by Rebecca York
Would she believe it? He guessed he’d find out.
With his head resting against the wall, he closed his eyes, remembering that a few days ago, his life had been normal.
Or it had seemed that way. He just hadn’t found out yet about Dr. Sykes, the Facility and his own strange background.
It was hot, and he unbuttoned his coat. Still, he couldn’t help feeling the room was closing in around him. At least there wasn’t a bright light shining on him.
After a while, his legs started to fall asleep. He was thinking about moving when the door opened.
“See, nobody here,” the woman named Janet said.
He breathed shallowly as he waited to find out what would happen.
“Yeah, Thanks.”
It was probably the cop who’d stopped Shelley.
They stood in the doorway for several moments, and he heard the clerk say, “Everybody’s talking about this crazy man and woman who have been making trouble in town. They already trashed a couple of motels.”
Oh, great, Matt thought.
“Yeah,” the officer answered.
Janet lowered her voice. “I heard they escaped from a mental institution.”
Even better, Matt silently added.
“We don’t know that, ma’am.”
“But you didn’t find them yet?”
“We will.”
“Or they’re out of the area.”
Yeah, they’re out of the area, Matt agreed, this time sending the message to Janet and the cop. Maybe they’d take the hint.
Still, Matt braced for the officer to look behind the desk and find him.
After what seemed like several lifetimes, the door closed again.
Matt shut his eyes, catching his breath. He had to get out of here. But not until the lawman left the motel.
Ordering himself to stay calm, he waited for several minutes, then pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Shelley. When she didn’t answer immediately, his chest tightened. Then she finally clicked on.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“Hiding behind the desk in the motel office. The cop checked in here, but he didn’t find me.”
“Good.”
“Where are you?”
“Heading back—with breakfast.”
“There may be more cops looking for us. Apparently there’s a rumor going around town that we escaped from a mental institution.”
She made a gagging sound. “I guess that’s as good an interpretation as any.”
“If the patrol car is still in the parking lot, keep driving by. If it’s gone, pull up to the main entrance and call me.”
“Okay.”
She signed off, and he put the phone on vibrate, then waited where he was, hoping nothing else was going to happen before she got there.
Of course, it didn’t work out that way.
Someone pulled open the door and paused for long moments. Then he heard an annoyed male voice call out, “Janet.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Who moved the desk?”
“Is it moved?”
“Of course. Just look at that.” The man strode forward. When he reached the desk, he made a startled sound as he caught sight of Matt.
His only option was to rise, fling himself out of the cramped space and knock the guy over.
The man landed on his behind, and Matt charged out of the office, abandoning the bags that he’d stowed in the storage cabinet.
Janet stared at him in shock as he leaped past her.
Forget about me. You never saw me, he broadcast, wondering if the message was getting through.
Dashing outside, he ran across the parking lot. Shelley hadn’t arrived yet.
Oh, great.
Grimly, he sprinted into the woods, staying parallel with the road. How far away was the cop? Would he be back in seconds or minutes?
Dividing his attention between the motel and the road, Matt saw the manager come out and look around.
Matt kept moving, hoping the trees hid his location. Finally, after an eternity, he saw Shelley coming.
He stepped out of the trees, waving frantically at her, and she headed for him. Snatching open the car’s back door, he climbed inside and wedged himself onto the floor.
“Drive,” he ordered. “They’re looking for a man and a woman. If we’re lucky, they didn’t see you.”
“I think they did.”
“Perfect.” He sighed. “The manager discovered me, and I had to leave the luggage in the motel office. Was there anything in there that would connect your bag to Shelley Young?”
“I hope not.” She thought for a moment. “It was an old bag and I didn’t have a luggage tag on it.”
“Good.”
“What should we do now?”
“Get the hell out of town as fast as we can.”
“And go get Trevor.”
“You know where he is?”
“I’ve been talking to him. I think I can find him. I think if we turn left at that intersection up there, we’ll be heading in the right direction.”
“We have to make sure we’re safe first.”
“We have to get him!”
“Shelley, think. If we get caught, nobody will be able to rescue him.”
She made a sound that was a cross between a curse and a moan. “Then what should we do?”
“Did you pass anything like a general store on the way here?”
“Yes.”
“Stop in there. Buy some electrical tape and a pair of scissors, if you can get them.”
She kept driving, and he wondered if she was following his directions. Then she turned off the highway and into a parking lot.
“Park away from other vehicles so nobody can look in and see me. Then get in and out of there as fast as you can.”
“Okay.” She climbed out of the car, and he stayed out of sight on the floor.
A few minutes later, she was back with the items he had requested. “Now what?”
“Try to find an out-of-the-way place where I can fool with the license plates.”
She kept going for several miles, then turned into another parking area. Peering up above the window level, he saw that they were in a gas station that was closed.
“Drive around back.”
She continued on to the rear of the building and turned around so that she was facing the road.
“Give me the tape and the scissors.”
After she handed him the bag, he climbed out into the cold, squatting to look at the rear license plate. As he’d remembered, it had several numbers and letters, one of which was an L, which he could change into an E with the tape.
With his gloves off, he unwrapped the tape, then cut a strip, which he pressed onto the license plate in a horizontal line at the top of the L. Then he cut another strip to fill in the middle of the E. Standing back he looked at his handwork and decided it would do, if nobody gave it too close an inspection. Satisfied, he repeated the process with the license plate on the front of the car.
When he was finished, he turned toward Shelley and saw her staring into space.
“Are you talking to Trevor?” he asked when he climbed into the back seat again and sat down on the floor.
“Yes.” She drove off, heading toward the edge of town. “Are you going to stay in back?”
“I’d better stay out of sight until we get away from the Rapid City area. Or are we leaving this area?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You can’t say how far we’re going?”
“No.”
He reached between the seats and took the bag with the coffee. It was completely cold, but he drank it anyway and ate the cold breakfast sandwich that Shelley had brought for him.
“We have enough gas?” he asked.
“Maybe we’d better stop.”
“Then I guess I need to get into the trunk—so nobody will see me.”
She winced. “I hate that idea.”
“So do I, but
I think it’s necessary. At this point, we’re better off having people think you’re alone.
They pulled into the parking lot of a shopping center.
“Let’s throw away the trash—so it doesn’t look like you had two breakfasts.”
“You think of everything.”
“I’m trying. When you open the trunk, you could be putting your purchases inside.”
“Right.”
After getting rid of the breakfast rubbish, she parked between two vans which hid the car from view. When she’d opened the trunk he got out, checked to see if anyone was watching, then climbed quickly into the rear compartment.
“I’ll let you out as soon as I can,” she said as she enclosed him in darkness.
He knew he’d suggested this ploy, but he had to fight a wave of panic as he tried to get comfortable in the cold, confined space. First he’d wedged himself behind a desk. Now this.
Shelley pulled out of the parking space. When she slammed on the brakes, he cursed under his breath, even though he knew she hadn’t done it on purpose.
As she kept driving, he thought about calling her on the phone because it would help to hear her voice. Then he decided that would only startle her to have the phone ring, and he didn’t know the laws in South Dakota about talking on a cell phone while you were driving.
The trunk gave him no protection against the South Dakota cold, and he pulled up his knees and hugged them, fighting to keep his teeth from chattering. When he’d come up with this brilliant plan, he hadn’t realized that he was going to turn into a Popsicle.
He’d thought he’d been uncomfortable behind the desk. This was ten times worse. But at least he could move his legs around as the car rolled down the highway.
“Isn’t there a damn gas station anywhere around here?” he muttered.
When Shelley finally pulled off the highway, he would have cheered, if he hadn’t needed to remain silent.
Instead he waited while she crept forward, then stopped again, and he imagined that she had pulled up at one of the pumps.
He heard her pop the lid then unscrew the gas cap. Finally, gas began to flow into the tank.
She’d be finished soon, and they could get out of here. Then she’d find a quiet place where he could climb out of the trunk and get back into the front seat where he’d be sitting close to the heat vents.
She was screwing the gas cap back on when he heard a voice say, “Hey lady, you’ve got a problem with your license plate.”
Chapter Thirteen
After a long pause, Matt heard Shelley say, “Oh, damn! I got it last week, and I guess it must be defective or something.”
“Let me take a look. I think one of your letters is peeling off.”
Matt fought not to start screaming.
“No thanks!” Shelley answered. “My husband is expecting me home soon.” She waited a beat to emphasize the point. “He’ll take care of it.”
The guy stopped talking, probably because Shelley had told him she was married. Still, Matt waited with his breath frozen in his lungs, then felt the car shift as she climbed back inside and slammed the door. In seconds, she was roaring out of the station and down the highway.
He imagined the guy who’d offered to help staring after her, wondering about her behavior.
Hopefully, he wasn’t anyone official or the kind of guy who liked to call the cops. If they were lucky, he was just a man who wanted to help a pretty woman, and had found out she was already taken.
Don’t speed. He cautioned her. You don’t want a patrol car to stop you. He added, Sorry. The license plate mess is my fault. I thought I was being so clever with that trick. I guess the cold made the tape peel off.
He held out a small bit of hope that she could answer him, but heard nothing. He waited with his breath shallow in his lungs for the sound of a siren behind them. If an officer saw the black strips peeling off the license plate, he was going to be suspicious.
But the car kept moving at a steady pace down the highway, and finally, she slowed and made a right turn. After driving for another minute, she cut the engine. Quick steps came around to the back of the car, and the trunk opened.
Sitting up, he blinked in the light.
“Are you all right?” Shelley asked.
He moved stiff arms and legs.
She watched him with a sympathetic look on her face. “You must be half-frozen.”
“I’m okay.”
Fighting the numb feeling in his extremities, he slung a leg over the side, then climbed out, bracing his hands against the lower lip of the trunk. Relieved to be free again, and fighting not to sway on his feet, he looked around and saw only trees on either side of them.
“Where are we?”
“The driveway of a farm or a ranch. You can’t see the house from here—or the road. I could tell from the look of the tracks in the snow, there’s only been a little traffic. So they probably don’t come in and out much.”
“Good thinking.”
“I hate dodging the authorities like this.”
“I know,” he answered, reaching for her.
She came into his arms, holding on fiercely and they clung together.
He’d vowed not to start anything between them, but he couldn’t stop himself from lowering his mouth to hers for a passionate kiss. Her lips moved under his, just as urgently, and he took what she offered, greedy for the taste of her.
Needing more, he unzipped his coat, then hers, so that he could pull the upper part of her body against his, sealing them together with heat. His hand came up between them, cupping her breast through her shirt, and she made a small sound that might have been protest—or passion.
He was pretty sure what would have happened if they’d been in a motel room. But out here on this road, they both knew they were safe from going too far. So he indulged his craving for her for a few more moments, kissing her and touching her, and letting her know how much he wanted her. When they finally broke apart, his head was swimming.
She rested her cheek on his shoulder, her breathing ragged. He had never wanted her more, but he knew that anything personal between them must wait until they had accomplished their mission and gotten their son back.
“You did good,” he murmured as he brought his own breathing under control.
“I was scared.”
“I know. So was I.”
“Lord. Is it ever going to end?”
“Yes. It’s going to end well,” he said, punching out the words, because a good ending was the only one he would allow after everything that had happened. “And I understand now that it’s going to take the two of us. I mean, neither one of us can do it alone.”
“I think you’re right.”
She held him for another half minute before making a snorting sound and saying, “Where did you get that nutball idea of putting tape on the license plate?”
He gave her an apologetic look. “From a suspense novel. It worked for the hero.”
She laughed. “Yeah, well, the guy in the novel probably wasn’t driving around in below-freezing weather.”
“I guess you’re right.” He eased away from her, then pulled the tape off the back plate while she did the front.
“I’ll drive,” he said.
She climbed into the passenger seat, and he slid behind the wheel.
“Too bad you don’t have that baseball cap.”
“Yeah. Or anything else we brought. Like the gun.”
“That was in the bag?”
“Unfortunately. I guess it’s only a matter of time before the cops find it.”
“It will have your fingerprints.”
“Maybe they’re not on record anywhere. And it won’t just be mine. The thug’s are there, too.”
She was silent again, then shifted in her seat. “When you were in the trunk, I heard you.”
“You mean you felt the push—when I told you not to speed.”
“Yes, but I also heard you talking to me in my head, telli
ng me you were sorry about the tape. It was like the way I can hear Trevor.”
He turned in surprise to look at her then back at the road.
“Did you get any…replies from me?” she asked.
“Sorry. No.”
“Well, I guess it’s just one way.”
“Or you’re honing your receiving talents,” he suggested
She didn’t answer, and when he saw her look of concentration, he whispered, “You’re talking to Trevor?”
“Yes.”
“What’s he doing?”
“Having lunch. Peanut butter and jelly.”
“Okay. That’s normal. And no else is there with them?”
“He’s never mentioned anyone else.” Still, she asked if Trevor was alone with Blue and got an affirmative answer.
They came to a crossroads, and he slowed. “Which way?”
She pointed toward the left. “There.”
He turned left, and they kept going, the road hemmed in by the pine forests and the rock formations that were so much a part of the area. The surface had been plowed, but not recently, and he kept coming to icy patches.
He ached to go faster, but he had to keep testing the pavement to make sure they weren’t going to go sliding off into the woods.
He was thankful that they had a full tank and also thankful that there were few other drivers on the road. Especially patrol cars. Apparently the authorities weren’t going too far afield to look for the weird couple.
They kept driving, not saying much, and he knew Shelley was speaking to Trevor. Occasionally she’d say something out loud.
“We’re getting close, honey,” she murmured.
“Tell him he can’t give you away,” Matt cautioned. “He has to make sure Blue doesn’t know anybody’s figured out where they are.”
“Trevor, make sure Blue doesn’t catch on that I’m coming to get you.” Then she stopped talking out loud, and he felt left out of the conversation.
He kept his gaze on her for a few seconds, then dragged his attention back to the road. There was so much he wanted to say to her. About the past. About the present. And especially about the future. But he couldn’t interfere with her silent communication. Instead, he just kept driving, praying that she could guide him to their son.
The landscape was empty of almost everything except trees and rock formations jutting out of the pines. As they traveled into the back country, they saw few houses, although now and then he caught a glimpse of smoke rising from the chimney of cabin in the trees. There were roads leading off to the left and right. Some of them were marked by signs like Hurley’s Retreat. Or The Jacksons. But some were totally anonymous. Unfortunately, the roads had become progressively narrower and the paving worse.
