“Because we don’t know who they are. We have our suspicions, but we have zero proof as of now,” Dominic said. It was obvious that made him angry. Angrier than usual, at least. “These people are not to be fooled around with. They killed the guy’s father a month ago looking for that drive.”
“Great,” I muttered, falling back on the leather of the seat.
“You can always go back, you know. I’ll find another pixie,” he said, and I gritted my teeth until the need to slam my fists on the dashboard subsided.
“In case you didn’t notice, there aren’t a lot of us out here in big cities. We prefer to stick to islands,” I spit bitterly.
But the truth hurt, nonetheless. Chief Randall hadn’t picked me because of my perfect test scores or because I was doing such a great job sitting there at my desk all day. He’d simply chosen me because I was a pixie. Naive, clumsy, cute.
The need to cry burned my throat, but I focused on the taillights of the car ahead of us, and I blinked fast until the tears dried up.
“Look, you’re going to be okay, Teddy,” Dominic said after a while, fidgeting in his seat, like he was as uncomfortable to be there as I was. “I’ll be there the whole time. You’re safe.”
I’d completely forgotten what he sounded like when he talked normally. When he wasn’t sneering. When he wasn’t trying to piss me off. Just like he sounded that day we first met.
It shocked me just as much as his words did, but I gathered myself quickly.
“I might not look like much, but I am not helpless, Dominic. I never miss my mark with a gun, and I’m fast. I can fight. I can think, too, even if that might shock you,” I said bitterly, holding back another wave of tears that threatened to ruin my already bloody reputation.
“I know, Teddybear,” he whispered. “I know.”
Try as I might, I couldn’t open my mouth at all for the rest of the way. I was afraid that if I tried to talk again, I’d break out in sobs. Regret was like a knife twisting in my gut. I shouldn’t have been here. I shouldn’t have accepted this mission.
I should have never left home.
But it was already way too late.
We barely caughtthe flight at the LaGuardia Airport. We had to run through the terminal, and when we finally made it to the gates, they almost didn’t let us through.
But one look at Dominic, who said: “I’m getting on that flight one way or the other,” and the guy took our passports and pulled the red velvet rope to the side without a single word. Guess being so big and intimidating had its advantages.
We didn’t fly first class, but the economy seats weren’t all that bad. Apparently, we were on our way to San Francisco. Not that the wolf-ass told me anything, but the plane ticket with my name on it said so. I got to sit by the window, which was great, too—I loved flying. I’d only ever been on a plane on my way here from home, but the plan was to travel the world eventually, and I was going to hopefully be inside a lot of these metal birds in the future.
Excitement turned my stomach. I was actually going to California. Would I have time for exploring? Would there be days off?
How long were we going to stay there in the first place?
The more questions popped into my head, the more anxious I became. I was on my way to the other side of the country, on an undercover mission, and I had no clue what the hell I was even doing.
“Dominic.” His eyes were on the sports magazine between his hands. I doubted he was reading anything—his eyes had been stuck to the same page, never moving, barely blinking, since the plane had taken off into the sky.
“Dominic,” I tried again, and he still pretended I wasn’t there.
“I’m not going to stop, you know. You owe me answers.” I unlocked my phone and I pulled up the timer app. I kept my eyes on the changing numbers, and when thirty seconds were over, I said his name. “Dominic.”
One minute. “Dominic.”
A minute and a half. “Dominic.”
He grunted and squeezed the magazine in his hands tightly.
Two minutes. “Dominic.”
Two and a half. “D—”
“Stop.”
I turned to look at him, pausing my timer. “What’s that?”