My mind had clicked into gear. I’d grabbed my purse and asked Janelle to watch the desk while I went to the bathroom. Then I’d speed-walked to the back room and ran to the door that spit me out into the alley behind the salon. The old car that I’d paid cash for was there waiting for me. My go-bag was in the trunk with all the money I’d saved while working at the salon, along with clothes and a few other essentials.
I had pointed my car toward Kansas City and the bus locker that held everything I needed to start over. But less than an hour from my destination, my car slid off the road. Now it sat sideways in a ditch, stuck in the snow. Black ice and my exhausted brain had landed it there. I’d been lucky to get up to the road before my clothes could become completely soaked through with the snow. Unfortunately, the trunk had been crunched enough that I couldn’t get to my go-bag.
This morning, I’d been living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Now I was somewhere in the middle of Missouri, on an empty backwoods highway in the dead of night.
I didn’t know what time it was, but it had been dark for hours. My phone was in the dumpster behind the salon, the SIM card snapped in half and tossed along the side of the road a couple miles out of town. It had to be left behind just like everything else. I would need to use another name, like so many times before. Nothing traceable would go with me. I had planned to abandon my car as soon as I had the new ID and cash from the locker. So even if it were found by the police, it wouldn’t do them any good. I’d left behind my license, passport, and all traces of Maggie Lawrence, just like I had with Claire Maguire, Jenny Tolman and Emily Chandler.
This time though, my departure was even more panicked than all the times before. None of my father’s people had ever gotten this close in the past four years. Plus, this was Silas. He was my father’s favorite pit bull—and a police officer. One of New York’s finest—so long as you ignored the bloodlust and corruption.
I looked up to gauge how much progress I had made. The tree didn’t look any closer. Was I even moving? Glancing down at my feet, I realized that each step moved me forward only a couple of inches. Perhaps I’d be better off just sitting down. But the ground looked icy and hard, so I kept shuffling, my small purse bouncing against my leg with every step. It was important to keep moving, right? Wasn’t that what I had decided?
A hazy light flickered at the edge of my vision and I blinked, afraid I might be on the verge of fainting. The light grew steadily brighter, casting my shadow in front of me, and I realized it must be headlights coming from behind. I turned and stumbled into the road. Maybe that was idiotic of me, but it seemed the best way to ensure that the car would stop.
The headlights were all I could see, and they slowed as they came closer, then stopped. I blinked against the harsh light but could only stand there and wait.
A door opened.
“Miss?” a male voice called. His silhouette hurried toward me. He came right up to me and ducked to look me in the eye. He was tall and probably in his twenties. “You all right, miss?” He gave a little shake of his head, grimacing. “No, you’re not all right; you’re freezing.” He stripped off his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders, then yanked off his stocking cap and pulled it onto my head.
Oh, sweet warmth. I said thank you. Or at least I thought it. The words never made it to my mouth.
“Let’s get you in the car. I’ll take you where you need to go.” He put his arm around me, propelling me forward. I managed only a lurching step or two. “Are you hurt?” He looked me over, but I wasn’t bleeding, so he waited for me to respond.
I shook my head—a jerky, awkward movement. If I was hurt, it wasn’t enough to want to talk about it right now.
“I’m going to pick you up, all right? We have to get you inside the truck.”
Again, the words stuck in my throat, but I managed the slightest of nods.
He lifted me, and my mind wandered to his question. Was I hurt and just didn’t recognize it through the cold and shock? That would be very bad. True injuries required hospitals, and hospitals required names and a paper trail. There could be no paper trail.
My head lolled against his shoulder. He was so warm. Even though he was out of his coat and in this freezing air, I could feel the heat radiating off of him. I snuggled in, trying to get closer to the heat.
He sucked in a breath when my cheek touched the skin of his neck. “Sheesh. You’re freezing.” He fumbled for the door handle and got it open then hoisted me up inside. When he tried to pull away, my hand was fisted in his shirt and I was shaking so hard I didn’t know if I’d be able to let go.
“I need to get in the other side, miss.”
I shook my head, afraid of letting go of his warmth.
“We need to shut the doors. I’ll get in the other side and try to warm you up a bit before we start driving.” He didn’t wait for a response, but pried my hand away and shut my door.
He climbed in the driver’s side and turned up the heater before putting the truck into drive. Disappointment filled me. I’d been hoping he’d use his body heat to warm me up, since that was the quickest way.
“I’m just going to pull to the side,” he explained as he steered to the shoulder, and I did a little mental cheer. “Not many people out this late at night, but you never know.” He threw it back into park then scooted across the bench seat before leaning down to unlace his giant work boots. “What possessed you to come out in a snowstorm without a coat or good shoes?” he muttered as he pulled his boots off. He reached down and removed my shoes, placing his boots on my feet. The difference in temperature made my toes sting. It was one of those hurts-so-good moments.
“I promise I’m not trying to get too friendly,” he said as he pulled my legs across his lap. “But I’m fairly certain you’re dangerously close to hypothermia, so you’re going to have to utilize my warmth.”
If my muscles hadn’t all been locked into place, I would have thrown myself at his warmth.
He stiffened at the touch of my freezing skin as he carefully pulled me against his chest and made a little cocoon out of his coat, which was still wrapped around me. My head fell forward onto his shoulder and I burrowed into his neck. Maybe he’d think I was the one being too friendly, but I was way too cold to care.
One of his arms pulled away, and I felt him moving but didn’t know what he was doing until he let out a frustrated growl before saying, “No signal.”
Relief coursed through me and I was grateful that I had stuck to back roads. I didn’t want him calling anyone, couldn’t afford to answer questions, especially when my brain was mush.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to get you warm enough this way, cause it’s quite a distance to the next town. Once you’re ready, you’ll have to tell me how it is you ended up in the middle of nowhere.”
Fine by me. I’d be happy to tell him about driving my car into a ditch. There was nothing personal or traceable about that fact. I might even tell him more than that. He was, after all, saving my life. I nodded, acknowledging his words.
“Good, good.” He rested his cheek on top of my head. He kept his arms around me, though I could feel him stiffening. No doubt I was making his temperature drop. He reached around me and turned up the heater.