“How long do you think you can get away with this?” He asked, tears still rolling down his face.
“Forever. I think we can pull this off. From now on I’m Willow. We’re married, and traveling with our two children.”
He shook his head and let out an air-filled laugh. “You’re delusional. It’s never going to work, but I’ll go along with it, because I sure as hell don’t want you taking my kids away.”
It was going to have to be enough. I couldn’t ask him for anything more until he calmed down. “Fine.”
Stoshua got up and helped me with the kids. I led the family out back of the motel and found the vehicle the keys belonged to. It was a four door sedan, around twenty years old that was obviously barely driven. When I got inside and turned on the ignition I noticed there were less than ten-thousand miles on it. The poor man must have spent most of his life sitting at the desk, waiting to die. It was so sad. No wonder he couldn’t stop talking when approached by another human being. He was lonely.
Destiny started asking questions right away. “Why are we in this car? What happened to Mommy’s van? When can we see her? Will she be back before bed time?”
Stoshua wasn’t any help. He leaned his head against the car window and stared out at the passing landscape.
The baby started to cry the first mile, and I knew I couldn’t waste any time by stopping and making him more comfortable. His child seat was belted in, and he was facing the ceiling. If it were me I’d be car sick. “It’s okay baby boy. We’ll be there soon.”
“Where exactly are we going?” Stoshua inquired.
“The Bahamas first. I thought Destiny might like to see dolphins. From there, we’ll figure it out.”
“Great. I can’t wait,” his sarcastic tone made me want to pull the car over and chuck him out of it.
“Let’s make the best of it, shall we?”
“You know, when we were married it was always what you wanted. I’m sick of letting you make decisions that reflect my life. Now you’re dragging my kids into it. When will it end, Ivy? When will you actually be happy, because I don’t think it’s possible.”
I started to answer, but froze when I spotted a cop car with its light on, quickly approaching.
Stoshua looked back and began to laugh. “It’s about time. Now, pull over the car and end this. Do yourself a favor and don’t fight this time.”
I clung to the steering wheel and pressed on the gas, pushing it to the limit. I’d lose the cop, and the next one they sent my way. Nothing was going to stop me from having my happy ever after – NOTHING!
Chapter 13
I sped up, making sure there was only one cop car in pursuit. “Slow down, Ivy. You’re going to kill us.”
“I know what I’m doing. Keep quiet.” When I was about to put the pedal to the floor, I realized I couldn’t let this stand in the way of my freedom. I slowed down, gradually pulling over to the shoulder. Stoshua gave me a confused glance.
I took the gun out of the bag and put it in my pants. “You can’t be serious. That cop is armed, Ivy.”
“I’ve got this under control. Stay in your seat. No matter what you hear, don’t move.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond. Time was running out. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. My nerves were shot, and I was too close to getting away to have some highway patrol officer take it from me.
“Ma’am, please step back inside your vehicle,” he requested while approaching.
I put up my hands. “I’m sorry officer. I didn’t notice the speed limit signs. My baby was in the backseat crying. He’s sick and we’re taking him to the doctors. Come on, can’t you let it slide this once? It’s not like I’m carting around drugs or something. I’m with my family.”
“I’m going to need you to turn around and put your hands on top the vehicle, Miss.”
He wasn’t pulling me over for a traffic violation. This guy knew I was wanted.
But how? It didn’t make sense. How would they find me in this particular vehicle?
Without regard for what it would mean, I pulled out the gun and fired before he could unstrap his holster. The blow to his shoulder sent him to the ground. Blood oozed from the wound, and I knew I only had seconds to get out of there. I fired one more shot, crippling his ability to walk by blowing out his knee. Surprisingly enough, my aim was spot on.
I ran to the car, praying he couldn’t maneuver his weapon while in such excruciating pain. Stoshua was staring out the back of the car when I climbed in. “What have you done?”
“He’ll live. Shut up and turn around. I told you to act normal.”
“Normal? Nothing about this is normal. You’re putting my kids in danger, Ivy. Next they’ll be firing at us. Let us go. Run away to whatever country you want. Don’t drag us with you. They’re children. They can’t handle this way of life. You’ll always be looking behind your back. I don’t want to do that.”
I pointed the gun between his eyes. A scream echoed from the backseat, so loud it was piercing. “Quiet! I can’t hear myself think.”
Destiny began to cry. She was hugging a stuffed bunny, her bottom lip extended while she pouted. “I want to go home. I don’t want to be a princess. Daddy, I want my mommy.”
“Make her stop, Stoshua.”
“What’s wrong? You can’t take the stress of dealing with a small child? Maybe it’s why you’ll never have kids of your own. Maybe God knows you’re a total psychopath.”
He hit a nerve, causing me to overreact. I took the tip of the gun and aimed it at the back seat. “Make her shut up or you’ll be the only person I take with me.” In my defense I didn’t mean it. The kids were my first priority. I only said it to show him how serious I was.
“Stop the car,” Stoshua replied abruptly. He darted out and started throwing up in the grass on the shoulder.
I jumped out to make sure he was okay, but he waved me back in the car. “Leave me alone, Ivy. Just go away. Keep your crazy ass in one place.”
I couldn’t get upset over him still being salty with me. Unlike my thick skin, Stoshua had never been able to handle extreme situations well. The emotions he was going through were natural. He didn’t have killer tendencies. I didn’t think it was possible for me to do it, until I watched my sister sinking to her death. Now it felt easy to take a life.
The thought still made me grin from cheek to cheek.
Stoshua would learn to accept our relationship. He had to if he wanted to be a part of his kid’s lives.
“We need to get moving. I can’t sit here all day. The cop has probably called for backup by now. Hurry up!”
“Are you serious? You forced me to drive my wife into a pond. You aimed a gun at my head more times than I want to admit, and you’ve just threatened the lives of my children. Why would I want to go anywhere with you? Isn’t it obvious? You make me sick, Ivy. You make me want to take that gun and blow my head off. It’s better than being forced to spend another minute close to you.”
“I’d rethink your words, considering I hold your children’s future in my hands. If you want out, you know what has to happen. I can’t leave loose ends, especially when I know you’ll come looking for us. You need to make up your mind. I don’t have time for you to be indecisive.”
“Screw you!”
With shaking hands I raised the pistol toward him. “If this is how you want to go, it’s your prerogative.”
He said something under his breath and pointed to the car. “You’d shoot me in front of my kids? Do you honestly think Destiny would ever forgive you? Just look at her. She’s scared to death.”
I turned to see the little girl crying her eyes out. Her hands were up against the glass as she wailed her father’s name.
Greif. I felt horrible. She’d broken my heart, and I didn’t know how to convince her I wasn’t the bad guy. I dropped the gun, tucking it into my pants before opening the car door and letting her run out to be with her father. He held her tightly, bracing her wh
ole body in his strong arms. “Daddy’s got you.”
“I want to go home.” She cried. “I want my mommy.”
Sirens could be heard in the distance. They were coming for me, and this time I wouldn’t be going back to the mental institution. They’d take me straight to jail, where I’d probably spend the rest of my life in a concrete cell. Destiny had already decided she didn’t want anything to do with her new fairy godmother. I’d played this out in my head too many times to be able to accept it wouldn’t work out.
While I struggled with my next move, the sirens were getting closer. I had a decision to make, and no time to dwell on what I couldn’t change. I’d done this to take down my sister. She was gone, and now I had the chance to be my own person, with or without Stoshua and his daughter.
“For what it’s worth, I did love you. I still do. I think you’re the only man I’ve ever loved, Stoshua. That’s why I’m going to let you live. Your daughter needs you. Please don’t come looking. You’ll never find us.”
I started running toward the car.
“Us?” He asked.
I looked in the backseat and then climbed in, not giving him enough time to understand what it implied. Marcus was coming with me. He’d never remember the day I became his mother. He’d never question our relationship. He’d love me unconditionally, which was all I’d ever wanted.
With no time to spare, I hit the gas and pulled away, watching as Stoshua struggled to catch us for only a few seconds. He knew this was the end of our agreement. I wouldn’t be back to find him again. I’d never try to contact him, or return the child. He got to keep his daughter. That should have been good enough for him, especially since the baby was too young for him to bond with. Surely it takes years for a man to love something that shits and pisses all the time, right? The baby would be a burden without Willow to help him. I was taking that burden off his hands.
It was a win-win scenario.
Since I was on back roads, I didn’t know the way to the airport. I knew I had to change cars before I was tracked down. When I came up on a truck stop, I pulled in and hid the vehicle in the back of the building.
I took the baby carrier out and walked inside, where a bunch of husky men sat together at a bar counter, eating their lunch. They all gave me a once over, and I knew what I had to do next. “Excuse me. I was wondering if one of you could give me a lift to the airport. Is anyone headed out that way? I’ve got an afternoon flight I’m trying to make, and my rental car broke down. It’s going to take them two hours to get to me, and I won’t have time to make it without missing my connection.”
An older man, probably in his sixties, with a head full of gray hair stood up and wiped his face. “I’ve got to run by there today.”
“Oh really,” I said with excitement. “I have money to pay for gas.”
“Nonsense. I was just finishing up. Do you have any luggage you need me to carry? I’d hate for you to have to lug it across the parking lot.”
“What truck is it? I’ll grab my things and meet you there. It’s not a lot.”
“It’s the green rig with the produce on the trailer. You can’t miss it.”
“Great. I’ll be there in a second.”
Just as I was walking out back I spotted one police vehicle blowing by the restaurant. I hurried to the car, grabbing my things and the diaper bag. I put both over my shoulder and used my other hand to hold the baby carrier.
A second police vehicle rushed by as I came up to the huge rig. The man was waiting for me, and grabbed the bags, lifting them up into the high truck. I climbed in and held the carrier, since there wasn’t a back seat to strap him into.
The old man climbed in and looked at me. “I’ve got a bucket you can sit on if you want to buckle him in the belt. It’s probably a good idea. This load is heavy, and it’s been a shaky ride.”
I did as he suggested, taking the aisle bucket and sitting down, while strapping Marcus in tight. The tractor trailer began to move slowly out of the parking lot, just as another two police vehicles passed us. “Wow. They seem to be in hot pursuit. We’ll probably catch up to an accident within the next mile. The roads are steep up ahead with the mountains.”
I kept quiet, playing with my hands and hoping his radio wouldn’t come on with news of a runaway woman with an infant. Just because I was packing didn’t mean I could operate a truck this size. I’d be looking for another ride, and out in the open for the cops to find me.
“So, are you from around here?”
“Originally. I’ve been away for a while. The baby and I came to say goodbye to some family members who unfortunately didn’t make it. We’re headed back to Reno now. My husband owns a cattle business there. My flight was delayed last night, so we really didn’t want to miss this one, right little guy,” I said while talking to the baby.
“Don’t worry. The airport isn’t far. Truth be told, probably half the men in the restaurant were headed in this direction. It’s right beside the interstate.”
More police vehicles rode the shoulder to get by us. “Must be something serious.”
“As long as it doesn’t hold us up, we should be fine. I see this stuff all the time.”
We drove in silence for a few minutes until I noticed we were driving into the city. A plane flew over and landed close by.
“We’re almost there. My truck isn’t allowed in the terminal drop-off area, so I’ll have to drop you off right before it.”
“That’s fine. I can manage.”
“I can park and carry your things if you’d like.”
“No. It’s fine. I’m a mom. I can handle it. Thank you for the ride. I really appreciate it.”
His radio buzzed on, and someone named Cowboy Tom was asking if others had heard what was happening with the police activity. Before the old man could respond, another person came on. His name was Cotton-eyed-Bo, and he claimed a woman had shot an officer during a routine traffic violation. She fled the scene and was just identified as someone who kidnapped a family, but was on the run with an infant.
Before he could say anything, I pulled the gun from my pants. “Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be. I don’t mean you any harm. I’m just trying to get home with my little boy. If you knew the whole story you’d understand. I’m not a bad person. They kept him from me. I only wanted to get him back. They were in the way of it happening. I had to take matters into my own hands.”
He put his hands up in the air. “I’ve got my own family. I support my bedridden wife. Without me she won’t be able to afford her medication.”
“Put your hands on the wheel and wait until I get out to pull away. If you’re smart, you’ll stay out of this.”
I climbed out of the truck, taking my things with me. The baby had begun to cry, so I quickly hunched over and fetched a bottle out of the diaper bag. I rocked his little chair while he fed and settled down. Since I was out in the open, I ducked down in a taxi terminal and finished taking care of him. I changed his diaper, thinking about Destiny helping with the last one. It made me sad I had to leave her behind, especially since she was the one I wanted to raise as my own child. Now I had a baby, and not the slightest idea how to take care of him. I’d never been one to babysit. I’d never even liked holding them. I’d have to figure it out. Hopefully it would come natural, or else I’d be in a heap of trouble.
While he sat in his chair, staring up at me, I wondered if he naturally assumed I was Willow. What would she have done differently?
She would have wanted him to be safe. People were looking for me. We were in danger. It was important to rethink my plan.
I’d originally bought tickets on a train. I could still make that if I caught another ride and started driving. All I had to do was find a vehicle, and with a huge parking lot behind us, I knew where to start looking.
Chapter 14
“Excuse me, sir, I can’t seem to find where I parked my car. We’ve been gone for a week, and I swear it’s somewhere in this lot. Do you
think you could help me?” The man was loading his luggage into his vehicle. He took one look at Marcus and put a smile on his face. If a baby did anything, it was get people to trust you.
“You say you parked in this lot? You know there are others on the airport property.”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
He turned back around to close his trunk and I took action, pulling my gun and waiting for him to notice. “What the hell, lady? Are you seriously robbing me with a baby?”
“Not exactly. I need you to take me somewhere. When I get where I’m going you’re free to leave.”
His hands were high in the air. “Okay. I’ll take you wherever, just don’t shoot me. Please, I have a baby myself at home.” I could tell he was petrified. He looked like the kind of person to pee himself during extremely stressful situations such as this.
“No one has to get hurt. Unlock the doors and get in the driver’s side.” He clicked the button and I heard the doors release. I opened the rear passenger side and slid in, while he scurried around to the driver’s side. He placed both hands on the steering wheel, looking forward instead of at me. “Now what?”
“Now we get out of here. If anyone asks, we just got back from a trip to Florida to see family. I’m in the back because the baby is cranky.”
He did as I said, paying for his parking and then exiting the lot without causing a scene. “Which way now?”
“I’m heading to the train station. Are you familiar with it?”
“Yeah. I’ve been there.”
“Good. Then shut up and drive. This place is crawling with cops.”
“Are you the person they’re looking for?” He began to freak out. “Oh God, I knew I should have taken an earlier flight. I could tell something bad was going to happen when I woke up this morning. I haven’t even called my wife to tell her I got in okay. She’s never going to know…”
Twinsequences Ivy Page 9
