Part 1; My Same.
People, more than anything, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed- A.H
Bo Dennis has a plan.
She has dreams.
She's going to be someone in life.
By the time she's twenty one, she's going to be head of her father's mafia if it kills her. Sure, some people might think dreaming of being a mafia boss is impractical. But chances are; some people have also not slept hungry more often than they've slept full. Or been rained on for months. Or had to do despicable things just to get a roof over their heads.
So practical can go fuck itself.
She paces a bit in the room she's in. It's raining like no one's business outside. Not the kind of rain that comes with cold or anything, more like the kind that makes the world look grey and lifeless and mildly annoying. It doesn't do much to help with Bo's current mood.
It's been a long day, actually no; it's been a long fucking week. Literally nothing has gone her way. All her plans have gone to shit and she is surrounded by sheer incompetence. The likes of which have made her consider slitting her wrists more than once this week.
This is her last chance. She needs this particular trick to work. Not only is it going to earn her enough cash to sustain her for the next foreseeable future, but it's going to do great things to her standing with The Family. Prove that she is worth something, that she's not just trying to ride on her legacy. On the fact that her family has owned this mafia since its inception.
She wants to earn her way to the top.
She's going to earn her way to the top if it's the last thing she does.
"Dennis." A deep voice cuts into the silence in the room. Making her step halt and her eye brows rise. Judging by the shake in his voice, he's bloody drunk, great.
"Reign." That's not his real name. It's not even close to being its real name. Word around is that his real name is Simon or Benedict or something equally as Christian. Bo really doesn't care enough to find out.
"Sorry I'm late. Had shit to take care of." He explains vaguely as he rounds the table to sit on his comfortable looking chair, leaving Bo to sit on the sad looking one. She doesn't know why he won't just invest on something nice for his visitors to sit on, it's not like he doesn't have the money.
Once she takes over this organization, she's going to throw out literally every single cheap looking thing he's ever bought. Design it in her own way. Give the place some class. It could really use some.
"It's okay." She pastes a fake smile on her face, grudgingly taking a seat, "everything okay?"
"It will be." He pulls open a drawer and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, signaling the end to that line of conversation. Not that Bo's surprised or anything, he never really lets her in too deep on organization business. Afraid she'll overthrow him or something. She won't. She's going to rightfully earn her place on that chair.
"Damn it, where's that stupid lighter," he mumbles before banging the drawer closed. "You got a light?"
"Yeah- yeah," she hastily reaches into her pockets and takes her lighter out. It's her favourite one, used to be her father's, she got it from his things when she was sorting them out, deciding what was worth something and what wasn't. Turns out most of his things weren't worth much, all she got worth salvaging was a watch, a necklace, and this lighter.
She leans in and cups her hand over his cigarette, waiting till he takes his first drag before sitting back down.
It's silent again in the room. Reign blowing out puffs of smoke and Bo doing her best not to strangle him for wasting time that she doesn't even have.
He always does this when he has to tell someone something important. Smokes a cigarette or a cigar, depending on who he's talking to and how important the topic to be discussed is. He seems to think it adds to the air of importance around him. It doesn't. He couldn't look important if he bathed himself in it. Although he thinks different.
"I suppose someone has briefed you on things?" He asks, finally breaking the silence. Bo sits up straighter, aiming to look more important.
"Jake ran me through the plan. Yes."
"And you're sure you're up for it. It's not an easy task for- the gentler species."
"Yes. I'm sure." She answers through clenched teeth. Trying her best not to snap at him. She hopes he smokes his fucking lungs rotten. Sexist piece of shit.
"Good, good." He gives her a grin and picks a file. It's thin and probably useless. He seems to think having files on things makes him seem more serious. Honestly Bo cannot wait to take his place before he runs her father's legacy to the ground. "You should be gone and back within five days. A day more and I'll assume you're dead and pass on any of your future jobs to more deserving people. I know you know we don't have a shortage of them."
"I know how to do my work, Reign," she nearly snaps then adds a tight smile. "Sir."
He grins at her. He knows he's getting on her nerves. He lives for these kind of moments. "Of course you do. Your father's blood runs in you, does it not?"
"It does."
"Good. Then it'll do you a world of good to remember that he only died when he got too cocky. A healthy amount of humility is advised in this business, Dennis."
She clenches her fists. Feels her blood run hot and fast in her veins and she knows that if there was even a zero point zero one percent chance that she could get away with it, she would strangle him. Right on the spot. But he's still the boss and she's still under him and there are people who've sworn their very lives to protect him.
Much as killing him would be so satisfactory right now, it wouldn't go a long way in ensuring she sits on his chair one day, or that she stays alive.
So she takes in a long breath and reins in her anger. "Thank you for the advice, sir."
He smiles. "Anything for to help the younger generation. Now-"he pushes the file towards with his index finger. Like she's not worth having him do it with his whole hand or something. "Everything you need to know about her is in here. My men have confirmed that she's in there so you don't have to open the trunk. Just get her to Dolce. He takes the girl, he gives you the money. You get the money to Fidel he gives you my fair of the stash, you come home with it. Simple."
Kidnapping. Getting money from a drug lord. Taking the money to yet another drug lord and being given drugs. All with the high probability of dying if she even thinks of messing up. Yeah, real simple.
"Okay." She picks the file and stands up. No use being in his presence any longer than she actually has to.
"Dennis." He calls just as she reaches for the door knob. She rolls her eyes before turning around to find him leaning back on his chair, hands clasped behind his head, swinging this and that way like a bloody four year old. "Good luck."
She just gives him a tight smile back. She's a Dennis. She doesn't need luck.
Okay, now it's cold. Not raining, just cold.
Which is just fucking dandy 'cause she didn't even wear something warm. It will be just her luck if she dies of hypothermia before she gets to prove herself.
She flips her coat collar, wishing she had taken the red one instead. This one is old and thin and isn't really doing much to shield her from the cold. "Fucking hell." She mutters and reaches into her pocket. Almost crying from pure undiluted joy when she comes into contact with a stick of cigarette.
Sure she'll die of lung cancer or something. But she'll die fucking warm and that's all that matters.
Her hand trembles as she lights it up. Hastily putting the lighter away and taking one deep drag. Letting the smoke run into her veins, warming her up and probably killing her both at the same time. But that's okay. Her priority is to get warm now, she'll think of her health later.
She looks to the sky and lets the smoke out in pretty rings. It's late. She knows it even before she looks at the expensive watch on her wrist. The sun is almost done rising. She should have been long gone by now.
Stupid Jake. He can never be on time anywhere even if his life depended on it.
She lets out the last puff in one long line. Sighing when she's done because cigarette always leaves a foul taste in her mouth. She throws the not even half smoked stick down and crashes it under her boot, reaching into her pocket to produce a stick of minty gum.
She only has one left. Damn it, she's going to have to make a stop to buy some more. One can never live without gum.
She's just popping it in her mouth when a car, being drove by a fucking mad man, skids into a halt in front of her. It startles her so much she drops her gum. Freaking awesome.
She puts her hands into her pockets and schools her features into her most intimidating glare.
"Dennis." A man in a crisp black suit and shiny black shoes gets out of the car and walks towards her, a huge smile plastered on his face. "How's my favourite girl."
"You cost me my last piece of gum you crazy piece of shit." She completely ignores his greeting.
His smile falls. "I haven't seen you in forever and you won't even say hi to me?" He puts on a sad looking pout, "come on, give Jakey a hug."
Bo rolls her eyes, taking a step back so he knows she doesn't want his hugs. He always drowns himself in cologne. Her sinuses are already acting up from the fucking cold; she doesn't need his stench making them even worse. "I saw you yesterday you idiot."
"An hour without seeing you is an hour too long my love."
She laughs softly despite herself. He's an idiot, but he's her idiot. They've seen each other grow up. Been by each other's side through more shit than regular people will see in three lifetimes. He gets on her nerves like no one else can, but he's the only one she lets close enough to get that much under her skin.
"Let's just get this done with. I'm already halfway towards getting pneumonia 'cause you're shit at keeping time."
"I'm great at keeping time and you know it." He hugs her anyway. She doesn't hug him back, but he doesn't seem to care. Holding her tight for almost an entire minute. Her hands stay by her sides, but she lets him hug her. It's the least she owes him. "You good?"
"What part of halfway towards pneumonia do you not understand?"
"You need to invest in better coats." He moves back, holding her shoulder and looking her over like she's a damn five year old. "Yours looks like hell."
"Thanks." She deadpans.
He smiles at her and puts his arm around her shoulder. Walking them towards his car. She would shrug his arm off of her, but it's keeping her warm and it makes him happy so whatever.
"She in there?" Bo asks, looking directly at the unmoving trunk.
He nods, still holding her around the shoulder. This time she does shrug him off. His arm is getting heavy and she didn't even have breakfast today. She doesn't have enough energy to go through her day and carry his damn around.
"It looks-" she takes a moment to think her words through. "Empty."
"It's not. She's in there, I promise."
"I need to check. Make sure." She says rather abruptly.
Jake pouts, "don't you trust me?"
It's not that, it's not that she doesn't trust him; it's just that she doesn't trust anyone. More often than not, she doesn't even trust herself.
"Just open the damn trunk, Jake."
"You've broken my heart, Dennis." He takes out a bunch of keys from his coat pocket, "you've broken my heart today."
"We all have to get our hearts broken at some point, Jakey. C'est la vie."
"I don't speak Russian."
"It's French you oaf." She moves to the trunk, looking in a little wearily. There's a girl inside, blindfold on her eyes, she looks unmoving. "Are you sure she's alive?"
"Of course she's alive. Can you not see her chest rising?"
Bo looks closer. Yeah, the girl is breathing. Good. She knows Reign said not to check the trunk, but there was no way she was driving all the way to Dolce without making sure everything's as it should be. She's not stupid and neither does she have a death wish. Dolce has been rumored to have killed people for far less dire mistakes.
She takes a step back, "close it up."
"Be safe, yeah." He says, making sure the trunk is closed, "Dolce is mental, and I'm not just saying that, he is literally mental. Be careful around him."
"I'm always careful." She says dismissively. Pretending that his concern doesn't touch her. This is what they do. They care about each other while pretending not to care at all. It's their relationship and this is the only way they know how to make it work.
"Remember you owe me a drink." He steps back, looks at her thoughtfully then removes his coat. Gently draping it over her shoulders and smiling softly, his tucks his hands into his trouser pockets. "I'll be proper pissed if you die before buying it for me."
"Yeah, yeah." She puts her arms inside the coat. It smells like too much cologne and too much Jake. The scent makes her crinkle her nose and feel like smiling both at the same time. "See you around, idiot. Say hi to Karmin for me."
"Oh lord," He groans, rolling his eyes like he's in literal pain, he can be such a drama queen when he wants to be. "She'll probably slap me halfway to Asia if I tell her you said hi. Her hormones are making her insane."
"She's not insane, she's pregnant."
"Same difference." He shrugs,
She punches his arm. "You're a jerk."
"A jerk who loves you." He ambushes her with another hug. Holding her until she has no option but to hug him back. "A jerk who expects you back here, in one fucking piece, five days from now."
"You're not the boss of me."
"I'm not kidding, Dennis. You better not die. Karmin and I already decided you'll be the godmother to little Jakey."
"Little Jakey? Really?"
"Yes. It's cute and your opinion is invalid." He says haughtily.
She chuckles and pats his shoulder. "Whatever you say." She pats him one last time before reaching into his coat pockets –well, her coat pockets now, to make sure the keys are in there. Then she gives him one last smile and gets into the car.
Time to do this.
It's raining again. Which is just fucking ridiculous, this on and off rain thing is getting old. Plus it's back to being not cold so she has been forced to remove her coat. Just as well though, the thing was starting to make her smell too much like Jake and too little like her.
Things are going well. She was a little bit behind schedule back there but now she's back on track. Hasn't seen even one single filling station since she started driving but once she does she's stopping for some gum and something sugary. Her blood sugar is running drastically low and that's never good for anyone.
She's busy humming along to something poppy that's playing on the radio station when she hears the first thump.
She chooses to ignore it.
It's not that she doesn't know what it is. There's a freaking blindfolded human being in the trunk of her car, of course she knows what it is. She's just choosing to ignore it. She already broke a rule by even opening the damn trunk in the first place; she's not really in the mood to dig her grave even deeper.
But the thumping gets louder and quicker and ignoring it proves to be futile. She even increases the volume to her music but to no avail. The woman in the trunk is of the stubborn kind.
"God damn it!" She curses. Hitting the steering wheel twice and pulling over by the side of the road.
It's fucking raining and now her hair is going to look a damn mess because the freaking hostage just can't stay silent in the trunk like she's supposed to. Great, just great.
She covers her head with her arms, like that will help with anything, and runs to the back of the car, hastily popping the trunk open. The woman is still struggling.
Bo doesn't understand. They're in the middle of fucking nowhere. It's raining and the woman is blindfolded and barefoot. Where in god's earth does she even think she'll run to and how far does she think she'll get? Seriously.
"Stop that." She yells so her voice can be heard above the sound of the falling rain. The woman doesn't listen. In fact, she struggles even harder. Stubborn thing. "I said stop."
There must be something intensely intimidating in Bo's voice because she does stop this time. Her breathing heavy and ragged. Bo can't sympathize. She won't. If the woman had just stayed still and silent like she was supposed to, she wouldn't be this tired. She brought this on herself.
"Thank you." She bites out sarcastically. "Now, I'm going to close this trunk, and if you pull the shit you just pulled one more time, I will shoot you in the knees. I promise you, I will."
She doesn't expect a reply. The woman has a gag in her mouth; of course Bo doesn't expect a reply. But she does expect her orders to be heard and respected. So when she tries closing the damn trunk and the woman's bound feet come flying up, almost hitting her in the damn face, it startles her a bit. It does.
"What in the fucking hell-you could have hit me!"
She moves around like a dying fish, muffled words coming out of her mouth. Bo sighs. She needs to approach this differently.
"If-" she tries speaking, but the woman is moving around and making too much noise to hear her, so she grabs the moving feet. Which is really harder than it sounds because though she's not huge, the other woman is deceptively strong. Almost kicks Bo to the damn ground. "Settle the hell down and listen to me, god."
That does it. She stops moving. Bo heaves out a breath. "Thank you. As I was saying. If you promise not to scream your damn head off, I will take the gag out of your mouth so you can tell me what the hell it is that you want, deal?"
She nods. Well, that was actually easier than Bo expected it to be.
"Okay." Bo says, moving her hands to the back of the woman's head, "I'm removing the gag now. I swear to god if you scream it'll be the last sound you'll ever make."
Silence. She removes the gag and pulls her hand back hastily. This woman seems unhinged. Bo wouldn't put it past her to bite her hand off.
"I need to pee." Soft voice, slight accent. Kind of croaky, but Bo guesses it more from disuse than anything else.
"What?"
"What do you mean, what? I just told you, I need- to pee." She says that last part like Bo is slow. Or stupid. Or both. Which really isn't appreciated because Bo is neither.
"I can't-"
"You can't what?"
"Let you go pee. I was told not to let you out of this car under any circumstances." She wasn't told that. It just seems like a smart idea not to let a woman you're supposed to be holding hostage at the trunk of your bloody car leave your sight. And Bo is all about smart ideas.
"So what I'm I supposed to do? Pee on myself like I'm some sort of animal?"
"I don't know, okay. I don't make the fucking rules."
There's silence for a moment. Other than the rain falling, soaking Bo down to her very bones, nothing else can be heard. She's expecting a shouting match or something. So when the woman just nods, it comes as a bit of a surprise.
"I haven't had water in almost an entire day." She says finally. Bo just stares. She has no idea how that is of any concern of hers. "My urine is going to be about ninety percent ammonia right now. Are you really sure you want me to pee in this car?"
That's disgusting. Bo scrunches her nose. "You have to promise not to run."
"I won't." She answers hastily. Too hastily for Bo to even think of believing her.
"You know what, I think I need to pee too. I should come with."
"I told you I won't run."
"It's either we go together or you cover yourself in ammonia, your choice."
"I hate you." She mutters. Bo doesn't care. She just maneuvers them so the woman is on her shoulder. Yelling over the rain. Bo wishes she'd just stay still, she's heavy as it is without moving around and depleting all of Bo's already drastically low energy levels.
"Yeah, yeah." Bo just mutters.
She expects for the woman to go back into the trunk peacefully when they're done. She really doesn't know why she expects this, now that she thinks of it. It seems rather unrealistic.
"You're just going to leave me here?" She asks when Bo deposits her back into the trunk.
"Yes." Bo answers carelessly, looking around for the gag.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? That's where I fucking found you."
"It's raining, you know." She points out rather randomly. She does that a lot. Jumps randomly from conversation to conversation. Bo doesn't have the energy or the time to try deciphering where on earth she's going with this.
"I'm the one being soaked into my early grave, so yeah. I'm pretty certain I'm aware that it's raining."
"The rate of accidents rises when it rains. Something about not being able to see clearly or maybe wanting to get home faster and cuddle with loved ones, who knows." Bo stops her search to look at her. She wishes she could see into her eyes. It's easier to determine if someone is mental by looking in their eyes.
"Good to know." She says shaking her head. She should just find that damn ball gag, make her quiet and get this whole thing over and done with.
"Higher accident probability rates means higher number of police on the roads. The government doesn't like it's citizens dying you know. It's not good for the economy."
There's a smug smile in her voice. Bo's eyes narrow. "What are you on about?"
"We're going to run into cops. It's a given. And if you put me in here, I am going to make more noise than you've ever heard in your life. I'd like to see how you'll explain having a bound, gagged, blindfolded woman in the trunk of your car."
Bo clenches her fists, counts to ten and from ten to keep herself from strangling this woman. "I should have let you drown yourself in fucking ammonia." She spits out.
The woman just gives her a smile.
"There are rules to sitting inside this car." Bo is at the back seat, her bag open, fumbling to open her buttons and get out of these cold clothes. There's no way she's driving all the way to Dolce's while trembling. No way.
"It's a nice car." The woman compliments from her seat at the front.
Bo rolls her eyes. "It's not my car. I don't care. Now, rules." She finally manages to get the damn shirt off. Rolling it into a ball and throwing it on the seat. It's not like anyone is going to be seating there anyway. "You don't talk in this car. You don't touch the radio in this car. You don't touch anything in this car. Understood?"
No answer. Bo narrows her eyes. She just saved the woman from spending an unspeakable amount of hours in a trunk and this is how she repays her.
"I know you heard me." She says a little louder than she has to.
The woman's head pops on the space between the two front seats. Her mouth shut. Bo's eyes practically become slits. "Are you mocking me?"
She shakes her head. Still not talking. Bo feels like she has fumes coming off her ears. She's too cold and too hungry for this kind of shit. "Then talk to me!"
"You said not to." She says finally. Bo stares blankly. "Talk," the woman explains. "You said not to talk in this car."
Oh. Yeah. Bo said that. "Fine. Change of rules. You don't talk in this car unless you have to."
"Okay," she nods. "I have something to say.'
"No." Bo says without even thinking about it. Wiggling out of her jeans and reaching into her bag for fresh, dry, black ones.
"But you said I could talk if I have to."
"I meant to say you could talk when talked to. Speak when spoken to or however it is that saying goes."
"But that's not what you said." She points out, like she hasn't heard a word Bo just said. "You said I could speak if I have to. And now I do. You can't just change the rules because you feel like it." She sounds a little pissed. Bo doesn't get why. They're her rules, she can change them if she wants to, whenever she wants to.
"Fine. What do you want?"
Her face lights up like she wasn't upset just five seconds ago. What a strange girl. "Could we stop somewhere and eat? And maybe take a shower? I haven't had one in days. A shower I mean. I probably stink."
No she doesn't. And if she does, Bo can't tell. And normally, Bo would say no. This woman is her hostage. Bo doesn't owe her anything. In fact, she's putting her damn life on the line, just having her seated up front.
But- Bo's hungry. She' been hungry for hours. It wouldn't hurt to eat.
"Fine."
"Really?" She sounds disbelieving. Like she wasn't expecting Bo to say yes. "Thank you." She smiles, then seems to think of something else. "You know, for a criminal. You're not half bad."
Yes she is. Bo is the baddest. She's going to be the youngest Mafia Boss in the history of The Family's existence. She's the criminal to out criminal all other criminals. But she doesn't really have the time to explain that, so she lets the woman think whatever it she wants to think.
Not that they're going to be together long enough for it to matter what she thinks anyway.
Bo leaves the woman bound and locks all the doors before she goes to the store and gets them food. She's not stupid, and she has trust issues the likes of which haven't been heard of, there was no way she was going to let the woman out of that damn car.
She comes back with burgers and cola and three bottles of water.
"Here." She throws one bottle on the woman's lap. "There's your bath."
"This is half a liter of water." She points out like Bo's stupid. Like she's not the one who bought the fucking water in the first place. "How on earth I'm I supposed to do anything with half a liter of water."
"Figure it out." Bo unwraps her burger and places both her feet on the dashboard, leaning back in her seat and taking a huge bite off her the burger. God, she was so hungry.
"I take back what I said about you being a good criminal. You're the worst."
Bo just smiles at her with a full mouth. The woman groans before jumping to the back of the car.
Bo doesn't know what the hell possessed her to give the girl her clothes. Probably because she didn't want her catching a cold before they get to Dolce. She doesn't think the man will accept broken goods. And Bo rather likes having her head attached to her neck.
Yes. That's why she lent the woman her clothes, self-preservation. It had nothing to do with the fact that the woman was freezing her ass off and Bo felt sorry for her. Because Bo doesn't feel sorry for people. It's just not something she does.
She occupies herself with texting Jake while the woman does her business. She tells him she messed up real bad, she just doesn't tell him how she messed up real bad. She loves Jake. But Jake loves alcohol and alcohol loves making Jake's tongue loose. A couple of drinks in him and he'll be blurting out Bo's screw up to Reign.
She can't have that.
"Would you happen to have some lotion?" The woman asks from the back, making Bo halt in her texting. She throws her wet dress to the front of the car, almost hitting Bo in the face. This woman is on a mission to blind her, Bo's now convinced of this.
"I'm not a fucking cosmetic store." She grabs the dress and throws it on the passenger seat, cursing under her breath over how ungrateful people can be. "And hurry, we're already an hour behind schedule."
There's silence for a moment. Sounds of clothes being worn the only sound in the car. Bo waits a bit for Jake to text back, and when he doesn't, she locks her phone and puts it in her back jeans pocket.
When the woman makes her way back to the front, she's wearing Bo's sweat pants. Usually, they're a little big on Bo. But she's practically drowning in them. She's also wearing Bo's T. Shirt and over sized hoody. The latter being so big it covers her palms. Her still wet hair is in a bun. She looks smaller than she did before.
"Where's my food?"
Boo throws a burger on her laps. The woman arches a brow at Bo. "I don't get cola?"
"No." Bo answers easily, balling up her wrapping paper and throwing it out her window before licking her fingers clean and getting ready to get on with her journey. She's so behind schedule it's not even funny.
"Just as well," the woman shrugs. "Carbonated drinks do repulsive things to your liver. You'll probably die a few years earlier than you're supposed to just for drinking them."
"You'll probably die a few days earlier than you're supposed to if you don't shut up."
As soon as the words leave Bo's mouth, she feels like cringing. Everyone knows Dolce. Everyone knows what he does to the girls he gets, everyone knows the girls' fates once Dolce gets his hands on them. It's no secret. Everyone knows. And this woman, whatever her name is. She seems resigned to her fate. It was mean of Bo to remind her of it when she clearly didn't have to.
But it's not like she's going to apologize. She doesn't do apologies.
The woman throws her not even touched burger on the dashboard and looks out her window, arms crossed.
Bo frowns. "Are you not going to eat that?"
"Not hungry." She answers shortly. Her voice tight and upset.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? The only reason I made this bloody stop is because you begged me to."
"I changed my mind okay? You change yours every five minutes. I'm allowed to change mine too."
"I didn't just get these burgers you know? I bought them. With my money."
"Well you benefited the economy, your country thanks you. I'd like to sleep now. Thanks."
Bo's eyes are practically just lines on her face now. She wonders if this woman knows she's a hostage. She wonders if maybe she should remind her.
Then she remembers that this whole mood thing is her fault and she sighs.
It's going to be a long ride.
The ride is silent. And normally Bo likes silence. People talk a lot and most of the time all they say is either nonsense or things Bo doesn't care to know.
But this particular silence she doesn't like. It's stifling, loud. She can hear the woman's soft snores, the sound of the car moving, the rain falling softly now. She can hear too many things that she's not very sure she wants to hear.
At one point, she thinks the woman is going to talk to her. She wakes up and looks around, her eyes sleepy and unfocused until she lands on the burger that Bo intentionally left on the dashboard. For a moment, Bo thinks she's going to take the burger. Swallow her pride and just go for it. But then, the woman shakes her head, like she's literally talking herself out of it and grabs a bottle of water instead.
Bo wants to tell her she's being stupid. That if she's starving herself on principle that she's not eating or drinking anything that Bo bought, then she shouldn't be drinking the water either. Bo bought that too.
But she's already dug her grave deep enough. No use digging it even deeper.
She makes a stop sometime around midnight. She's hungry and although the rain has finally let up completely, it's cold as fuck. She couldn't drive any longer even if she wanted to. Which she doesn't. She's tired and hungry and she needs sleep.
She's only a few hours behind schedule after all.
She can make up for it tomorrow.
She looks at her- hostage? Whatever she is. She's sleeping soundly, her palms laced together, resting under her cheeks. Her breaths even, her lips slightly parted. Bo knows she's hungry. She wishes she wouldn't starve herself. If she happens to die, Dolce will do unthinkable things to Bo. She's sure of it.
She sighs and moves the burger so it's directly in front of the woman's line of sight. She hopes when she wakes up again, she'll eat.
Then she covers herself with Jake's coat and sleeps too.
The first thing Bo's mind registers when she wakes up, is that there's an arm wrapped around her stomach. It's heavy and warm and it's, unexpected.
She has mind to throw it off of her. Unwelcome physical contact isn't something she happily tolerates. But then her eyes land on the dashboard and she sees that the burger is missing. There's a wrapper where it was and an empty bottle of water.
She doesn't know why she feels like smiling.
She closes her eyes and goes back to sleep.
When she wakes up again, it's to something heavy on her chest. Soft breath covering her skin. She blinks sleep off her eyes, trying to get up but not being able to fully do so because there's someone lying on her chest.
She looks down at the head full of blonde hair and sighs. She should have dealt with it when it was just an arm.
She sits there for a moment. Just sitting there. Any other day, she would have thrown the woman off of her without a thought. But she was already a big enough jerk yesterday; she doesn't want to make things worse. They're going to be spending the better part of the week together. Getting along, or even pretending to, would be nice.
She sighs and runs her fingers through her hair before bringing her hand down and patting the woman's shoulder. "Hey." She says softly, her voice still raspy and sleep laced. She must have slept for less than four hours honestly.
She's going to be so cranky today. She can already envision the immense amount of fights she'll get into today. Especially with the girl on her chest. Sleep deprivation doesn't do wonders to her already short temper.
"Hey," she shakes her a little harder. She wishes she knew her name. She would respond easier if she called her name. Bo's sure. "Wake up." She says again.
The woman groans, moving in such a way that all her hair is in Bo's face. She really is trying to blind her.
Almost unwillingly, the woman moves away, rubbing sleep off her eyes and blinking slowly. She mumbles something that sounds like a hi or something. But it's too mixed with a yawn for Bo to tell.
"You drooled on me."
"I don't drool." Her voice is raspy, lower than it was yesterday. She fixes the hoody she's wearing and reaches for the half empty bottle of water. Passing it to Bo after she takes one gulp.
Bo takes it without question. She swishes some in her mouth before lowering down her window and spitting it out.
"What?" She asks when she finds the other occupant of the car looking at her strangely. "Morning breath sucks."
"You're disgusting." She shifts in her seat so she can be comfortable. She places one of her feet on the seat and leaves the other on the floor. She places her chin on her knee, and looks out the window.
Bo wonders if she's still upset. She took the burger. Bo thought they were on the same page on the burger being an olive branch of sorts. Turns out they weren't.
Bo sighs and starts the car, silence reigning again. She hopes she sees a diner somewhere. Food always makes people mellow out.
It's almost a whole half hour before Bo sees a diner. She almost cries with joy. The silence was driving her out of her mind.
"I'm going to tie your hands and legs and go get us breakfast. Anything special you want?" She's already looking at the back for the ropes. She's pretty certain she put them back there.
"Anything?" Her voice is reedy, sickeningly sweet. Bo finally finds the ropes and sits back on her seat.
"Yes. Anything."
"And I can choose right after you tie me up like an animal?" Her voice is still high and sweet. A wide smile on her face. Seems like they're still fighting then. Great.
"You do know that I could have left you in that trunk, right? We haven't met a single cop since we started this journey." Bo reminds her, reaching for her arms. She's hungry and they have a long day ahead of them. If they have to argue, they can do it while Bo ties her arms. Multitasking and all that good stuff.
"Just cause we haven't doesn't mean we won't. Don't touch me." She practically hisses the last words out. Smacking the rope right out of Bo's hand.
Bo groans, holding back the intense urge to curse until she can't breathe. "Calm the fuck down before I throw you right back into the trunk."
"Try and I'll scream bloody murder I promise you."
It's not an empty threat. Bo can see it in her eyes that she'll do it. This is what she gets for being so fucking nice in the first place. She should have never opened that stupid trunk.
"Look," she says in her most conversational tone. You attract more bees with honey after all or however it is that saying goes. "I'm hungry, and I'm tired, and the amount of sinful things I would do just to get my hands on a cup of coffee right now is starting to worry me." The woman's lip looks like it's twitching but her eyes remain blank so Bo doesn't know if she's getting to her or not.
Still, she soldiers on, "so, just let me tie you up so I can be sure that you won't run while I go get us breakfast and maybe a pair of toothbrushes and toothpaste cause I swear a fucking hedgehog died in my mouth while I was asleep."
A whole five seconds or so pass where Bo thinks the woman will ignore every single thing she has just said and Bo will be forced to chloroform her out of consciousness. Which would be really sad, Bo was looking forward to this being a completely drug free trip.
But just as she's about to give up hope, the woman stretches her arms out to Bo. All on her own. Willingly. Bo tries to hide her surprise as she ties her up. She also tries being as gentle as she possibly can. The metaphorical boat that they're sailing in seems to be relatively smooth sailing at the moment. She would hate to tip it.
"You're sure you have no special requests?" She asks when she's done. Giving the woman one last chance to have whatever she wants for breakfast.
"Anything's fine." Even though she let herself be tied up, she doesn't look very happy about it. Not that Bo blames or anything. She would have found it weird is she was okay with it.
"Okay." Bo considers giving her a small smile but then decides against it. They're not friends. Just because they shared a moment of understanding doesn't mean they're now the best of friends.
She makes sure to lock the car doors before she leaves.
She won't be long in the diner, but you can never be too sure. There's nothing like being too safe after all.
Her phone rings just as she's pushing the diner door open.
Jake.
"What." Is the answer she chooses to go with.
"What the fuck did you do?"
"Are you high? I haven't done anything."
"You texted me three times yesterday telling me you're in shit, Bo. You never text me unless you've fucked up proper. What. Did you. Do?"
"Why are you whispering?" She asks to buy herself time. She knew those texts will come back to bite her in the ass.
"Karmin. She says my voice sounds like dying whale and if she hears me talk she'll stab me in the eyes." He answers; sounding like he might cry and Bo can't help but laugh. "Laugh it up, Dennis. You'll be in my shoes someday."
"No I won't." She answers confidently because it's true. She'll never have brats. They're loud and annoying and will need you to take care of them for more than a fucking decade. She has bigger plans in her life than taking care of brats.
"That's your business, I don't care. Now stop evading my question. What the fuck did you do?"
"I opened the trunk." She blurts out without even thinking. It's just, it's at the forefront of her mind. She messed up big time, she knows she messed up. She doesn't do that often, mess up. She has plans and dreams and they need her to be meticulous and precise in everything that she does and to not, ever mess up.
"Of course you opened the trunk." Jake whispers finally. "I was there when you opened the trunk, Bo. This is not news to me."
"No I- I mean later. When I was alone, I opened the trunk again."
"Oh my god, Dennis. Did you lose the fucking hostage?" He whisper yells.
Bo rolls her eyes and cups the phone, orders her meal to go. Coffee and bagels for her. And the same for Lauren, just with added bacon because she feels like the woman could do with some protein. Then she puts the phone back on her ear. "No I didn't lose the hostage you fool. I just- I opened the trunk."
"And then what?" He sounds scared. He sounds like someone who'll blurt out every single word she says to him at a later date. He sounds like someone she can't trust no matter how long she has known him.
"And then nothing, okay?" She mouths her thank you and picks her food, "I was just scared that she might be dead or unconscious or something so I opened the trunk to check. Saw she was fine. And that was it."
She's lying right through her teeth and she's not even sorry. Lying is as much a part of this business as breathing is a part of life.
Jake is silent for a while. He doesn't believe her. She's not surprised, he'd be stupid to believe something just because she said it. She lies a lot they both know she does. It's more of a defense mechanism than anything at this point. Chooses what truths to say and which ones to spin into something that vaguely resembles a lie so as to keep herself out of trouble.
It's just a thing she does. Nothing personal. And he knows it's not personal. He also knows there's no way he can verify her story and his best option is to believe her, even if he doesn't.
"Fine," he says finally. "Call me later, yeah?"
"Yeah." She won't. He knows she won't. But it's cute that he pretends like he thinks she will. It's nice, having someone in the world to pretend for you even when they know better.
"Be safe Dennis."
"I always am."
It takes longer to get the toothbrushes and toothpaste and water than it did to get the food. The woman at the store is old and slow and Bo makes sure to glare at her before she leaves the store.
her hostage is still in the car, which is good. And she's still tied up, which is great. And she's talking to some child through the space on the window that Bo made sure to leave so the woman doesn't suffocate, which is, not very good.
This is what Bo gets for being so nice. She should have locked all the windows, let the woman breathe her own stale air for a while.
"What's going on here?" She asks, unlocking the door and throwing the bag of food and the other bag of everything else she bought inside the car.
"You're back," she finally notices Bo's presence. Her eyes wide and lighter than they were when Bo left.
"And you're talking to people you shouldn't be talking to. Who even is that?" Bo closes her own door shut and straps her seat belt. They need to leave here. She'll make another stop so they can eat and clean their mouths.
"Oh," the woman looks at her, "this is Rogue. Her parents left her and now she has nowhere to go."
"Sad." Bo says dryly and groans when the damn car beeps to indicate that the passenger should put their safety belt on. She leans into the other woman's personal space and secures her safety belt for her. "That's really sad. We'll pray for her." She fiddles a bit with the controls, makes sure they have enough fuel, then decides they're ready to go. She wasn't even gone half a fucking hour and the woman already got them a brat. Lord.
" We'll pray for her? That's all you have to say?" The woman asks incredulously, fixing Bo with the most unimpressed look she has ever seen.
"Did you expect me to say more?" Bo genuinely wants to know. She doesn't know this kid. And it's sad and all that she has a hard life or whatever, but Bo has things to do. And does not have even close to enough time to do them. Minding other people's business isn't really something she has time for.
"We can't just leave her here!"
"What do you mean we can't leave her here? We found her here. And that's exactly where we're going to leave her."
"You can't be serious."
Bo is. Bo is very, very serious. She really is.
"Look at her." The woman points out the window at the child with both her tied hands. She looks ten, maybe eleven, the kid. Torn clothes, dirty hair, crestfallen look on her face. She also looks like she could use a burger. "We can't leave her. We won't."
"This isn't the pick up -the- random-orphan automobile, okay? You're not my driving buddy and you and I aren't taking a vacation. You're my hostage. I'm on a job. And we have no space for strays."
There's silence in the car after Bo's outburst. The other woman looks like she's going to slap Bo. Her brown eyes flaring and her breath coming out so fast and so hard Bo can actually hear it.
"I'll tell." She says finally, her voice too calm to be anything but scary.
Bo arches a brow in confusion. "What?"
"Dolce, I'll tell Dolce that you opened the trunk. That you let me out and talked to me."She narrows her eyes, a strangle little smile playing at the corner of her eyes. "I reckon you'll look really good headless."
Bo's heart stills momentarily. "You're bluffing."
"Am I?"
"You are."
"Fine. Leave this poor, hungry child by the side of the freaking road where just about anyone can find her and do anything they want to her and find out just how much I'm not bluffing."
This is why you shouldn't be nice to people. This right here is why niceness and kindness and all that other hipster shit are grossly overrated. People will always turn on you no matter how nice you are to them. It's just human nature to fuck each other over.
"What the fuck are we supposed to do with a child? Where will we even take her?"
"We'll think of something. She says she has family in Middlestone. It's not that far from here."
"I don't have time to go search for some random family in Middlestone!"
"If you like your head on your shoulders and not on Dolce's living room display, you'll make time."
Bo could kill her, right this moment, she could strangle her with her bare hands. But then that wouldn't go down so smoothly with Dolce. So she just grits her teeth and keeps her temper in check. Then she unlocks the back door.
The woman smiles and turns to the child. "Get in." She says softly. The little girl's face lights up as she scrambles to get into the car. Like she's afraid she'll be told not to if she takes too long.
"Thank you miss." The child, Rogue, says rather timidly once she's inside. Her eyes moving all around the car like she's never been inside one before. "Thank you so much."
"It's no problem." Bo's companion turns around to say. A small, gentle smile on her face. "And you can call me Lauren."
For Tracee, who is probably the most patient, most understanding human I've ever known. And who I still owe so much more than just this.
P.S. I'm Reworking the rest of my work. If you've noticed, my writing style has changed a bit. It's not more detailed- I hate details- just a tighter narrative style. Which I quite like and I think it would be awesome to see how my other stories would look, written like this. It's quite selfish of me, and I know many people are waiting for updates. I apologize. But between school and writing an original, time gets away from me. But I'll try updating something soon.