Chapter Eleven
They drove through the early-morning darkness. Cal kept the headlights off until they reached a paved road. Although she fought sleep, Lauren couldn’t help dozing, only to jerk awake seconds or minutes later. He didn’t look sleepy, and his driving was fine, as it always was, but she couldn’t get past the fact that he’d been unconscious just hours earlier.
After an hour of driving, they stopped once, pulling off the road a half mile from what looked like either a junkyard or the really messy acreage of someone who collected a lot of broken stuff. Cal used a screwdriver he found in a toolbox in the trunk to remove the back license plate and then loped toward the fence surrounding the property. Avoiding the glow of the security lights, he disappeared into the shadows.
Lauren waited in the car, chewing on her thumbnail. Her stomach was knotted as she waited for some sign that Cal had been discovered, an alarm or motion light or even a yell. She shifted over behind the steering wheel in case she needed to be the getaway driver again.
She was so focused on the property that she jumped when Cal appeared next to her window. He held up a dark rectangle she assumed was a freshly stolen license plate and disappeared behind the car. When he returned and opened the driver’s door, Lauren shifted back to the passenger seat.
“Success, I assume?” she asked.
He nodded, easing the car back on the road. “A Colorado plate with current registration, even.”
“Nice.” She wondered when she’d gotten so casual about stealing cars and license plates and even pants. “We’re in Colorado, then?”
“Yeah. Barely.”
She was quiet for a few moments. “Speaking of thievery, how’d you manage to steal the keys along with this car?”
“It was unlocked, and the keys were under the sun visor.”
She blinked. “Wow.”
“Small town.”
Although she gave a small nod, she couldn’t wrap her city-girl head around the notion of leaving her keys in her unlocked car—unless it was to grudgingly trade her car for an ancient VW bus.
A minivan passed them heading the other direction, and she resisted the urge to duck out of sight. All this being chased had made her paranoid.
“Do you think they’re following us?” she asked, looking over her shoulder through the rear window. “Should we be worried about leading the agents right to the other guys?”
“I’m pretty sure that you lost them yesterday. The way we’ve been zigzagging on these back roads, they’d have to have us in sight to follow. I’d hear them if they were that close.” He tipped his head toward his window, which was open a crack.
She nodded, sliding down in her seat a little, still imagining phantom SUVs trailing them in the darkness. Exhaustion was probably not helping her state of mind.
“Get some sleep,” Cal ordered, as if he’d read her mind.
“Promise not to pass out again if I do?” she asked on a yawn.
The dashboard lights illuminated his offended glare. “I didn’t ‘pass out.’ I was unconscious from being drugged with a really strong sedative. One that would’ve probably killed a normal guy.”
With an amused snort, she got as comfortable as she could while sitting upright and seat-belted. “Sorry. I can’t imagine how I’d ever think a manly man like you could ever faint.”
His grunt still sounded annoyed.
“If you do pass out while I’m sleeping, though, I’m going to torture you with that forever.” With another yawn, she closed her eyes.
* * *
Cold and the cessation of movement woke her, and she grudgingly opened her eyes. They were at a gas station, and it was still dark beyond the oasis of light around the gas pumps. She stretched and reached for her door handle.
“Stay inside,” Cal said quietly, leaning into the car through the opened driver’s-side window. “I don’t want the cameras catching you.”
He was wearing a Kansas City Chiefs baseball hat pulled down low over his eyes.
“Nice hat,” she said, letting her hand drop off the door handle. “Where’d you find that?”
“Floor in back.” He jerked his head toward the back seat. “You okay not using the bathroom here?”
She shrugged. “Sure, I can wait. I was more interested in restocking our snack-food supply.”
“I know they taste like shit, but we’ll have to make do with the protein bars. If you stay in the car, you’re hidden from the cameras. They’re more for catching license plate numbers of gas drive-offs but I don’t want any footage of you floating around.”
The gas nozzle clicked, and Cal pulled away from the window. As he finished at the pump, Lauren reached for one of the protein bars. She was still staring at it when he got back into the driver’s seat and started the car.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he turned left onto the mostly deserted street.
She sighed. “It seems wrong to complain when we could be dead right now.”
Shooting her an amused look, he made a “go on” gesture.
“These are probably the only things that taste worse than beef jerky.” She held the protein bar by the wrapper with two fingers.
“Jesus, give it to me.” He reached for the bar. “I’ll eat it, without whining even.”
She peeled it from the wrapper and smacked it into his palm. “Do we need to have the I’m-not-a-whiner argument again?”
Eating the bar in two bites, he just winked at her and turned back to the road.
“Did you just wink?” she asked, holding back a laugh. “Are some of those drugs still in your system?”
He held out a hand. “Water.”
With a laugh, she said, “What, no ‘please’? Now that’s the Cal I know and love.” Her hand froze in the process of reaching for a bottle of water, wondering if her casual mention of love would cause some in-car awkwardness. She forced herself to look at him, and he didn’t seem perturbed. He was just driving, waiting for her to get him water.
She grabbed a bottle and twisted the cap off but didn’t hand it to him. “That protein bar was pretty dry, huh?”
With an affirmative grunt, he reached for the bottle.
She moved it out of his reach. “Bet you’re thirsty. Really, really thirsty.”
He glanced at her. “Yeah, which is why I need the water.”
“Uh-huh. So... I believe you were telling me how not-whiny I really am.”
His fingers shot out. Instead of grabbing the bottle, like she expected, he tickled her side, making her squeal and pull her arms in to block him. He snatched the water now within reach and took a drink, smirking.
“Ooh, dirty tricks,” she said, shaking her head. “I never thought you’d resort to tickle torture.”
He shot her a look that was still amused but starting to heat. “You haven’t seen tickle torture yet. Just wait ’til I’m not driving.”
Although she laughed, she squirmed at the same time, images of his hands on her body making her hot. Cal seemed to be able to bring her from zero to sixty with just a look or a suggestive comment.
She rested her head against the seat, half-dozing. Her thoughts settled on her “love” comment. She couldn’t really love him—she hadn’t known him long enough. Until this crazy road trip from hell began, she’d only talked to him a handful of times. They hadn’t even gone on a real date, unless you counted the dinner and dancing in Myron, followed by the emergency condom run to the gas station. She grinned. It’d been a pretty good date, as dates went.
“What are you smiling about?”
Turning her head to look at him, she felt her smile grow bigger. “Our first date.”
His forehead creased in confusion. “Cake in the mail room?”
“That counts as a date?”
He shrugged, not looking at her. “I don’t know what counts. Don’t really date much. Or ever.”
“I was thinking of the bar in Myron.”
“Right.” His glance heated her again. “Yeah, that was a good date. I liked how it ended.”
Flushing, she cleared her throat. “I guess we could count the time we spent sleeping in the VW, too. Camping date.”
His hand found her knee and slid up to her thigh. “I liked how that ended, too.”
He squeezed, and her breath caught.
“Okay,” she said, her voice husky, as she peeled his hand away and placed it back on the gearshift. “Enough of that or we’re going to have to pull over somewhere.”
“I vote for pulling over,” he said, reaching toward her again.
“Nope.” She scooted against the door and smacked his approaching hand.
He withdrew it while making a disappointed sound.
“We’re driving. I’m not going to be stuck in this car with just these disgusting things to eat for any longer than I have to be.” She gave the box of protein bars a kick. “How much farther is it, anyway?”
“Just over three hours.” He still sounded sulky, which Lauren found stupidly hot.
“That’s it?”
“If we don’t have to make any detours or blow up any more cars.”
She nodded. “Let’s shoot for that. I’ve had enough explosions for a while.”
* * *
The motion of the car and the surrounding darkness made sleep impossible to resist. The next thing she knew, something was brushing her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw it was Cal’s fingers.
“We there yet?” she asked, her voice rough with sleep.
“Nope.” He pulled his hand away and rested it on the shifter. “Just thought you’d want to wipe off the drool before we got there.”
“What?” Her hand flew to her chin. “You dick. There’s no drool.”
He just grinned, showing off his dimples.
Smacking his shoulder with her fist, she repeated, “Dick.”
She looked around, and her breath caught. The sun was just peeking over the mountains to the east, painting the clouds red. As they followed the curve of the road, the pine trees thinned, and the high plains stretched before them ringed in mountain peaks.
“Wow,” she said.
“Yeah, thought you might like to see that.”
“Thanks.” She took in the view silently for a while. “We must be high, huh?”
At his amused look, she rolled her eyes.
“Altitude-wise, I mean.”
“About ten thousand feet, so yeah.” He shot her a smile. “We’re high.”
Now that she knew the altitude, she noticed the air felt thin and dry. And cold. She reached over and cranked the heat.
They drove for another forty minutes, passing through a small collection of buildings that pretended to be a town. It was her opinion that a gas station and four ramshackle houses did not a town make. As they crested a hill, Cal pointed at a herd of elk spread out in the distance.
When they arrived at the next town, which was actually large enough to qualify as a town in her mind, they stopped for gas.
“How much longer?” Lauren asked, bouncing on the seat a little after being told to stay in the car. Her bladder protested, and she stopped bouncing.
“Half hour. Can you make it?”
“Yep.” She looked longingly at the gas station but sat back in her seat. A little discomfort was worth not getting caught on camera. She didn’t know if the agents could even access the gas-station footage, but it wasn’t worth it, especially when they were so close to Cal’s friends’ place.
“Good.” He leaned over and gave her a quick, hard kiss before rubbing his knuckles against her head. “You’re a tough little nut.”
“Hey!” She laughed and pulled away. “It is not noogie time.”
He grinned and kissed her again.
* * *
The last half hour of the drive was torturous. Ten minutes after leaving the gas station, Cal turned onto a gravel road. It had ruts and holes and cattle guards, all causing the car to lurch and jostle her bladder. When he turned onto another road, she sighed with relief, but this one proved to be worse than the last.
“Stop.” Lauren couldn’t take it any longer. “I’m just going to pee behind that big rock.”
When Cal looked at her skeptically without slowing the car, she set her jaw.
“It’s either this rock or right here on the seat after the next bump,” she threatened. “I don’t even care if someone gets satellite pictures of me with my pants down. I just have to go. Now.”
He stopped the car next to the rock. She jumped out and ran for the boulder as soon as the car was relatively motionless. She looked around as she peed, feeling exposed now that the worst of the urgency had passed, but she couldn’t see any sign of civilization—no buildings, people or other cars were in sight.
As she climbed back into the car, she sighed. “I’d give pretty much anything for a wet wipe right now.”
He smirked at her as he eased the car forward. “Feel better?”
“So, so much better.” She glanced over her shoulder at the rock behind them. “I now dub thee Toilet Rock.”
“Talking to inanimate objects again?”
“Yep,” she said, leaning back and enjoying the sensation of an empty bladder. “They’re the best. They never get sassy with me.”
“You calling me sassy?” he fake-growled.
She squinted at him. “I don’t know if ‘sassy’ fits. Asshole-ish is a better word.”
Laughing, she scooted against the door as he reached a hand toward her, his fingers unerringly finding the ticklish spots on her side.
“Okay, okay!” she shrieked, trying to fend off his hand. “Slightly abrasive, how’s that?”
“Not much better,” he grumbled, but he withdrew his fingers of torture.
The road twisted around, slowly climbing to a ridge covered in pine trees. They turned again, this time onto a two-track path that was more worn rock than gravel. Lauren was glad there wasn’t much snow except for a white patch here and there. The road was bad enough; she’d hate to be on it after a snowstorm.
They snaked through the trees, bumping over rocks and ruts, until they reached a tall metal gate. On either side of the gate, a ten-foot-high wire fence snaked off into the distance. It looked a little scary with the razor wire lining the top.
She unlocked her door to hop out and open the gate, but Cal put a hand on her arm and kept her still. After a few moments, the gate swung open on its own and Cal drove through.
“How...?” Twisting around, she saw a camera mounted at the top of the gate. Most of the body of the camera had been hidden from the front. “Oh, I see. They were looking at us. Sneaky.”
The car crawled along for what felt like forever before a lodge-type building came into view. As they pulled up near the wide porch, a man appeared in front of the car so quickly, he made Lauren jump. He walked to the driver’s side, and she ducked her head a bit so she could keep looking at him.
Holy moly, the lab grew them hot!
The man was even bigger than Calvin. He had dark brown hair cut military short and blue eyes. The contours of his face were chiseled and hard, matching the firm, straight line of his mouth. She gave a muffled snort, and Cal shot her a questioning look.
“He just looks like a comic-book character. I feel like he should be wearing a cape and theme music should be announcing him with ‘duh-duh-duh-da!’”
It was Cal’s turn to give an amused snort. “That’s Ari. Short for Aristotle.”
“Seriously?”
“What?”
“You guys couldn’t think of a better name that started with A?”
“That is the best one.” Cal started to open the door.
“Any trouble?” Ari asked, catching the edge of the door and pulling it open the rest of the way.
“Some.” Cal climbed out of the car. “Pretty sure we left them in Kansas, though.”
Using the handle on the open door to help haul her sore, stiff body to a standing position, she leaned against the car until she found her balance. Yesterday’s accident, plus hours of sitting, had her body viciously protesting any movement. Taking a couple wobbly steps back, she swung the car door closed with a louder thump than she’d intended. Both men looked over at her.
“Hi.” She gave a dorky little wave, realized what she was doing and immediately dropped her hand. “I’m Lauren.”
Aristotle looked at her expressionlessly for a moment before turning his gaze on Cal, who suddenly became interested in looking around at the scenery. With a shake of his head, Aristotle looked up at the sky and scrubbed a hand over his head.
“Christ, it’s like fucking Noah’s ark around here, coming in two by two,” he muttered. “Thought you’d be smarter than that, C.”
“Fuck off, dickhead,” Cal growled, slamming his door shut with enough force to make Lauren wince. “I wouldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for her.”
She met Aristotle’s gaze again and tried to match his cool, one-eyebrow-lifted expression. A slight hint of amusement touched his mouth before he locked it down.
“Thanks for letting us hide here. Just point us to the nearest extra bed.” She realized she was over-sharing, or over-implying, at least. “Or...um...two beds or, well, sofas would be fine or a couple of sleeping bags even...”
They were both staring at her again. Calvin looked amused.
“One bed will do.” Heat joined the laughter in his eyes. “Where are we staying?”
Aristotle jerked his head toward the far side of the lodge. “Take any of the three cabins on the west side. Once you unpack, park the car in the shed behind the last cabin.”
She couldn’t hold back a laugh at that. “Unpack what? What you see is what we own. See these jeans? Not mine. All our stuff blew up. You wouldn’t happen to have some spare toothbrushes, would you?”
After eyeing her for a moment, he gave a clipped nod. “We’ve got supplies. Get the car out of sight and pick a cabin, then come back here. Everyone else is inside.”
Although the mention of “everyone” roused her curiosity, she forced herself back in the car. Cal drove them along a curving path that was so narrow the pine boughs brushed the windows. It wasn’t far to the first cabin, and the second and third came along in quick succession.
“That one,” Lauren said when she saw the third cabin. “But they’re all cute. Did this used to be a resort?”
He nodded, pulling the car into a three-sided shed. “Looks like it.”
She climbed out, hauling the case of water and food with her, although she was tempted to leave the protein bars out for the squirrels. As she circled the car, he met her and took the supplies out of her arms. They followed the path back to the third cabin.
“Not to ask a rude question, but did Aristotle buy this place or are we all just squatting?” She skipped a step to catch up to him and had to sigh. Once again, she was following him through the woods.
“He owns it,” he tossed over his shoulder, moving the supplies to one arm to free up the other hand to open the door, which had apparently been left unlocked.
“How’d he get the money?” she asked, following him inside. “To ask another rude question.”
He grinned at her. “He and Benji got banned from a few Vegas casinos.”
“Counting cards, just another useful bionic skill.” She looked around the small cabin. It was mainly one room with spiral stairs leading to a loft. It was decorated in a Western motif, with a twisted pine coffee table and a red, comfortable-looking couch. The flat-screen TV mounted on the log wall appeared to be fairly new, albeit dusty. A mini-kitchen took up a section of the far wall, with a sink, small refrigerator and a microwave.
After climbing the narrow spiral staircase, she saw the loft held a queen bed and a dresser. The upstairs covered half of the lower level and a waist-high railing lined the edge overlooking the main living space. She trotted back down the stairs and headed for one of the two interior doors.
Peeking inside, she smiled when she found a full bathroom. Until she saw it, she wasn’t sure exactly how rustic the cabin-living experience was going to be. Peeing behind a rock was fine in an emergency, but she’d prefer not having to do it on a regular basis. Plus, sometimes there was nothing better than a hot shower—her three days on the road had hammered that home.
Opening the second door, she found a closet. As she stared at the bare hangers, she added clothes to the mental list of supplies they’d need for their stay. Chewing on the inside of her lower lip, she closed the door.
“What’s wrong?”
She turned around at the sound of Cal’s voice. “What?”
“You’re staring at a door, so obviously something’s up.”
Her legs felt shaky suddenly. She moved to the couch and plopped down.
“Shit, what is it?” He followed, crouching down in front of her.
“I just realized this isn’t over.”
He looked at her blankly.
“When we were driving, the goal was to make it here. Now that we’re here...well, we’re here.”
With a shake of his head, he said, “You’re losing me. What are you trying to say?”
“This is going to be our lives for a while, isn’t it? Hiding?”
His eyes were wary. “Yeah.”
She nodded.
His hands grasped her thighs, and she looked down at them, sucking in a breath at the pressure on the bandaged cut on her right leg.
“Sorry.” He immediately released her, holding his palms a couple of inches above her lap. “Do you want to be here? With me?”
His words were low but they had a frantic edge, so unlike Cal’s usual unflappable demeanor that she brought her gaze up to meet his once more.
Before she could say anything, he spoke again, low and fast. “You’re not safe out there on your own. You can’t go back to Florida. They’ll take you to the lab. It’s too fucking late. I tried to keep you out of this, but now you’re in it. You can’t motherfucking leave. Shit, Laur—I don’t want you to leave.”
While he was talking, his hands had moved to grasp handfuls of her coat. He pulled her closer, inserting his crouched body between her knees and pressing his forehead to her shoulder.
“It’s okay, Cal,” she soothed, her hands automatically rubbing his back. “I don’t want to leave. I just had a moment of... I don’t know...reality. It just hit me that the road trip was just the beginning. This is real and scary, and I won’t be able to go home for who knows how long.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he stood up and turned, rotating so he was sitting on the couch with her in his lap. He unzipped her coat and slid his arms underneath, hugging her against his chest.
“Why the hell did an empty closet make you realize this, and not exploding cars or fucking tranquilizer darts?”
She huffed a laugh against his chest. “Good question. I think I was just focused on surviving then. Well, surviving and not whining so you wouldn’t bitch at me.”
His hands slid up and down her back. “I want you to stay. Not just so you’ll be safe. I want you with me. I think about you leaving, and my chest caves in.”
“I know the exact chest-caving feeling you’re talking about.” She pushed back to look at him. “Despite everything, I’m glad I warned you when the agents were looking for you at TechnoCorp. I’m glad I got sucked into this craziness. I’d even sign up for our road trip from hell again, if it was the only way I could be with you.”
He yanked her back against him and pressed his lips below her ear. Lauren could feel his heart thundering in his chest, beating faster than it had when he’d run, carrying her, from the agents. She was amazed that she’d returned the Bionic Man to his basic human form, to a point where his heart raced just from holding her against him.
“All mushiness aside,” she said after a long moment, “it would be nice to be able to leave the mountain eventually.”
He groaned and his grip eased slightly. “Fuck. You want a long-term plan, don’t you?”
Leaning back, she grinned up at him. “Yep.”
He smiled back. “A motherfucking long-term plan it is, then.”
* * * * *