by Stasia Black
Eric clenched his jaw. The pain in his arm had only gotten progressively worse over the last two hours, though he wouldn’t have thought that was possible. And between the increase in speed and Drea directing them down back roads that seemed to lead all over the damn place except in the direction they needed to go, yeah, he was not in the best mood.
Drea must have noticed how he was favoring his arm because her glare intensified as she handed the map to Billy and stalked toward Eric.
“That arm needs to be set. We shouldn’t have even waited this long.”
“What?” Eric took a step and twisted his body with his broken arm away from Drea. “No, it’ll be fine.”
She shook her head like he was being an idiot. “Do you know how broken bones work? The longer you wait to set it, the worse it gets. Bones start healing almost immediately and it’ll start healing wrong. We need to set it so—”
“What the hell do you know about broken bones or setting them?”
“I know that your forearm isn’t supposed to be bent at that angle, for one.”
Eric cringed, the pain in his arm seeming to pulse even harder at her description. Driving had been a distraction and he’d been living in a little land called denial that had really been doing great things for him. He’d like to stay there awhile longer, thank you very much.
“I know a little bit about it.”
Both Drea and Eric spun to look at Billy in surprise. Eric didn’t know about Drea, but he’d forgotten for a moment the other man was there.
“What?” Drea and Eric asked almost at the same time. Then they glared at each other.
“I know about what to do for broken arms. I was a resident at Harris Methodist Medical before— well, before.”
Drea narrowed her eyes. “You’re a doctor and a sharpshooter? I don’t buy it.”
Billy looked down, his hand going to the back of his neck like he was embarrassed or even ashamed. “I grew up hunting with my dad and well,” he looked up and met Drea’s eyes. “I guess we’ve all done whatever it takes these last few years, to survive, you know?”
Drea tilted her head back and forth in a maybe so gesture then she nodded Eric’s direction. “You’re up, Doc.”
“Wait a second,” Eric said, lifting his good hand. “You’re just gonna take his word for it? We stole his truck. What if he tries something? To take me out?”
Drea’s eyes rolled so hard Eric was surprised she didn’t tip over. She pulled a gun out of the back of her jeans. Presumably Billy’s. “Hey Billy, promise not to hurt my friend worse than he already is and I won’t have to fuck you up. Sound like a plan?”
Billy nodded, eyes wide. “Works for me.”
“Jesus,” Eric swore, tilting his head back.
“All right, come on over to the truck. I’ve got some cardboard stuffed behind the seat that will work great as a splint. Duct tape too.”
Cardboard and duct tape? Oh yeah, this guy sounded like the doctor of the frickin’ year.
Drea just continued searching the map, unfolding it and refolding it several times.
“Do you even know where the hell we are?” Eric leaned back against the truck while Billy tossed through stuff in the truck bed tool box.
Eric looked around. It was flat, flat, and more flat. All there was to see was sky.
And Jesus was he tired. He hadn’t slept last night and between that and everything that had happened this morning, well, it was all hitting him at once. If his arm didn’t hurt so damn bad and he hadn’t needed to focus on driving, he’d have passed out ages ago.
Drea lowered the map and narrowed her eyes at him. “Of course I know where we are.”
“Doesn’t look like it,” he yawned.
“And you don’t look like you belong anywhere except the set of a horror movie with your arm all bloody and fucked up like that but you don’t see me saying anything about it, do you? I even let you drive.”
Eric hissed out through his teeth, fighting both the pain and the desire to snap back a response that wouldn’t do either of them any good.
“All right, come on over,” Billy called out from where he’d set up shop in the bed of the truck.
When Eric climbed up and sat where Billy told him to, Billy peered sideways at him, then over at Drea. “You two sure do carry on. Reminds me of these neighbors I had when I was in med school. Dan and Shirley. I’d be up studying and they’d be carrying on the same way, all hours of the night. Shirley nagging Dan about the dishes or the bills and Dan yelling back about the casserole being burnt or her shopping too much.”
“Can we get on with this please?” Eric asked impatiently.
“So, you two married?” Billy asked.
“No!” Eric’s head snapped to look up at him. “But don’t you go getting any ideas. She’s a…” Eric looked to the side. “That’s not her— She likes women, all right?”
“I don’t know about that,” Billy said.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Eric glared at him again. “You just met her and I’ve known her for… awhile now.”
Billy shrugged. “I’m just saying. When Dan and Shirley weren’t fighting like cats and dogs, they were—” He raised his eyebrows significantly. “—you know.”
Eric felt the back of his neck heat and he looked down to the bed of the truck. “Just set my damn arm,” he growled through gritted teeth.
Which Billy did in short order.
And all right, Eric may have screeched like a woman in childbirth when Billy set the bone, but at least the skinny bastard did seem to know what he was doing. Billy moved with practiced ease as he wrapped the cardboard frame he’d made around and around with duct tape.
There was nothing much to do about the bloody ripped up skin of the rest of his arm and upper shoulder though. Billy offered to take off his shirt to lay it over the wound, but Eric declined. He’d just let it scab up and it would be fine.
“Yeouch, there’s a nasty gash here, though,” Billy said, leaning in closer to Eric’s bicep. “I’d say it needs stitches. I left in such a hurry after I heard about the President though, I forgot my kit.”
Eric’s teeth had been gritted for so long, he had a tension headache.
“I said it’s fine,” Eric ground out, jumping down from the bed of the truck. Enough with being babied. “We need to find a place to set up camp. You said we’re close to the Colorado river?”
Drea had stopped obsessively checking the map but she peeked down at it one last time. “Yes. It should be about a mile and a half in that direction.”
Eric breathed out a long exhale. Okay. They just had to get to the river. Billy had a gallon of water in the truck but they’d all but emptied it.
And Eric was sweating buckets and already thirsty enough to down what was left in the jug. Not a great combination, especially considering his injury. Not to mention that the sun was starting to dip in the sky. They had maybe a couple hours at most before sundown. They needed to set up camp before then.
“You got any other supplies you’re hiding in there, Doc?” Eric asked Billy.
“Just what you see on me,” Billy said quickly. A little too quickly, if you asked Eric. But if he was hoarding food it must have been a tiny protein bar or something because Eric didn’t see anything on him. He was rail thin and nothing was bulging in his pockets.
And Drea had already looked through the backpack of supplies he’d brought along. There were a few practical items—a stainless steel pot that would be good for boiling water to purify it, a couple peanut butter sandwiches, one of which they’d already split, one spare change of clothes—in Billy’s size, so no help to Eric—a thin picnic blanket, a switchblade which Drea promptly pocketed, a small foldable grill to set out over a fire, a box of matches, several candles, one small oil lamp, and a couple water bottles.
Then there were the impractical items which Eric had only seen because Drea tossed them to the side. A nudie magazine. A small stuffed bear. A picture frame that she’d taken
the picture out of, handed to Billy, and then tossed the frame.
Billy didn’t say anything, he just put the picture in his pocket, picked up the bear, and walked off on his own for a little before heading back their way several long minutes, no bear in sight.
“Jesus, it’s obvious the bear was sentimental,” Eric said under his breath to Drea but she just shrugged. “Hitting the river is just the first leg. After that, it’s another thirty miles or so to town and I’ll be trading off carrying that pack. I’m not taking anything we don’t strictly have to.”
“What town exactly is that?”
Drea swiped at the sweat gathered on her forehead and looked toward the dropping sun. “Llano.”
Eric felt his brows rise and he looked around them. “We’re that close to Llano? That means we’re already in Central Texas North.” He frowned. Shouldn’t there be more hills if they were in the Hill Country? He took a step forward, meaning to take a better look around, but he stumbled, a wave of dizziness hitting him.
“Whoa, cowboy,” Drea said, lurching forward to steady his arm. “Are you feeling okay?”
He blinked hard and the spinning world settled back the shape it was supposed to be. “Yeah. Fine. Just lost my footing there.”
Drea looked at him skeptically but he started walking, trying to effuse confidence. Fake it till you make it, right? That had been his motto the past eight years. He hadn’t known shit about being the leader of a community but he hadn’t done too bad with Jacob’s Well. Not too bad for a dishonorably discharged First Lieutenant, anyway.
“There a reason you’re heading back toward Fort Worth, cowboy? Cause the river’s this way.”
Eric stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes briefly, then turned around. He would not be goaded into a response. Not even by the most infuriating woman on God’s green earth.
She’d shouldered the backpack and was already heading into the open field off to the left of the road. Billy was following eagerly on her heels. Eric rolled his eyes, prayed for patience, and went after them.
Chapter Three
DREA
Drea didn’t like Eric’s coloring. He was too pale for as hot as it was. He was certainly sweating a lot and every now and then he’d let out little pathetic, pained grunts. Each time he did, Drea’s stomach twisted tighter.
She looked across the fire to where she’d laid him out on the picnic blanket. The mile and a half had taken much longer than it should have because she kept having to slow down for him. He’d collapsed almost as soon as they’d arrived at the river and she’d laid out the blanket. The ground was uneven and rocky, but Eric was out and snoring to wake the dead within minutes.
“Seems like he was tuckered,” Billy said as Drea set a pot of river water to boil on the grill they’d arranged over the fire. “You think he’s gonna make it wherever you’re headed tomorrow?”
Where you’re headed. Not where we’re headed. Drea’s eyes moved to Billy. Measuring. Assessing. There was more than met the eye to the man, that was for sure.
“So, Billy, tell me, what were your plans? Where were you heading before we hijacked your ride?”
He shrugged, his eyes dropping to the fire.
“Aw, well, you know,” he shrugged, tugging on his ear. “Nothing really set in stone. It’s just been my policy that when I hear shooting, I get gone. Mama always told me to steer clear of trouble. And ever since I pulled Janie Tucker’s pigtails in third grade and got a black eye for it, I started listening.” He offered a nervous smile.
Well he was a shit liar, that was obvious. Which meant he probably wasn’t a smuggler. There was generally a modicum of deception skills needed for that. Either that, or the ability to use brute force, along with a killer instinct and Billy didn’t have either. After he’d shot those border guards at the spike trap, she’d been able to disarm him with barely any effort. Same with the knife in the backpack. If it had been her, she would have gotten her hands on her weapons first chance she had, especially if someone had just stolen her wheels and firepower. But not Billy. So what was his deal?
Drea nodded slowly. “Fair enough.” She let the crackle of the fire fill the silence between them for several moments.
“Still, a man like you, with your skills. A doctor is a handy thing to be. And you’re good with a gun? You’re useful. You must be welcome everywhere you go.”
He shrugged, eyes fixed on the fire. “I’ve been able to take care of myself over the years.”
“Oh yeah? That’s all a man or woman can ask for these days.”
Another silence fell. Drea tilted her head, watching Billy as his eyes shifted nervously between the flames, up to her, and off into the woods. Twitchy motherfucker, wasn’t he?
“I gotta go take a piss,” he announced suddenly, standing up and swiping his hands on his jeans like they were sweaty.
Drea nodded. “Hey, go for it. We aren’t headed anywhere any time soon.”
He hurried off into the woods. The second he was out of the light of the fire, Drea hopped to her feet and ran as swiftly and quietly after him as she could. She’d always been more of a city girl than a country mouse, but she knew how to be quiet and sneaking had always been something of a specialty of hers.
Billy hadn’t gone far either.
She didn’t know what she’d find. Him talking on a sat phone? Eating some food he’d been hoarding?
What she didn’t expect?
The telltale noise of pills rattling in a bottle.
Son of a bitch.
“So William,” she said, stepping out from behind the trees. There was just enough light filtering down through the branches from the full moon to see him.
Billy yelped, clutching the bottle to his chest and taking several big steps back from her.
“I don’t suppose you’d restore my faith in humanity and tell me you have a heart condition and those are your blood pressure pills?”
“Uh, um,” Billy stuttered, “Yeah, I um, I’m sick and these are, uh— I need these for—”
Drea rolled her eyes and stomped forward, reaching and grabbing for the pills. Billy wasn’t about to let them go, though.
“No! You can’t have them!” He wrapped his arms around them, jerking back so roughly that both he and Drea went to the ground.
“Get off me!” he yelled when she landed on top of him. “You can’t have my fucking pills! I need them!”
He was stronger than he looked and he almost bucked her off a couple of times. Not surprising. This wasn’t her first run in with a junkie.
Good thing her daddy had taught her to fight dirty.
She punched him in the balls and when he gasped in pain, clutching for his junk, she grabbed the pill bottle out of his hands. Then she rolled him till his face was in the dirt, put her knee in his back and wrenched both his arms until he was properly pinned.
“The truth now,” she spat. “Where were you headed?” She shook the pill bottle. “There’s only, what? Six or seven pills left in here? You wouldn’t have left town unless you were sure you could score more.”
For a second he didn’t say anything and she yanked his arm behind him even harder, to the point of threatening to break it, and shoved his face into the dirt even more.
“Fine, fine,” he finally shouted. “I’ll talk! But you’re wrong. I wasn’t heading anywhere. I don’t have another score. Those were the end of my stash from my last job but I don’t have another one lined up.”
“Why not go back to where you used to work?”
Silence.
As soon as she applied the slightest pressure to his arm he started talking again, words spilling over one another. “I can’t go back. Ever. I stole the shit and ran. If I ever show back up there, they’ll kill me. I was just happy you were headed the opposite direction. Cause I know we aren’t right outside Llano. And this isn’t the Colorado River. We went east, not west. I’m betting it’s the Brazos. So why are you lying to the other guy?”
“Shit,” Drea swore
, climbing off Billy and getting to her feet. So he was just a junky with no connections. Well that didn’t fucking help her. He was a liability if anything. Eric had been right this morning. They should have just left him behind.
She lifted a hand to her forehead. Think, Drea. Think.
“Whatever, ya know,” Billy said, sitting up and lifting his hands in surrender. “Not my business. But you should know. That gash in his arm? It needs stitches. Not to mention, these conditions…” he waved around them. “You need me in case he gets sick.”
“Oh so you’re one of those?” Drea propped a hand on her hip, pulling out the switchblade and flicking the blade out. “No loyalty. Anything to survive. Anything to support your habit, no matter who it hurts?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Billy lifted his hands, “look, I have a problem, okay? But that’s all. And I’m trying to say that I can help you. Both of you. And like you said, I’m welcome wherever I go. Everyone needs a doctor. And I won’t say a thing to what’s his name—”
“Eric.”
“I won’t say a thing to Eric about where we really are. That’s your jam, hey, whatever. I’m cool. But if you could really just give me those pills back, then we can—”
“Oh, these pills?” Drea raised them above her head like she was going to chuck them into the woods and Billy’s entire body went on alert, eyes locked on the pills. For a second, she thought he might charge her, the glint in his eye was so wild.
She lifted the knife higher.
Fuck. You could never trust a junkie. Except… you could always trust them to be a junkie. And that was something she could just maybe work with.
“I tell you what, Billy boy. Let’s make a deal. I’ve got a plan where we can both get what we want.”
“You’ll give me back my pills?”
She smiled. “Even better. I’ll get you all the heroin and pills you could dream of. All you have to do is help me with one little thing.”
