldn’t, for the men hiding in the back of the van. Premade sandwiches from the deli—things like that for our meals. And maybe a treat or two. Ian had a fondness for mint chocolate chip ice cream. Kyle liked caramel sweets best. Jared ate anything he was offered; it seemed as if he’d given up favorites many years before, embracing a life where wants were unwelcome and even needs were carefully assessed before they were met. Another reason he was good at this life—he saw priorities uncontaminated by personal desire.
Occasionally, in the smaller towns, someone would notice me, would speak to me. I had my lines down so well that I could probably have fooled a human by this point.
“Hi there. New in town?”
“Yes. Brand-new.”
“What brings you to Byers?”
I was always careful to check the map before I left the van, so the town’s name would be familiar.
“My partner travels a lot. He’s a photographer.”
“How wonderful! An Artist. Well, there’s certainly a lot of beautiful land around here.”
Originally, I’d been the Artist. But I’d found that throwing in the information that I was already partnered saved me some time when I was speaking to males.
“Thank you so much for your help.”
“You’re very welcome. Come back soon.”
I’d only had to speak to a pharmacist once, in Salt Lake City; after that, I’d known what to look for.
A sheepish smile. “I’m not sure I’m getting the right nutrition. I can’t seem to avoid the junk food. This body has such a sweet tooth.”
“You need to be wise, Thousand Petals. I know it’s easy to give in to your cravings, but try to think about what you’re eating. In the meantime, you should take a supplement.”
Health. Such an obvious title on the bottle, it made me feel silly for asking.
“Would you like the ones that taste like strawberries or the ones that taste like chocolate?”
“Could I try both?”
And the pleasant soul named Earthborn gave me both of the large bottles.
Not very challenging. The only fear or sense of danger I ever felt came when I thought of the small cyanide pill that I always kept in an easily reachable pocket. Just in case.
“You should get new clothes in the next town,” Jared said.
“Again?”
“Those are looking a little creased.”
“Okay,” I agreed. I didn’t like the excess, but the steadily growing pile of dirty laundry wouldn’t go to waste. Lily and Heidi and Paige were all close to my size, and they would be grateful for something new to wear. The men rarely bothered with things like clothes when they were raiding. Every foray was life-or-death—clothes were not a priority. Nor were the gentle soaps and shampoos that I’d been collecting at every store.
“You should probably clean up, too,” Jared said with a sigh. “Guess that means a hotel tonight.”