Matteo called him back in when they were dressed in jeans and sweatshirts again. He’d wrapped a length of bandage from a first aid kit Marie found in the glove box around his leg. It wasn’t much, a graze, but it was still bleeding a little. Hopefully, it would stop soon, she thought as Anton got back into the car.
“Right then, we’re going to Canada,” he said as he stared out of the window, the orange glow of morning already brightening the horizon. “Everything alright with the car, Anton?”
“Looks like a bit of body damage but I don’t see anything that will cause a problem. It’s mainly in the back end on the hatch.” Anton, who’d been dressed all night and hadn’t needed to change shut his door and settled into his seat. “I think the car will be fine. We should make it to Canada, no problem.”
Marie was nervous; too nervous to sleep, too nervous to stay awake. Matteo saw her struggling and pulled off at an all-night gas station. He filled up the SUV, while she and Anton got them all coffee and some snacks, then they were back on the road.
Anton’s phone rang a half-hour later and he answered. They could hear him talking but not what the caller said.
“That was the police. They wanted to know why we left. I told them someone had set the house on fire and when we went outside, shots were fired at us. They still want to talk to us.” He knew they’d heard his side but repeated it all so it made sense this time.
“Fuck that, we’re going to Canada. Pay the owner whatever he wants and send him my apologies. I didn’t mean to get their cabin burned down.” Marie could hear the guilt in Matteo’s voice, but it wasn’t his fault either. She put her hand on his thigh and squeezed to let him know he wasn’t alone.
“Will do, boss.”
“Thanks. Then, find out how the fuck they found us.”
“I’m guessing they looked for me. Someone must have noticed I was gone and figured I’d left with you. I wasn’t trying to hide where I was by not using my debit or credit cards, which was stupid of me. I take full responsibility.”
“No, don’t blame yourself, Anton,” Marie started, and Matteo instantly agreed.
“We weren’t sure about that, we talked about it, remember? We thought they’d take a lot longer to notice you were gone too. Damn, they’re sneaky bastards.” Matteo gripped the steering wheel harder, then took a sip of his coffee. “Marie, I suggest you put your headphones on, find something to listen to, and get some sleep. This will take a few hours.”
“Around three, boss,” Anton said from the back seat. “There’s a place called Creston, in British Columbia, just across the border. Looking for hotels now.”
“Great. We’ll stop as soon as we get over the border then. When we get there, Marie, just answer their questions politely and smile at them. We’re traveling around and wanted to head over to Vancouver for a visit. Just a trip for pleasure for a week, then we’re headed back home. Anton, make reservations on my phone for somewhere in Vancouver, two rooms, use that credit card that we have in my dead uncle’s name.”
Marie wasn’t really paying attention, but she saw him wince when he said that part about the credit card. It didn’t bother her, she never knew her father - his uncle by marriage. It was a good idea, to keep a credit card in someone’s name that wasn’t theirs, she thought. She tried to get some sleep, but her head kept banging against the window, or her feet would get cold, even with the heat on. So she spent most of the drive staring out of the window as an audiobook played in her ears.
At one point, she heard the back window open and then close not long after. “Burner phone’s gone, boss.”
“Good idea. We’ll figure out how to talk to them later if we have to. For now, I’d rather keep us out of it.”
When they reached the border, the Canadian border patrol guy was friendly. He chatted with them, checked their passports, then let them through without a lot of questions. Anton had mentioned the bullet holes in the back might draw some attention, but Marie suspected the guy just wanted to get back into the building where it was warm so ignored those.
They arrived in a place called Creston just as the sun came up. It was a small town, neat and tidy, with a huge mountain in the background. Marie watched as the fog began rolling down the massive thing in the distance. It was amazing and she liked the look of the town. It wasn’t a massive city like Vancouver, but more like her kind of place. Quiet, with enough shops that you could find whatever you needed, and full of people that were smiling, even at the early hour they arrived at.
The motel they decided to stop at wouldn’t let them check in until 11 am, so they drove around until they found a café that served breakfast. In quiet, they ate the meals they’d ordered, drank a few cups of coffee, then left after paying with the same dead man’s credit card.
Marie’s back hurt, her legs felt like they were frozen solid, and her eyes felt like they were full of sand. She looked over at Matteo and wanted to cry.
“By the time we get some supplies, fill up the car, and get back to the motel, we can check in to our rooms.”
She smiled gratefully and walked with the men when they stopped at a grocery store. She found some antibiotic ointment and more bandages for his leg, and some pain relievers in case he got a fever. And for the headache that made it feel as if her eyes were pulsing with her every heartbeat.
“I feel like we haven’t slept in days,” Marie said when they were finally allowed into the room. It wasn’t anything near like she knew Matteo was used to, it was a cheap motel, but it was clean and tidy. She went directly to the bed and slid in between the covers. She didn’t care if Matteo had paid for the most expensive room, the one with a huge hot-tub, or that it was the middle of the day, she needed to sleep.
“You rest, babe. I’m going to talk to Anton,” Matteo said softly, but he stopped when she sat up a little.
“You need to sleep, you both do. We’re safe for now, come get some rest.” She held the covers up - a white sheet, a fuzzy pink blanket, and a tacky pink and blue floral bedspread - to invite him in.
“I will in a bit, I just need to talk to him. It’s fine, really.” He kissed her forehead then left the room.
She’d cleaned up his leg again at a gas station before they crossed the border. She’d put a new bandage on it, but she still thought he needed to stay off of it and rest. He wouldn’t listen, though. She was too tired to fight him, she decided, and pulled the covers up over her head. She’d change the bandage later, add the antibiotic ointment, and make sure he rested. After she had a little nap, just a little one. That’s all.
Hours later, when the sun had set and the room was dark, she heard Matteo and Anton talking. She hadn’t wanted to sleep so long, she’d be awake all night now, but she felt rested at least. When she realized what they were talking about she went still and tried to even out her breath.
“I think it’s Celeste, which is why we’re using that card. She doesn’t know about it because she doesn’t bother the accountant. As long as the money’s coming in, she doesn’t care about anything else. It’s been open since the day he died.”
“Strange how they didn’t cut that one off, after he died, I mean,” Anton mused. They were at a tiny table in the corner with cups of coffee, away from the tiny dresser with the flatscreen TV sitting on top of it. The hot tub was in the space where the other double bed would normally be.