“Maybe so, but at least I haven’t killed anybody.”
That stung. “How dare you judge me! You don’t know what happened!”
“Neither does anyone else,” Caleb retorted. “You ran. That’s got guilt written all over it.”
“He tried to...” Cassie hesitated, realizing the futility of her attempt in justifying herself to a bounty hunter. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”
“If he tried to rape you it does,” Caleb answered. “You shouldn’t have run.”
“I was a seventeen-year-old troublemaker, who’d killed her English teacher. How was I supposed see any outcome other than spending the rest of my life in prison?”
That shut him up.
Take that you arrogant ass, she thought, somewhat satisfied. She leaned back, taking a breath to calm herself. She was going to need a plan to get out of this mess, and thoughts distorted by anger wouldn’t help. Her “plan B” to pack up and leave town had been foiled, so for now, she’d have to play it by the seat of her pants. Fortunately for her, Canada was a long drive. An opportunity would present itself sooner or later.
Several hours went by in silence. The mountainous scenery was still in view and the sun was pretty high in the sky. Cassie guessed it was early afternoon, so lunch had to be on the agenda in the near future. Not to mention she was going to have to pee within the next half hour, or there was going to be an accident. “You got a bathroom in this thing?”
“I’m gonna have to stop for gas soon,” Caleb announced over his shoulder. “You can go then, and we can eat. Hope you like fast food.”
“My favorite,” Cassie smiled. Opportunity.
A few miles down the road, they pulled into a roadside truck stop. It wasn’t the most rundown joint, though Cassie had seen better. There was only one diesel parked under the oversized awning. But there were several SUV’s and cars, that were either being filled up with gas, or parked in front of the restaurant portion of the filling station.
Caleb stopped at pump number four, and turned around to look at Cassie. “Can you hold it long enough for me to fill up?”
“So kind of you to ask,” Cassie answered with a wry grin. “I think I’ll manage.”
He gave her a quick nod, and hopped out of the car.
Jerk. Cassie tore her gaze off of his tight jeans, and scanned the parking lot again. A few more cars pulled in as one left. Most of the people inside the station were just grabbing quick snacks or paying for gas, but there were several couples and families actually eating lunch. She already had an idea of how this was going to go down, but that didn’t make her any less nervous.
The car door opened, and Caleb leaned in. “You ready?”
“What about these?” Cassie twisted, so that her handcuffed wrists were visible. “I might have a little trouble getting my pants down with my hands behind my back.”
“Not a problem,” Caleb replied.
A horrible thought came to Cassie. “You’re not going in there with me?!”
He gave her a flat look. “Just get out of the car.”
Cassie frowned, but scooted across the seat, and stepped out. She glared at Caleb. “I really don’t like you.”
“Gee,” he said with mock surprise. “I’ve never heard that one before.” He spun her around. “Don’t run. I don’t wanna tase you again.”
The jingle of keys touched Cassie’s ears, as Caleb unlocked her cuffs. His hand brushed hers in the process, and that warm, sensual tingling, raced up her arms.
“Dammit!” Caleb yanked his hand away. “What the hell is that?”
“I wish I knew.” Cassie turned around. She could have knocked him out right there, but the blasted tingling made her hesitate.
“You feel it too?”
“Look,” Cassie stated, ignoring his question. “I really need to pee, so could we get on with it?”
Caleb grimaced, and then slapped the handcuffs around her wrists, this time with her arms in front of her. “Take this.” He pulled a sweatshirt from the front seat, and handed it to her. “Cover your hands with it.”
“Why should I make this any easier for you?”
“You wanna pee right?” he asked, with a heated look.
Cassie took the sweatshirt. “Fine.”
“Remember, I’ll tase you if I have to.”
“Oh, I’m well aware,” she replied, subconsciously rubbing her side. “Lead the way tough guy.”
Caleb smiled. “Ladies first.” He took hold of her arm and urged her forward. They walked across the parking lot, his hand never leaving her arm. Just as they approached the entrance he said, “First the restroom, then we grab some food. After that we’re out of here.”
“You’re the boss.”
The smell from the deep-fryer was nothing short of heaven, as they walked in. Cassie’s stomach growled, but she continued walking to the back. She counted eight people, not including the two attendants, and the cook. Four of them sat together in a booth, while an older couple ate their lunch a few seats over. The remaining two were scoping out drinks on the other side of the store, and would probably be gone before she came out of the restroom. I can work with this.
Caleb pushed the door open to the ladies’ room, and shoved Cassie in. He followed her, locking the door behind him. He took the sweatshirt from her and said, “Make this quick.”
“Okay,” Cassie replied dryly. He’d already seen her naked, so pulling her pants down in front of him wasn’t a big deal, but still...
He actually had the decency to turn his head, as she squatted on the toilet, not realizing his false gallantry would only work in her favor.
She focused on all the bad shit that had happened in her life, as she sat peeing. The night her dad died came to the forefront. Her mother had been calling him non-stop, he’d missed dinner, and Dad never missed dinner. He wasn’t late for much of anything in fact. Mom had flipped out, when the cops showed up to tell us that he’d been killed while somebody was trying to rob him. She screamed and cried all the way to the police station. The pristine white tile of the waiting area, and the sad looks of the passersby, were the only things she could remember of the station. The rest was just buried under the avalanche of bad that had followed.
The familiar heat of anger rose in her, and the power came right along with it. She glanced up at her escort to make sure he was still practicing good manners. He stood, staring at a place on the wall in front of him, but was assuredly focusing his peripheral vision on her. She twisted around to flush, and when the toilet rumbled with rushing water, she snapped her cuffs apart. The movement was subtle, so as not to draw Caleb’s attention to what she’d done. As Cassie turned back around, she kept her hands together to maintain the subterfuge of being restrained. She tugged her pants over her hips, and squeezed by Caleb to the sink. As she washed her hands, she commented over her shoulder. “You know, I don’t think I want to go back to Canada.”
He snorted, “Well, I guess it’s a good thing that isn’t your decision.”
Cassie smiled at him through the mirror. “Oh, really?” The look on his face when she held up her freed hands was priceless.
He went for his Taser.
Before he could reach it, she whipped around, and caught him square in the jaw with an opened hand slap.
The force of the blow spun him around in a neat little pirouette. His knees buckled, and he fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
She smirked. Caleb was not a small man, and to have handled him like a ragdoll tickled her to no end. A sudden pulse of fear banished her humor however. She knelt down to check that he was still breathing, and that she hadn’t broken his neck. The familiar warm, sensual tingle, crept up her arm when she ran her fingers along the back of his neck. He appeared to be okay.
A wave of relief rolled over her. She had managed to not kill anyone since that day in woodshop class, and preferred to keep it that way. She pulled her hand away from Caleb’s neck, breaking the flow of pleasure that ebbed from the contact. W
hat the hell is that about anyway? She pressed two fingers to his cheek, and once again the current of pleasure surged through her, threatening to derail her plans of escape.
Enough, girl! Cassie yanked her hand away. I’ve got to get the hell out of here. She rummaged through Caleb’s pockets, careful not to touch any exposed skin. She fished out the keys to the Mustang and her cuffs, and then his wallet. Once free of her authority bracelets, she stuffed the money from Caleb’s wallet into her pocket. Before making her exit, she leaned down to brush the hair out of his face. He was so hot. Why did you have to be a bounty hunter? She grinned and whispered, “It’s a good thing I enjoyed myself last night, otherwise I might have used my fist.”
Cassie grabbed a couple of hotdogs, and a drink on her way out. No one seemed to notice that she left alone, or that there had been an “altercation” in the restroom. She strolled out to Caleb’s cherry ride, hopped in, and sped off without a second look.
The first order of business was to get some music playing. Though the car was from the 60’s, the stereo definitely wasn’t. A Pioneer screen with built in Bluetooth bleeped at her, begging to be fondled. Cassie didn’t see a place to insert a CD, but after a quick search she found an Ipod in the console. I hope it’s not password protected. She turned it on. Score! Now to see what he listens to. She tapped the vid screen on the stereo and linked up with the Ipod. Playlists ranging from 70’s classic rock to current-day rap, filled the screen. Talk about all over the board. She didn’t bother searching for anything in particular, instead she just hit shuffle. “Burnin’ miles” popped up, and Cassie smiled. Hell yeah.
Eventually she would have to ditch the car, which was a damn shame, but she needed to get her bearings first, and figure out a destination. She rummaged through the glove compartment, with one hand looking for a map. Then she had an epiphany. You’re such an idiot. She glanced at the stereo, and sure enough, there was a GPS on it. Embrace technology, don’t fight it. She tapped the screen a few times, and pulled up a rough location. She was still in Colorado, obviously, but the best she could tell, Caleb had gotten them to the eastern side of the state. Looks like Kansas is my next stop.
The minutes had turned into hours as the classic Shelby chewed up the miles, giving Cassie’s mind plenty of time to wander. She’d decided to bounce the car when she got to Kansas, and then head south. It was a sketchy plan, but she’d found over two grand in the bounty hunter’s wallet, so she wasn’t in a big rush to figure out the details just yet.
Whenever she was uprooted like this, Cassie couldn’t help but wonder what her life would have been like if her dad hadn’t died. Successful perhaps, or maybe even famous. It was nice to dream about what might have been, but real life always had a bad habit of catching up with her. In the beginning she’d had a normal family: piano lessons, soccer practice, school programs, the works. Once the reality of her father’s death had truly taken hold however, that life faded away, as if it’d been an elusive dream. Her mom slowly became more distant. She started drinking at night, and then during the day. It wasn’t just that though. The little things that mothers were supposed to do for their kids didn’t get done anymore. No more whispered words of encouragement, or packed lunches, no after school activities, and no more family nights. Dinners became whatever Cassie could scrounge up. There was more than one call to the house from Cassie’s principal to let her mother know that Cassie was in the office waiting to be picked up. Everything had gone to hell, and eventually, Cassie began lashing out at anyone who gave her the time of day. Later in high school, she spun even further out of control. Drugs. Violence. Theft. Those became her new activities, until the incident with Mr. Carson of course. After that, she’d had enough, and struck out on her own, never looking back.
Cassie glanced at the clock. It was 2:30 in the morning. I’ve got to stop and get some sleep. The headlights lit up a road sign. The closest stopping point was Goodland, Kansas, 10 miles out. She punched it up on the GPS, finding it to be a small town with a slew of hotels to choose from. Good a place as any. She took exit seventeen when it came up, and drove straight to the Super 8. The rate was a little more than some of the others Cassie had seen, but the place was clean, and she had the extra money.
Dinner was a bag of chips and a candy bar. The hot shower was nothing short of glorious, and the queen sized bed might as well have been a fluffy cloud floating its way up to the heavens. Sleep came fast. The dreams...well, they were something unexpected.
Usually when Cassie was this tired, she couldn’t remember her dreams, there was only a blank spot in her consciousness. Tonight however, that damn blonde bounty hunter invaded the otherwise blissful void. His chiseled features, broad shoulders, and sculpted abs, tormented her relentlessly during the night. But as tempting as those visuals were, she hungered for his touch most of all. That warm tingling set fire to her core unlike anything else she’d experienced before. Not that she was the font of knowledge when it came to sexual relations, but she’d never heard of any reference to the kind of exchange that had happened between her and Caleb.
She awoke, shuddering in the midst of an orgasm. The dream had become real and played through her body, like a jolt of electricity. She called out Caleb’s name, as she arched her back in ecstasy. The climax eventually passed, and she eased back down on the mattress. The sheets were damp with sweat and... other stuff. “Jesus Christ,” she panted. “What the hell’s wrong with me?”
Cassie rolled out of bed, and stumbled over to the sink. Her limbs trembled, as she washed her face. She looked in the mirror, and she could have sworn, for a split second, that she was glowing. Not a lot of things scared Cassie anymore—she’d been through too much—but this new “manifestation” was freaking her out. It had taken years for her to get a handle on her freakish strength, or at least come to terms with it. This tingling thing was just as weird, and she wanted no part of it. She stripped her underwear off in a rush, and jumped in the shower, scrubbing herself until her skin was bright pink. She shivered, as she toweled herself off; not from the cold, but from fear. Time to get the hell out of here. Foregoing the discarded undergarments, Cassie went commando, and lit out of the place without checking out.
It was daytime, even though it didn’t really look it with all of the cloud cover. Apparently a cold front had blown in just after she’d gotten her room early that morning, and hadn’t let up since. At least she didn’t have to stare into the sun while driving. She was currently on Highway 70 heading east, and she’d stay on it until she hit 135 south. From there she didn’t know where to go, but she’d figure it out. The main thing was to get as far away from Colorado as she could. Unfortunately, the roads were getting worse by the minute, putting her plan in serious jeopardy.
Shit.
An hour crawled by before a town big enough to have a few car lots crossed her path. Colby, Kansas was the name, but it might as well have been Shangri La. The sleet had turned into heavy snow, and Colby’s glowing streetlights were beacons of salvation. Putting miles between her and Colorado was going to have to wait, but she could still do something about the car. A damn shame too. She was really starting to love those leather seats.
A sign with exit 53 plastered on it passed by, as Cassie got off the highway. The GPS search brought up a car lot, MC Auto, and right next to it, was a bar and grill, Montana Mike’s Steakhouse. How convenient. She could swap out her wheels and grab a beer without having to travel more than twenty yards. Which was good considering the shitstorm that was coming down.
The farther into town she went, the worse the roads got. Cassie went straight to the car lot, hoping to take care of business, but it was closed.
Double shit.
She settled for the steakhouse, and whipped into a spot close to the entrance. There weren’t many cars, so the space was easy to find. Gee, I wonder why? she thought sardonically. Cassie pulled on her jacket, but it wasn’t enough to shield her from the cold wind that cut into her when she got out of the car. T-shirts an
d jeans didn’t hold up in this kind of weather, regardless of the coat. She only slipped twice, thankfully with no spills, as she rushed to the door. Warmth crept into her froze hands once she was inside, and she stood in the lobby for a few moments, thawing.
Montana Mike’s was a pretty big place. There was a lot of seating with the bar located in the back, near the kitchen. It was dark, like in most steak joints, but it was cozy. Cassie waved down a waitress, and pointed to the bar.
The woman gave her a nod, “Go ahead honey. Josey will take care of you.”
“Thanks.” Cassie went over and grabbed a stool. She looked over the menu, that was actually just a single sheet of bluish paper, while she waited for the bartender. Steak, steak, or steak. Well, I think I know what I’m having. She set the menu down and rubbed her temples. It had been a hard couple of days. Getting uprooted wasn’t a pleasant experience, and even though she’d gone through it many times in the past, she had never gotten used to it. What really sucked was that she’d been genuinely happy working at the lumber mill. The work had been hard and required a strong fortitude, but it paid the bills, and kept her in shape. The people were friendly, and generally stayed out of her business. Now that was all gone. Once again she found herself starting at ground zero, searching for a new place to call home.
“What can I get ya?”
Cassie looked up to find a tall, dark haired, heavy set guy, in his mid-thirties, standing just behind the bar. “Josey, right?”
“Yep,” Josey replied. He swung a towel over his shoulder, and smiled. “I’d say you’ve had better days. Need an aspirin?”
Cassie grinned, and nodded. “Yeah, along with a Guinness and a steak. Medium rare.”
Josey grabbed a dark beer out of the cooler from under the bar, and a bottle of aspirin off the counter behind him. He set them in front of her. “Steak’ll be right up.”
Cassie (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #3) Page 3
