The Things We Bury - Part 2: No Big Apocalypse [Completed]

Chapter 6: Mayfly (Part 5 of 11)

 Nikki was heading straight for the grocery store R.J. had entered moments before. She hadn't uttered a word about her rash decision. She had just sprung from the car catching Emily completely by surprise.  She was halfway across the parking lot by the time Emily caught up to her. Emily grabbed her by the shoulder but instead of slowing the other woman, the hand only served as a towline dragging her along.

"Stop," Emily said with as much command as she could manage seeing as she was being pulled like a child. "Are you trying to screw this whole thing?"

"I need to talk to him." Nikki spun around and Emily had the chance to regain her balance. "I have to explain things to him."

"Not now." Emily considered using the pistol as a bargaining chip but she didn't want to overuse it. Nikki was more manageable as a friend than a hostage. "If Max spots us, he'll never show himself. I can't get him to call it off, if I can't talk to him."

Nikki's fierceness faded and she seemed wilt in the sun bleached lot.

Despite what Lauren said, Emily was able to lie convincingly. It wasn't Maxwell she was waiting for, but Amy.

Ever since the night before, when they first put eyes on R.J., Amy hadn't been with him. At first, Emily had assumed he'd stashed her somewhere, and followed him hoping he'd lead them to her. But then the long frantic hours he spent searching the state park put a new perspective on things. The girl was out there somewhere, probably lost. Emily could just as easily start looking for her but the smart move was to stick on Blass and wait for her to show.

In the language of weaknesses, Amy's was being alone. She needed help and right now, the only one she had to help her was R.J. Amy would be doing everything in her power to get to him.

However, if Amy saw he wasn't alone, she might get spooked and stay hidden.

"Let's go back to the car," Emily said, changing the hard grip on Nikki's shoulder to a comforting squeeze.

Ever since Emily had wheedled out the truth, Nikki had been pensive and sullen. It didn't look like confession had been good for her soul. Not that Emily had expected it would be. Despite popular belief, Emily had never found that the act brought anything but trouble. Secrets were secrets for a reason and a person's guilt was best left unspoken—for the guilty person, that was. Emily was much better off now that she knew the story behind how Nikki had met R.J. and didn't regret forcing it out of her for a moment.

They had just entered New Mexico, when Emily began to suspect that Nikki wasn't on the up-and-up and pushed her for answers.

"I was hired," Nikki had admitted.

"By who?"

She had been hesitant to respond to the question. It wasn't just reluctance to admit her lies but also uncertainty of how to put it all into words. Nikki scratched at the wispy hair on the back of her neck and chewed on an imaginary bite of food as she tried to formulate her thoughts.

"I was working in this awful hash-slinging joint, yeah?" she started. "Seemed like after my restaurant shut down each job got worse and none of them lasted long. Part of it was the economy. Places kept closing. But a lot of it was my attitude. Once you're your own boss, it's hard to get ordered around by some ass who knows less than half you do. My boyfriend had just left me. I was behind on my car payments. The repo men were probably days away."

"Boo-hoo. Does this have a point?" The way Nikki flinch at her words made Emily feel slightly guilty about her rough tone but she was too on edge to give it more than a passing care. She had thought she had set off to rescue Amy with R.J.'s ex. An innocent—a civilian. Now it looked like she was sharing the car with a fucking grifter, or worse.