Locket full of Secrets (9 page)

              “Why not Cleveland?” I asked, glancing at her in my rear view mirror.

              “If they know we are going to Russia they will check there first,” she explained. “By flying out of JFK we will avoid them completely.”

              “Wait, did you just say Russia?” I asked, slowing the car as I turned to face Olena.

              “Yeah, where else would we go?” she asked, snuggling into her seat.

              “But, I don’t have a passport,” I mumbled, that being the least stressful part of the equation.

              “Another good reason to go to New York,” she noted.

              Trading a quick glance with Steven I turned down the next street and headed towards the freeway that would take us to New York by way of Pennsylvania. I was too far down this rabbit hole to jump ship now. I only hoped that when we got to the airport, Olena would clue me in on her master plan a little bit more.

              I drove for the next four hours with only the radio to keep my company. Olena had fallen asleep, or at least closed her eyes, almost immediately after I began driving. Steven tried his hardest to stay awake with me, but made it less than an hour before his adrenaline faded and sleep won the fight. There were still only a few cars on the road, which proved to lower my stress level after the incident at the gas station.

              My arm was still sore when I moved it, but it looked like Steven had provided me with some good first aid. Glancing at his wrapped hand, I could only hope it was healing as well. I found myself hoping that we would soon be sitting in a hospital getting proper care, but knowing Russia was our next destination, I chased the idea away.

              “Are you still okay to drive?” Olena’s voice floated from the back seat.

              “Yeah, I’m good,” I nodded. “Did you get some sleep?”

              “Best in a while,” Olena yawned, one hand reaching up to touch her necklace. Watching the gesture in the rear view mirror I felt a wave of guilt immediately.

              “I’m sorry I didn’t take better care of the necklace,” I apologized, still feeling bad for throwing it across my room.

              “You do not need to apologize,” Olena corrected me. “I am the one who has you running for your life. You throwing the necklace is a small thing in comparison.”

              “I guess so,” I smiled, shocked at how light I could feel while talking about something so serious.

“You really are the best friend I have ever had Claire,” Olena said suddenly. “I thought about you all the time when I was gone. It was my only regret about having to leave Ohio.”

              “But like you said, Alexi was after you and it wasn’t safe.” I shrugged. The long drive had allowed me to think through everything. Sure, I was scared right now, but Olena had been facing these killers by herself for years, and it sounded like she was holding her own in whatever battle they were caught up in.

              “That was the only thing that kept me away as long as it did,” she explained. “I was in Chicago once, and even packed my car to come see you. But then I thought about your parents and how hard it would be if they lost you. It was not worth it. I figured it was better for you to be safe in Ohio and mad at me, then hanging out with me dead somewhere.”

              “Well, we’re together now,” I smiled. “Only can we please keep the dying part out of the plan?”

              “I will do my best,” Olena promised, before adding, “although I think Steven has you covered for now.”

              Glancing at him still asleep I almost had to pinch myself. It was still so crazy to think how the last few weeks had played out. If Steven and I had not gotten close recently who knows if he would have been there to save me in the gas station, or if I would have made it all the way to Ohio without dying of blood loss thanks to my injuries.

              “So, what’s the plan?” I asked, afraid thinking about Steven too much would get me distracted from the road.

              “I’ll let you know as soon as I can,” Olena replied, still not providing me with anything.

              “Why is it so important for me to be in the dark?” I wondered aloud.

              “If you do not know anything, you cannot tell anyone,” Olena explained simply.

              “Well yeah,” I said with a shake of my head. “But I would never tell anyone anything that would get you hurt or in trouble. Not after all we have been through now.”

              “I know,” Olena nodded, a smile lighting up her face for a minute. “You would never tell people on your own. But these guys mean business, Claire. They are not above making you talk. They would torture you until they were sure you told them everything you knew. And even though you would be alive at the end of it, it would not be something you would want to remember for the rest of your life.”

              As her words sunk in I could feel a tremor in my hands. The danger I was in now was more about guns than it was secrets. I could only begin to imagine what kind of secrets Olena had that would cause these men to be after her. Opening the window a crack to get some fresh air in, I did my best to take deep breaths and stay calm.

              “Pull over, I should drive for a little,” Olena ordered, clearly seeing how shaken I was after her latest revelations.

              With the freeway clear around us I easily pulled to the side of the road and hopped out of the car. Trading places with Olena, I buckled myself in before we took off once again.

              “Hey Claire?” Olena asked quietly a few minutes later.

              “Yeah?” I asked, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror.

              “As soon as it is safe I will tell you everything,” she smiled. “I promise.”

              Nodding my head I curled up on my seat and closed my eyes. As hard as it was to trust Olena right now, I knew that she was telling me the truth. Keeping secrets from me was keeping me safe. Well, at least safer than the alternative. As much as I wanted to know more about what I had gotten involved in, it was a consolation to know I was not alone. When this was all over, Steven and I were going to need to have a lot of normal time to make up for running for our lives and breaking into my parents’ house. And Olena and I had a lot of time apart to still make up. But for now, as we approached JFK airport, I knew it was going to have to be good enough. Being in the dark was better than not being alive, and until I could have both instead of one or the other, I was just going to have to go along for the ride.

              “Amazing!” I announced as I exited the now steamy bathroom and flopped down onto the queen sized bed in our hotel room.

              “My turn,” Steven grinned, heading to the bathroom to take his turn in the shower.

              Flipping on the TV I could not help but enjoy myself. After traveling from Michigan to New York a warm shower, room service, and a comfy bed to lay on while watching MTV were exactly what I needed. We only had a little bit of time until Olena said she would return from getting everything set for our flight, so I was doing my best to take it in while I could.

              After watching a few music videos while towel drying my hair I could feel my bandage on my arm tugging at the skin underneath. As the new Britney Spears video played on the screen I decided to take a closer look. Tugging at one edge of the bandages I began unwrapping it, a little worried about what I would find underneath. As the last of the gauze and wrap fell away I could feel the gentle throb return to my arm. Some of the gauze had been a little hard to get off thanks to my dried blood on it. I should have waited for Steven, but was determined to see it before he was out of the shower. Using the gauze to clean some of the fresh blood that was now dotting my arm, I got up and moved to the mirror next to the door. The sight made me feel instantly light headed, but I pushed through, wanting to see just how bad it really was.

              Sitting on the floor and scooting closer to the mirror I took in the sight of my damaged skin. I could see a few jagged cuts where it was clear glass had entered my skin. The skin around the cuts was stained with my blood, small scratches marring my skin further. As if that was not bad enough my skin was uneven under the cuts, covered with dark blue and purple bruises. With small amounts of blood and a clear ooze leaking from the wounds to top it off, I could feel my stomach rolling, no longer satisfied by the burger and fries I had enjoyed less than an hour ago.

              Deciding I had seen enough, I was about to go back to watching TV when something caught my eye. Looking closer I noticed a small puncture mark in the crease of my elbow. The small red dot looked just like the one left after they removed my IV when I was in the hospital back in the spring. Thinking about it more I realized it could have been why I was asleep the entire time Steven was bandaging my arm and while I was carried to a different vehicle. The real question, however, was how Olena found a syringe in the simple first aid kit we picked up while stealing a new car.

              “Are you okay?” Steven asked, suddenly right beside me.

              “Yeah,” I managed, swallowing hard in an attempt to settle my stomach and clear my head.

              “Come on, let’s clean up your arm,” he said as he helped me to the chair near the TV.

I took deep breaths while he moved around the room before returning to me, his wet hair sticking to the side of his head. Using the first aid kit he purchased while I was still unconscious he began to clean up the skin and dress my wounds once more.

              “Thank you,” I paused, “for all of this. You didn’t have to come.”

              “Yes I did,” he assured me, making eye contact with me while his hands paused in their work. It looked like he was going to say more, but then thought better of it. Instead he averted his eyes back to my arm and continued his work.

              Not knowing what to say I watched as Steven’s hands gently ran over my arm, cleaning the blood, applying ointment, and then wrapping each wound. His hands worked quickly, while still never touching my damaged skin harder than needed. I noticed he was using butterflies on the deeper cuts that likely needed stitches. I only hoped they would be good enough to hold the skin together and keep infection out until I could get it looked at by a doctor. Before I knew it, my arm was wrapped once more, this time without blood spots soaking through the thick layer of gauze.