“Of course I do, but I’m not going to take your picture while you pretend to run through a brick wall. We need to look professional and dignified. Have Owen bring you back.”
Right. I was going to ask Owen to take me to Kings Cross just for a picture. I sighed. I’d love to do normal things with him, like traveling, picking out where to eat, or apartment shopping. Hell, I’d love to know that I could yell at him for not replacing the toilet paper. And was I really considering finding a place to live with him? Like the big bad assassin would be happy to settle down and have plants. Or pets? A little puppy, maybe. Not to mention I’d sort of like to have kids one day which would definitely send Owen running for the nearest assassin bunker.
Thinking about him made my chest hurt. What if something had happened to him and Kenny? What if they didn’t make it to Scotland? Would I go through with the plan without him? Just me and Mavis?
No. We were in this together. If he didn’t show up, I’d be hell bent on finding out why. For some reason I had this horrible feeling that he was just waiting to die, waiting to go down in a blaze of glory, and it made me sick to my stomach. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to go back to being normal after all of this, but I knew I wouldn’t manage even a fake normal without Owen to lean on.
“Have you heard from the guys?” I managed to keep my voice calm. Maybe she wouldn’t even think it was odd to ask.
“We’ll see them when we get there.” She didn’t say anything else, which I took to mean she hadn’t heard from them, not that she thought they were dead.
I watched the scenery as we drove, taking in the sights, trying to memorize street names. I’d learned that seeing distant places in movies and television shows rarely conveyed the reality of the location.
When you got to this place that you had built up in your mind from television shows or movies, you were either let down or overwhelmed. Your reaction rarely hit in the middle. Unless you went somewhere you’d never thought about visiting before. When I’d been in high school I’d gone to Ottawa. It wasn’t a place I’d ever daydreamed of traveling to, but I’d enjoyed it. There hadn’t been any big shock and awe moment and no real letdowns.
London had a lot of places that were everything that I had pictured and very few places that had been a disappointment. I’d really enjoyed most of my time in the city. Well, until I was being shot at.
Or accidently killing people with my car.
Kings Cross was another one of those places that I’d looked at online, read about in travel magazines, and looked forward to seeing. This place was in movies, books, television shows that I adored. I’d imagined a massive hub, where people were always coming and going. I’d grab a train to go see different things, maybe meet new people.
I wasn’t disappointed. People on forums had complained that the station was dingy and not very attractive, but thankfully, they had just finished a major refurbishment. The bricks looked fresh and there was a ton of natural light streaming through skylights.
Georgie had dropped us off and I’d followed behind Mavis like a good little employee. We had exactly zero problems getting on the train, which I found a bit worrisome. Either they were very lax or Mavis had greased some palms. I was willing to bet on the latter.
The pistol strapped to the small of my back felt like a blinking beacon to everyone that looked in my direction.
“Keep up, dear. I don’t want to lose you in the car. I’ll need my laptop once we’re settled.” Mavis’s voice carried back to me.
“Yes, ma’am.” I picked up my speed and stopped looking around like an idiot. I wasn’t here as a tourist today. I was here to play the part of adoring assistant.
It was unlikely that anyone was watching for us, but it didn’t hurt to be in character. The more I practiced, the easier it would become. Plus, Mavis enjoyed the charade, which made it hard to stay peppy and adoring. When she’d thrust her jacket at me to carry, I’d thought about stomping her into the ground.
She’d make a little squish sound.
Instead, I kept my head down and followed the clicking of her heels as we walked. It was difficult to keep from looking around to see if we were being followed.
The train was what I expected. Mavis had bought First Class seats, so we weren’t crowded or stuck with someone else’s arm in our ribs. We were on the single side of the car, which meant our seats faced one another and there was a small table in the middle. A window lined up perfectly with our seats and I was excited to watch the countryside slip by before night fell. We wouldn’t be making it into Edinburgh until late tonight.
“Why don’t you sleep?” Mavis set her laptop on the small table. “I have a few things to take care of and you look tired.”
“Really, Ms. Thomasino, I look tired? That’s so odd after my week at the spa.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t roll out of bed looking like a female hygiene commercial.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“I think I want to watch the scenery for a bit.” I settled back into my chair. “Unless you’d like me to help you with anything.”
“No, I’m working on stuff that has nothing to do with our current trip.” She leaned closer to her computer. “I have a book in my bag if you’d rather read.”
“No thanks, I’m good.” This conversation was eerily normal considering that we were traveling under aliases and in possession of illegal weapons.