He strolled over and stopped a few feet from my window. He didn’t say anything at first; his eyes locked on mine longer than what felt comfortable. It was as if he were assessing whether I would crumble under his scrutiny.
I didn’t.
“Yeah, I’m Drico,” he finally confirmed, the gravel in his voice matching the hard lines of his face.
“Then I’m Ajori,” I responded, steady, refusing to flinch or look away.
He gave a short nod. “You’re on time. Last girl used to have me out here waiting damn near ten to twenty minutes every run.”
“Good thing you got an upgrade, then,” I quipped. “I’m respectful of people’s time… mine and everybody else’s.”
For a split second, a flicker of a smirk graced his lips, an expression of approval that caught me off guard.
Drico nodded, satisfied, and turned back toward the Tahoe.
The second his back was turned I exhaled a quiet breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Moments later, he returned with a heavy black duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Even from the confines of my car, I could see the bulk and weight of it—an unmistakable indication of the seriousness of the operation.
Without a word, he popped my trunk and placed the bag inside with the ease of someone who had done that many times before. He then closed it and moved back to my window.
“Alright. You’re good to go.”
Drico studied me anew, his eyes narrowing just slightly, like a hunter gauging the resolve of his prey.
“You nervous?”
I shrugged, adopting a nonchalant demeanor. “Should I be?”
That response elicited a small huff of laughter from him, a sound both surprising and somewhat reassuring.
“Nah. But the ones who aren’t nervous at all usually don’t last.
I tilted my head slightly. “Good thing I’m somewhere in the middle.”
His smirk came back. “Yeah… you gon’ fit right in.”
Drico stepped back, his demeanor shifting back to serious as he nodded toward the exit.
“Straight to the drop point… no stops.”
His eyes lingered on me a moment longer, as if assessing my worth.
“Based on this meeting, you could very well be our next…” his words trailed off for a second, “ reliable asset… one of the ones we don’t have to watch twice. This is based on first impression, though. Don’t prove me wrong.”
Reliable asset?
I managed a confident simper. “I don’t make a habit of being anyone’s problem. So you probably won’t need to watch at all.”
He chuckled lightly then gave the hood of my car a light tap, sealing our unspoken pact.
“It was nice meeting you. Until next time.”
“We’ll see.”
Drico cracked that smirk once more, tipped his head slightly in farewell, then climbed back into the Tahoe. With barely a sound, he pulled out of the lot, the taillights vanishing into the night like a phantom.
I sat there a moment longer after his departure, before I revved the engine and drove into the unknown.