“How much understanding do you have of the real world? I don’t mean to offend. It’s a sincere question.”
“Thank you for that. I understand quite a bit,” she said. “We had to take lessons in economy and how the actual banking system works. How society worked. It’s a good thing we did because, when I was finally free, it’s one of the few ways that I could put my education to use.”
“That makes sense,” he said.
She wasn’t sure when she closed her eyes, but sitting here in the sun in the late afternoon, as he sat beside her, waiting on the steaks, she felt her eyes drift closed. She would force them open, and then they would drift closed again, and finally she just dozed. Awake, asleep, awake, asleep. Somewhere in the distance, she heard a man talking.
“No, she’s here. … I know. I know it’s a dangerous time.”
She frowned at that, opening her eyes and turning on her senses. She thought she recognized Hunter’s voice, coming off from the side. She shifted her head to look around, and, sure enough, he walked a pathway on the opposite side from where the vehicle was parked, toward a neighbor’s property. But Hunter was talking on his phone. His voice was picked up by the wind and moving for added clarity. She strained to hear, but, by then, he was too far away, until he started walking back. She tried hard to listen, but she still hadn’t healed enough to do the job properly.
“Oh, I know. I don’t want to tell her. … Yes, I know. I will. … No, I’ll let you know if anything changes. … Yeah, okay. I’ll expect him.” With that, he hung up.
She sagged back in her chair, and she wondered just what that all meant. Who had he just talked to? Was it Stefan or somebody completely different? She didn’t want to be so nervous and so worried about everything but hard not to be when it sounded like he was talking about her to somebody she didn’t know. He came up on the deck a few minutes later. She studied his energy.
He smiled at her. “You’re awake again, huh?”
She nodded slowly. “So, are we alone here?” she asked bluntly.
He nodded. “I mean, people are in other houses,” he said, motioning at the neighbors. “But we’re alone here.”
“Does anybody know where we are?”
His response was instantaneous. “Stefan.”
She let out her breath, feeling something inside her untwist. “Is that all?” she asked cautiously. And then she saw the shadow that crossed in front of his face. And inside her, everything tensed, as she waited for his answer.
“No one else knows that I know of,” he said. He gave her a bright smile. “I’ll go check on the steaks.”
She nodded, irate that he wouldn’t tell her about the phone call and now must kiss the steaks goodbye. As soon as he was inside and out of sight, she got up and walked, as if going to the bathroom, then snuck around the corner of the cabin and headed for the vehicle.
As soon as she slipped inside, she released the brake and let it roll down the driveway ever-so-slightly, enough that she could direct where it would go. Then, as soon as she hit the bottom of the driveway, she turned on the engine, circled around, and tore out of there. She had no idea where she was going; she just knew she had to get away.
She raced back to the highway, not even sure where she was, but, without a phone or any navigation equipment, it would be a case of just getting as far away as she could, as fast as she could. She hit the gas as soon as she reached the highway, putting her speed well over one hundred, going back the way they had come. She didn’t know how long it would be before Hunter noticed that she was gone or how long until he rousted a set of wheels, but it wouldn’t be very long before he was on to her. She needed to exchange his vehicle for another one soon. She drove up to where they got the groceries, then pulled around to the parking area in back and checked the glove box for money or anything of use to her.
She found a twenty stashed inside and grabbed it, then tossed the keys under the floormat, where she’d found them, hopped out of his car, and raced into the store. As she walked in, she checked out the energy, looking to see if she were being followed. Nothing was here, not even any energy from Hunter. She moved through to the other side, grabbed a big sandwich, walked through the checkout aisle, and, as she stepped outside, her hoodie pulled down low, she shuffled off to the last row of vehicles.
As she moved down, she watched one guy walk off, without locking his vehicle. As he entered the store, she waited for the electronic click to say he’d locked it, but there wasn’t one. As soon as he went inside, she moved forward, opened the door, and slid in, smiling. It took her way longer than it should have to hot-wire it, but she got it going, managed to put it in Reverse.
It was a standard transmission, which was a bit of a challenge, as she hadn’t driven one in a while, but she pulled forward and headed back out onto the highway, feeling much better. It wouldn’t be long before an APB was out for this one, and she’d be watching for cops on the lookout for a stolen vehicle, but that was a whole different story. She kept to the highway, going as far and as fast as she could, and eventually she felt herself falling asleep, so she pulled into a cheesy motel, wondering if it were safe, deciding the parking lot was probably a better deal.
She pulled in, parked the vehicle, but this shiny new edition would stick out like a sore thumb here. She checked the truck right next to her and, sure enough, found it unlocked. She crawled onto the bench seat of the old cab and crashed. She woke up when she heard noises outside, and cops were all around the parking lot. She winced because, of course, they were after the nearby vehicle she stole. Just as she opened the driver’s side door to slide out of the dilapidated truck, she was grabbed from behind and pulled up tight, as a hand clapped over her mouth.
Hunter’s voice whispered in her ear, “Don’t scream. We have to get you away from here.”
She sagged against him, then turned and shot him an angry look. He gave her a beaming smile. “Hey, a little bit of exercise is good for the soul.”
She shook her head, but he picked her up and said, “Now, you better throw your arms around me and make this look good.”
She glared at him and hissed, “Why?”
“Well, unless you want to go to jail as a car thief,” he said, “you better do what I tell you.”
She slid her arms up around his neck and burrowed her face against it. Inside, her heart was slamming. She knew he was a hunter, but this was pretty amazing. She asked, “How long did it take you?”
“About three minutes,” he said. “Long enough for me to grab the motorcycle in my garage that I keep here for dirt biking around the hills.”
She groaned, as he led her to the bike, yet was happy to see a spare helmet.
He put it on her head and said, “No funny stuff.” He got onto the front and said, “Climb on.” She slid onto the back, wrapped her arms around his waist, and he said, “Look. I know you don’t like the scenario, and I know you don’t want to be with me,” he said, “but I’m still your best chance.”
And, with that, he fired it up and pulled onto the highway.
*
Hunter deserved a damn medal. He hadn’t smacked her silly, and he hadn’t roared at her. When he saw the cops surround the vehicle that she’d somehow hot-wired and got going, he thought he was too late. The fact that she’d boosted the vehicle had shocked him because he thought, No way she’d get it running, but she had. He’d been on his bike and after her, as soon as she hit the road. He should have grabbed her there at the grocery store, but she was too far ahead, and he was afraid of making a scene and getting them both in trouble.