The next hour is quiet, and I almost grow complacent. Just until I imagine myself on my family’s back porch. My favorite people surround me as we enjoy a wonderful meal cooked by the sexy beast currently in the passenger seat. We’ll listen to music and dance. We’ll exist alone in the world. I can make that happen if I stay focused.
Twenty minutes from the airport, we end up with another tail. These men hold back, and I don’t waste time hitting the brakes. We’re so close to our destination.
“They’ll attack once we stop,” Cobain says over the radio.
“No,” Papa replies. “Either they’ll back off, or they’ll die at the airport. They know what’s waiting for them, but they’re bald men with no brains.”
Cobain waits until Papa is off the comm to say, “Your father claims the man flying out us of the country is trustworthy.”
“He’s the son of Papa’s mentor. I thought Raz was working out of Mexico.”
“Is this a person I’ll need to remember in the future?”
“Yes,” I say, smiling at his aggravated tone. “Raz’s father Flame is one of the few people we ever allow in our house. He and his wife visit at least once a month.”
“Great.”
I pat his hand resting on the butt of a rifle. “If we have people over, you don’t have to involve yourself. Just stay at our house while the rest of us hang out at my parents’ place. No one will force you to be their friend.”
Cobain looks at where my hand strokes his. He frowns when I pull it away so I can better hold onto the steering wheel.
“Flame has several kids with women he met before Lidvina. Those relationships never lasted because loving a man in his business isn’t easy.”
“Yet here we are,” he grumbles.
“Those women didn’t know what they were getting into. I can’t claim the same thing. Now stop pouting, you handsome jerk. We’re about to reach the airport, and I have no clue what those foul idiots tailing us plan to do.”
“I am handsome,” he says, fighting a grin. “It’s how I enslaved you.”
Sharing his smile, I focus my gaze on the road and mentally picture how I want the rest of today to go. Enter the fenced airport property, drive up to where Raz will be waiting, move our bags to the plane, and prepare Mama, Sunny, and Anika for the flight. Soon, we’ll be in the air, and one step closer to home.
But first, we must deal with the people in the two black trucks. We leave the main highway and drive onto a paved road. We’re only a few minutes away from the airport, but the skinhead men continue to follow. What do they hope will happen when we stop? Will they kill the people working at this small airport? I decide I’m not qualified to understand the thinking of such morons.
“Allies heading this way,” Papa says over the radio. “Stand down.”
Ahead of me, I see the faint outline of a tall fence. The airport is just ahead. We’re so close
“The gate is opening,” Cobain says in a voice devoid of emotion. “Assholes behind us are speeding up.”
Though he’s telling me something I can plainly see in the rearview, I remain silent. We’re on the verge of reaching our destination. I’m afraid to speak or even breathe. I can both visualize us safely home and my family dead by the side of the road.
“Neri, I love you,” Cobain says without looking at me. “So, stop white-knuckling and keep your cool.”
“I’m always cool,” I whisper in an unsteady voice. “But we’re so close.”
Just then, a jeep speeds past the Yukon, heading straight for the trucks. The driver swerves to block the road, and the passenger opens fire on the approaching vehicles.
I don’t know if they kill the skinhead men or the trucks manage to flee. I keep my mind on the road ahead and follow Kai to where he parks near a hanger.
Cobain runs his fingers over my knuckles, and I remember to finally let go.
“I might have lost my cool a little at the end,” I admit while turning off the Yukon.
His gaze studies me, and I think he might say something dismissive. Cobain clearly feels awkward after his big declaration. It’s the first time he said the words when I wasn’t “nagging” him.
Instead, he glances in the back and sighs. “That dog is going to puke during the flight. Probably more than once.”
Rather than imagine Robin miserable for hours on an airplane, I cautiously leave the Yukon. Cobain follows me, gun out despite Kai greeting Raz.
“Don’t shoot anyone, lover,” I whisper and walk around him to say hello to Raz.
“Lovely Neri, I hope you’re ready to get in the air,” he says as his black skin shines in the early afternoon sun.
“When do we leave?”
“As soon as possible,” Raz says and gives Mama a gentle hug. “The fine people at this airport have agreed to scare off the Aryans for the time being. However, I got the impression if enough skinheads show up that they’ll let them enter and take us on. Let’s not wait around to find out.”
“Did you get my message about the sedatives?” Kai asks Raz.
“I did and also the information about your canine friend. I have the doses ready, but they’ll crash fast, so let’s wait until we’re ready to take off before we drug any humans.”
Cobain would prefer to sneak away and avoid making a new friend. Though Raz might be outwardly the most agreeable man, he’s a hardened professional and insists on knowing who is on his plane. After I make the introduction, the men make small talk in Spanish.
Much like Cobain, I worry Robin might die from the sedative or stress during the flight. With no other option, he helps the dog out of the Yukon.
While I take Robin, Sunny, and Anika for a short walk, Cobain helps the men move our supplies to the plane. Mama wants to go with me, but she can’t stop following Papa around. It’s what she does when she’s agitated.
“We need to avoid being seeing from the road,” I tell Sunny as Anika bounces around. “People might be watching.”
“I’m afraid to fly.”
Sunny’s terrified tone freaks out Anika, who immediately wants to be carried.
“You’ll take medicine, and all the fear will go away. Anika will get sleepy, and you probably will too. Next thing you know, we’ll be landing.”
Sunny holds her daughter and stares at me. She needs Kai’s attention. Like Mama, Sunny reacts best to her man’s soothing. Still, she follows me around the grassy area as Robin sniffs, urinates, sniffs a bit more, and growls at a nearby man working on a car.
Finally, the dog looks ready to take a nap, so I head back to the hanger. Cobain exhales roughly at the sight of me. The fear I felt during the final part of our drive now grips him. We’re so unbearably close to leaving this place and starting our new life. Yet a million little things—or a few violent bald ones—could ruin our beautiful future.
≫NINE SPENT SHELLS≪
SUNNY
After Jake shoots the men and their truck crashes, Kai says Mia and I can sit up. We push back the blanket and settle in for hours on the road.
Mia holds my hand as we listen to Spanish music. “Hearing a language makes it easier to learn,” she tells me. “It still took me a long time. Right, Jake?”