by Noelle Adams
Road Tripping
Noelle Adams
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Noelle Adams. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.
Content Editing: Kristin Anders, The Romantic Editor.
Proofreading: Vanessa Bridges
Contents
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
Day Eight and a Half
Day Nine
Day Ten
Day Eleven
Day Twelve
Day Thirteen
Day Fourteen
Epilogue
Deleted Scene
Excerpt from Seducing the Enemy
About the Author
Day One
Southwest Virginia
Ashley Sullivan felt like an idiot.
She hoped no one she knew would see her in this outfit as she pumped gas into Miss Horner’s old pickup truck. She’d even gone to a gas station a little ways out of town—a run-down, one-pump stop on the side of the road—in the hopes of avoiding people.
Ashley had always been kind of a good girl, but for the last eighteen months she’d been trying even harder. She never got in trouble. She was getting straight A’s as a pre-med major at the University of Virginia. She called her mother several times a week to check in. She’d even come back to her one-traffic-light, mountain hometown in southwest Virginia this summer, instead of staying in Charlottesville and hanging out with her friends, so her parents wouldn’t be disappointed.
But putting on this ridiculous outfit was just about as far as her good-girl-ness would take her.
Eighty-eight-year-old Miss Horner, who’d lived next door since Ashley was born, had wanted her to come over for a visit, since her parents were still on their cross-country road trip. Miss Horner insisted on preparing a whole afternoon tea routine, so Ashley had to dress for the occasion.
That was why she was dressed like an idiot at the moment.
She wore a knee-length, floral skirt with a prim lavender top that her mother had bought her in high school. The top layer of her brown hair was pulled back with a barrette. Miss Horner gushed over how she looked prettier every time she saw her, so her feminine outfit must have served its purpose. But Ashley couldn’t wait to get out of it and put on her shorts and t-shirt again.
Her brother had made a mess of his life and caused her parents endless heartache. Ashley was determined to make up for that in any way she could by being a good student, a good daughter, and a good person—and also having a safe, successful future as a doctor.
Still, there were limits. This would be the last time she put on this particular outfit.
Her parents were driving back and forth from California, where they were visiting her brother, so they wouldn’t be back for a couple of weeks. After paying her obligatory visit to Miss Horner, Ashley was planning to spend a relaxing week of sleeping in, reading, watching TV, and fishing before she started her job at the grocery store in a neighboring town for the summer.
Miss Horner had fretted about how her truck was low on gas during the hour Ashley had spent there, so Ashley had volunteered to fill it up for her. Miss Horner had gratefully given her the gas station credit card, saying she should buy herself an ice-cream as a thank-you.
Ashley didn’t need an ice-cream. She just wanted to get the truck filled up so she could drive it back and then get out of these clothes.
She had just twisted the cap back onto the gas tank when she heard a familiar voice. She looked up to see a vehicle—a brand new, very expensive pickup truck—that matched the voice.
If she ignored him, maybe he would go away.
She tried to ignore him, but he didn’t go away.
“Ashley,” Ethan called, louder this time. He’d pulled his truck on the other side of the pump. “I know you heard me. You looked right at me.”
“Then you should take that as a hint and slink away quietly.” She tried to keep her face detached and careless, rather than revealing how much she despised him.
He was one of the main reasons she had to make an extra effort to be good.
She’d known Ethan all her life. He’d been her brother’s best friend, and she’d alternately been annoyed by him and been in love with him, depending on the day, until a year and a half ago, when he’d pulled her brother into all kinds of trouble and eventually gotten them both arrested.
She hadn’t seen him or talked to him since—although she’d spent many long hours brooding and crying about what happened to both Ethan and her brother, Mark.
Just her luck that he would catch her in this prissy outfit.
Ethan was wearing a pair of beat-up jeans, an open camp shirt, and a t-shirt he’d had since he was sixteen that said, “So many fish, so little time,” so he had no right to sneer at her appearance.
He sneered anyway as his eyes reached her strappy sandals and slid back up. “I’ve never slunk in my life.”
She looked at the pump gauge, hoping her tank was almost full. It wasn’t. “Well, then don’t slink away. Storm off in righteous indignation, or flounce off in a huff for all I care. The point is to disappear as quickly as possible.”
She was quite pleased with her clever response. Going to college might actually have made her smarter.
When he started pumping gas into his tank, he stepped around his truck toward her. His green eyes traveled the length of her body once more.
He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Are they dressing that way in college these days?”
Ethan hadn’t finished college. He’d dropped out a couple of years ago when he’d gotten involved in the local moonshine ring.
People outside of her county in southwest Virginia might not realize that the production and distribution of illegal whiskey was such big business even now. But there were a lot of people in these parts and surrounding areas who didn’t like the government getting involved in their business—including what they drank. This particular moonshine enterprise had been established by Old Nehemiah Jones during Prohibition and had been passed down through generations of the Jones family.
The men involved were pretty sleazy, particularly Buster Jones, who was the heir to the still. They all basically did whatever they wanted, since they had guys on the take in both law enforcement and local government. But Ashley would have just left them to their own thing had Ethan not gotten involved—and then pulled her brother into it too.
They’d both been charged with misdemeanors and were sentenced to community service, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. But it would still be on Mark’s record for the rest of his life, and Ethan had refused to talk to her brother since.
Mark was in college in California now, evidently trying to get as far away from his history as he could. Ashley didn’t even get to talk to him much anymore, and she’d been trying desperately to never cause her parents the same kind of disappointment and heartbreak. She was angry with Mark a lot of the time for being stupid, but mostly she blamed Ethan.
When she didn’t answer his question, Ethan added, “Or are you going to college in the 1950’s?”
His tone was teasing, the way he used to talk to her all the time. As if nothing had happened in the last year that might change the relationship between them.
She sucked in an indignant breath and glared at him before she remembered she was supposed to be acting cool and indi
fferent. “Don’t you have something to do other than insult my clothes? Surely there are some illegal substances you could be running.”
Ethan hadn’t been arrested since the first time, but he was still hanging out with the sleazy moonshiners and didn’t have any other job. He’d inherited a sizeable piece of land right on the river with a boat dock when his grandparents died. It wasn’t hard to guess how he was putting it to use.
His grandfather had been a deacon in the church, and his grandmother had directed the choir. They were the ones who had raised him, and they’d be horrified to know what had happened to their grandson.
There were plenty of people in the county who thought Ethan was a stand-up guy and that the moonshiners were doing their civic duty—since the government had gone way over the line in the last fifty years in forcing its intrusive way into private citizens’ business.
But Ashley’s brother—her whole family—had suffered because of Ethan, so she wasn’t inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
His expression changed as he processed her words. “So Mark didn’t tell you the whole story?” he asked at last.
She stared at him, confused and indignant. “He told me enough. And how can you stand there right now and not look even a little ashamed at having dragged him into your mess? He’ll have that conviction on his record for the rest of his life.’
“I know.” Ethan’s face was odd now. Almost quiet.
Maybe he was a little bit ashamed. She hoped so. At least it would be proof that he wasn’t totally heartless, the way he’d been acting for the last year.
Ethan was still as good-looking as he’d been before, a fact that annoyed her as much as anything else. It seemed like a life of crime should cast its mark on your appearance. But he still had the same strong features, vivid green eyes, and lean, fit body. His hair had been blazing red when he was a kid, but it had darkened now to an auburn. She knew he didn’t like it, so he kept it cut really short.
“Mark isn’t exactly an angel, you know.”
Ashley actually gasped at the stab of pain that shot through her chest. Of course, she knew her brother wasn’t blameless, but he’d mostly been going along with Ethan’s plans, the way he always had. He’d always trusted Ethan.
So had she.
The thought upset her so much that she set the lever to pump the deathly-slow gas automatically and then walked into the small convenience shop without saying another word. She normally didn’t leave her gas unattended—since she was a rule-follower by nature and had been more careful than ever about it since the thing with Mark—but she needed to get away from Ethan. Now.
Two years ago, the summer she was seventeen, Ethan had come back from his freshman year in college. He’d seemed to transform while he was away from the skinny boy she’d known before. He’d broadened across the shoulders and chest, and he’d suddenly become really good-looking.
Very good-looking.
The lingering crush on him Ashley had had all her life had morphed into full-blown love.
She’d thought it was love, at least.
He’d hung around the house a lot, since Mark was home for the summer too. He’d spent just as much time with her as he had with Mark, though. He’d helped her in the garden and taken her out on his old boat to fish.
He’d even put his arm around her a few times. She’d thought, hoped, dreamed, he might be falling for her.
Then the next thing she knew, he and Mark had been arrested.
As she picked up a basket from the side of the entrance and walked through the aisles, picking up essentials like milk, Coke, and chocolate, she couldn’t help but remember the years Ethan had been like part of her family, ever since he and Mark had become friends in elementary school. He’d played games with them in the back yard and come over for dinner regularly. She’d horned in on more of their fishing trips than she could remember.
She wasn’t sure what had happened to him in the last two years, and it really hurt again when she thought about it.
She was standing in front of the one small shelving unit in the shop with pantry items, trying to remember if her parents had enough coffee, when a voice came from behind her, “You shouldn’t leave your car unattended.”
She whirled around and scowled at Ethan. “If you ever decide you’re going to obey all the rules, then you can start bossing me around about them.”
“Seriously. What if the pump doesn’t click off when it’s full? You’d have gas all over the ground and you’d have to pay for it. Or Miss Horner would. That’s her truck, isn’t it?”
She just rolled her eyes and grabbed some coffee. If her parents already had some, it wouldn’t matter. They could always use some more.
She wasn’t going to risk being out of coffee.
“Are your folks back in town yet?” he asked, following her to the next aisle. He had a bottle of water in his hand—which he’d obviously come in here to buy—so he must just be trying to annoy her now.
She wasn’t surprised he knew they’d been gone. Everyone knew everyone else’s business in this town. “Not yet. They’re driving home after visiting Mark. He used to be your friend. Remember?”
“You know, it might be smart not to draw conclusions before you know all the facts.” He sounded cool, almost offended. “Mark was my friend. But I thought you were too.”
She turned on him, practically gnashing her teeth in her outrage, “And what facts don’t I have now that would help me to draw different conclusions? If we’re not friends anymore, then you have no one but yourself to blame.”
She realized she was getting too upset, so she walked away from him again. She didn’t need this. He upset her too much. She was going to have a secure future without any mess or heartbreak.
And Ethan always, only led to mess and heartbreak.
She was still stewing—hurt and angry and indignant—as she paid for her stuff and brought the bag back to Miss Horner’s truck.
The gas pump had stopped and hadn’t overflowed, so she turned the cap and pulled out her purse, setting it on the hood of the pickup so she could put her change back in her wallet.
And, damn it, there was Ethan again.
“Ashley,” he was saying, “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I don’t think it’s as—”
He never finished his sentence.
His eyes darted over her shoulder, and, before Ashley knew what was happening, he had slammed into her from the side, pushing her down to the pavement in a move that scratched up her palms and knees. Shocked and winded, she stared up at Ethan, who was pretty much on top of her now.
She started to ask what was going on and request that he get off her, but he interrupted by hissing, “Quiet.”
Recognizing real urgency in his voice, Ashley shut up and waited, her heart pounding and her breath uneven.
Then there was a gunshot. Or what sounded like a gunshot.
When she turned her head, she saw that one of Ethan’s truck tires had been blown.
After another second, Ethan ordered, “Get in.” He hauled her to her feet, grabbed her arm, and dragged her into Miss Horner’s truck, pushing her over into the passenger side and taking the driver’s side himself. Ashley didn’t pull away. Not that she had much choice. She could never have freed herself from Ethan’s powerful grip.
She was terrified, although she did spare a quick thought for her purse, which was still on the hood of the truck.
When she heard more gunshots, she shrieked and ducked her head to her lap.
One bullet blew off the driver’s side mirror.
Ethan had already shifted into gear. “Stay down,” he said and floored the gas pedal.
The truck roared to life and veered out onto the road. Ashley fumbled to put on her seat belt, figuring it was only common sense to wear it during a car chase—which she was apparently now in the middle of. “They’re shooting at you!” she gasped, relieved when she heard her seatbelt click into place.
Ethan turned left
without warning onto a county road, barely missing an oncoming van. “Brilliant observation,” he said, although he didn’t take his eyes off the road.
“Why are they shooting at you?” Ashley asked, not at all intimidated by his sarcasm. She peeked out the back and saw that they were being pursued by a black sedan. Thankfully, no one was hanging out the side pointing guns at her, as she half expected.
“I don’t know,” Ethan replied, making another perilous turn and picking up his speed—unfortunately for Ashley’s sense of safety, doing them both at the same time. “I’ve got to make a call and figure out what’s going on. Take my phone out of my shirt pocket. The steering on this piece of junk is non-existent so I can’t let go of the wheel.”
Glad he still had both hands on the steering wheel, Ashley reached over and pulled his phone out of his pocket, accidentally brushing against his firm chest as she did.
“Press the last number that came in and hand it to me.” He took another turn at such a high speed that Ashley was sure the truck was going to flip.
It didn’t, and in another moment, Ethan was speeding up the on-ramp to the highway. At least now he wouldn’t be turning. And he could go a lot faster. Which was a good thing, since the black sedan was right on their tail.
She passed the phone to him, and he barked out a series of questions to whomever he was talking to. Ashley didn’t follow everything he was saying, but the point seemed to be finding out about why whatever he’d been up to for the last week hadn’t worked, and who Buster might have called in to come after him.
When he disconnected, Ashley had managed to catch her breath, the whole thing so surreal it didn’t seem to even be happening. “Well, you can just leave me at the next exit. Thank you for the excitement, and I wish you well in escaping your pursuers.”
“You have to stay with me for now,” Ethan said. Before Ashley could do anything more than drop her jaw, he continued. “At least until I figure out what’s going on. If you weren’t in danger, I would have just left you at the gas station. But they’ve seen you with me, so they might use you to get to me.”
