“Thanks,” Fiona said, quickly backing away from the sunglasses store before the kid could ask any more questions. “Let’s go,” she said to Gage.
# # #
It took them roughly an hour to get to the outskirts of the city, taking a cab for the final stretch to reach the area where Josh lived. But they had to get out of the car and walk up a dirt path to find the right house. “Jesus, he must have a long commute,” Fiona commented.
Gage chuckled lightly, but inside, his stomach was churning. He usually didn’t get this nervous, and he didn’t understand why he felt like he was about to throw up. But then it hit him. Fiona. He’d never taken her on a high-stakes assignment like this before. Usually, she did all the brain work, and he did all the footwork.
“You should stay here, outside, where it’s safe,” Gage said as they walked through the tree-line, finally spotting the right house in the distance.
“Like hell,” Fiona responded, scoffing, like his suggestion was absolutely ridiculous.
“Hey, I’m serious,” Gage said, putting a hand on Fiona’s shoulder to prevent her from moving towards Josh’s house. “Things could get dicey. This isn’t a public place. He could react badly.”
“And what, you’re equipped to deal with that and I’m not? Have you forgotten which one of us escaped a mass murderer when she was a goddamn teenager?” Fiona snapped, her voice coming out harsh and loud. A second later, though, she sighed deeply and wiped a few beads of sweat off her forehead. “Sorry. That was mean.”
“No, you’re right; you make a good point,” Gage admitted. Fiona was much stronger than him. He’d never deny that. But she was also much more special, much more precious, and he’d really prefer it if she wouldn’t insist on getting involved in dangerous situations. You would think she’d had enough of that for one lifetime, but apparently not. “Please, can you just…stay here? For me?”
Fiona shook her head, her jaw clenching as she stared back at Gage, glaring at him without blinking. “It’s not going to happen, Gage.”
Gage blew out his breath in frustration. But he had to admit, she had some big brass balls, definitely bigger than his. “Alright, fine. But…be careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Well, same to you,” Fiona said grumpily, right before she began marching down the dirt path towards the house nestled in the woods.
Gage quickly followed her, the leaves underfoot crunching loudly as he ran after her. “Psst, slow down,” he hissed to Fiona, grabbing her shoulder to temporarily stop her movements. “I don’t want him to have warning that we’re coming.”
“Jeez, fine, okay,” Fiona said, scowling at him. Goddammit, Gage thought to himself. He was really fucking up today, wasn’t he? He was never going to convince Fiona to stay with him in the city if he kept pissing her off all the time.
They finally approached the front door, walking more slowly and casually, as if they were just visiting him as friendly neighbors. But Gage knocked firmly on the door, loud enough so that anyone inside the house could hear it. He waited a few moments before knocking again. “Hello? Officer Preston here from the police department. I just want to ask you a few questions.”
Bang. A shot rang out above Gage’s head, whizzing through the trees around the house. “Shit!” Gage hissed, pulling at Fiona’s shoulders. “Get down!”
“Is he shooting at us?” Fiona asked, and it was clear from both the expression on her face and the sound of her voice that she was terrified. “Jesus Christ.”
“Go run to the nearest road,” Gage whispered to her, keeping his hand on her back, feeling her heart pound through her skin and the top of her dress. “Go!”
“I’m not leaving you!” Fiona hissed back at him, right before another shot rang out, this time smacking a tree in the middle of its trunk.
“Get off my property unless you have a warrant!” a male voice on the other side of the door shouted.
“Fiona! Please! Just go!” Gage replied back before standing up to his full height and ramming the front door with all of his weight.
“What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing?” Fiona shouted. “Get down, he’ll shoot you!”
“No, he won’t,” Gage said, shoving his shoulder painfully against the front door again, this time causing the hinges to squeak pitifully as a result. “Stay down.”
“Oh, like fuck am I staying down now,” Fiona said, springing to her feet and shoving her weight against the door.