Its a maze that I navigate Carmen through. She seems to be annoyed with my backseat driving. My abrupt “turn here’s”.  I could drive I had told her. She just shook her head at me like I was a kid who wanted the candy store. Part of the reason I choose New Jersey is the maze of highways. New Jersey after all is the highway state.

We stop around back of 37. I get out gun in hand. I tell Carmen to stay inside with the other gun and shoot anything that is not me. She just shakes her head like sure crazy girl sure. My feet crunch on the gravel as I walk around checking on my fail safes. The air is crisp and has that stale stench of swamps and traffic jams that is Jersey Nothing is out of the ordinary. Nothing seems out of place. The keypad registers no new fingerprints attempts. The locks have maintained that scratch free shine. Everything is in order. I climb up the side stairs to check the roof. Everything intact up here as well. I climb back down.   

Carmen is stretching her legs.

 I told her to stay in the car. The gun I gave her is on the driver’s seat. This makes me really angry. I walk over to her gun drawn. She looks up at the sky while she is stretching. I walk over to her silent on the gravel, she doesn’t even notice. With the gun in my hand I trace it slowly over her body, with her back turned she doesn’t know its me and freezes in her tracks.

I smell that familiar growing scent of her like Tide and cinnamon and something I wanted to taste. I lick her ear. She is getting uncomfortable. She does not want to turn around. She has to know its me……. I whisper in her ear. “I told you to stay in the car. I told you to shoot anything that is not me. How are you supposed to see if your back is turned toward the entrance point? How are you supposed to shoot your attacker if your gun is in the car?” I whisper in her hair. Her body is so hot to my invasive touch, with my free hand I run it over the curves of her body. She cracks her head into mine sending a yellow wave of pain and surprise into my head. I stagger back and look at her impressed. She is angry.