Chapter Twenty-Four

Eric

Driving around all day isn't much of a plan. But at least, I got them away from Steve's house. The man has been through enough. But I know I need to come up with something. I see the fear on Calee's face as plain as day and I want to do something to erase that. I don't ever want her to have to feel fear like this again. Like Steve, she's been through enough.

“You okay?” I ask.

She nods. “I'm fine. You?”

“I'm good.”

There's a tension in the car and the unmistakable stink of fear and uncertainty. There's a big part of me that wants to stop the car and shoot it out with them right here and now. But I know that will do way more harm than good. The cops tend to frown upon shootouts in residential neighborhoods.

My first thought is to get us to the airport and book us on the first flight out. My return ticket is open-ended, so I can go anytime I want. But then I remember that Calee doesn't have an ID and won't be able to get on the plane.

“Shit,” I mutter.

“What is it?”

“We're going to have to drive all the way back to California.”

She looks at me, confused. “Why?”

“You need an ID to fly,” I say. “And there's no getting around it.”

“I'm sorry,” she says meekly.

“Calee, it's not your fault,” I say gently. “Stop saying you're sorry about everything. Please?”

“I'm sor –”

I cut her off with a look and an arched eyebrow. She looks back at me for a long moment and then we start to laugh. It's a long, loud laugh – and definitely out of proportion with the reason we're laughing. But it feels good to actually laugh. It breaks the tension in the car – which is very welcome.

Slowly, our laughter fades away and silence descends between us once more. At least the tension in the car is gone though.

“Okay, so we drive,” I say. “Not a big deal. But I think we need to lose our escort before we hit the open road.”

She looks at me and smiles. “I think it would be a good idea.”

“Which brings me to my next question,” I say. “And that is, how are we going to accomplish that?”

Calee looks at me and gives me a small shrug of her shoulders. I didn't expect her to have the answer. Not really. Sometimes though, it helps me come up with an idea when I just talk things out. As we drive by an outdoor mall, an idea starts to form in my head. As I look at the crowd of people milling about, the idea starts to solidify. But, it's an idea that isn't without risk and one that will put Calee in a little bit of danger.

“I think I've got it,” I say.

Calee looks at me. “Got a plan?”

“I think so,” I say. “But you might not like it.”

There's a momentary flash of fear in her eyes but she stuffs it back down almost immediately. Locking eyes with me, she nods.

“Let's hear it,” she says.

I check the mirror again and see the same car back there – with one car kept between us as a buffer so they don't look so obvious. I lay out my plan to Calee and highlight the risk she'll be taking if she agrees to it.

“I'm in,” she says simply.

“Did you miss the part where I said you'd be in danger?”

She shrugs. “We're in danger out here on the road,” she says. “If this can get them off our tail long enough for us to get out of town and out of their reach, it's a risk worth taking.”

“Are you sure about this?”

She looks at me, a determined gleam in her eyes. “I am.”

I sigh and check the mirror one last time. “Okay, let's do it then.”

I take the next turn and double back to the outdoor mall. I pull into the lot and drive around a bit, looking for a parking spot. It's a little crowded, but I eventually find one. Getting out of the car, we walk side by side toward the mall like we don't have a care in the world. But from the corner of my eye, I'm watching as the car that's been following us pulls into the lot and parks a couple of rows over.

I take note of where they're parked and then guide Calee into the crowd. With one last furtive glance behind us, I see that it is indeed the two cowboys – Ennis and Harold, I think Calee called them – from the hotel headed our way.

With the crowd surprisingly thick, I guide her into it, doing my best to lose us amongst the crush of bodies.

~ooo000ooo~

I make my way back out to my rental and open it up. Grabbing what I need out of my bag, I close the door and walk over to the cowboys' car. I slip the solid steel knife out the sheath and look around, making sure I'm not being observed.

Everything looks clear, so I get to work. Kneeling down next to the front tire, I drive the knife into it. The air comes flooding out with a satisfying hissing sound. I repeat the process with a second tire. And a third. And the fourth. And just for good measure, I drive the knife into the radiator, watching the green coolant come gushing out with a smile.

Wiping the knife off on my jeans, I slip it back into the sheath and tuck it into the waistband of my pants as I turn and head back into the mall. The plan was for Calee to walk around, always keeping herself in a crowd. I don't think they'll try to forcibly take her in public like that. I told her to give me fifteen minutes and then go take a seat at the Starbucks and wait for me.

It's risky and I'm rolling the dice, hoping that I'm right about them not wanting to draw attention to themselves. I pick my way through the crowd, making my way toward our meeting spot, a knot in my stomach tightening. I don't like gambling with Calee's life like this, but we really don't have a whole lot of options.

When I get to the Starbucks, I breathe a sigh of relief when I see her sitting at a table outside. But sitting across from her are the two men in Stetsons – Harold and Ennis. I catch Calee's eye and I see the relief flooding her face. That of course, makes the two men turn and look at me. And the only expression I see on their faces is anger.

I give them both a big welcoming smile and sit down next to Calee, keeping my hand in my jacket pocket – and making sure they see me do it.

“Afternoon gentlemen,” I say. “How can I help you?”

“This don't concern you,” says the big man with the beard.

I shrug. “Actually, it does,” I say. “See, I'm responsible for the health and well being of Calee here and –”

“She's comin' back to the Ark with us,” the other man – who doesn't have a beard – cuts me off.

“See, that's where you're wrong,” I say. “She's not. She's actually not going anywhere with you.”

I take a quick look over at Calee and see that she's terrified. And probably with good reason. Who knows what sort of horrible things these two assholes did to her. She's sitting at the table, her eyes downcast, her face tight with fear. Her whole body is tense and she looks just like she did the first night I met her.

And now I understand her fears just a little bit better. These two men are big. Imposing. They're intimidating. Hell, I'm not a small guy, but they intimidate me too. I'm just better at hiding it. And the fact that I've got a gun in my hand pointed at them helps my confidence levels a bit too.

“And who the fuck are you?” asks the beard.

“Nobody of any consequence to you,” I say.

“Eric Galloway,” says the other man.

I give him a smile. “Well, brownie points for you,” I say and turn to the beard. “If you already knew my name, then why bother asking me who I am?”

The two men exchange a look and the anger on their faces only deepens. Calee is still silent, her gaze fixated on the top of the table. She looks paralyzed by her fear. I can only hope that she snaps out of it when it's time to move – which will be soon.

“This asshole thinks he's funny,” says the beard.

I lean forward, my hand still in my jacket pocket. “Tell me something,” I say. “You guys are supposedly, a religious cult, right?

“We're a religious community,” non-beard man corrects me.

I laugh and shake my head. “Okay great. Fine,” I say. “It's been a real long time since I've been to church, but I seem to recall something about God not being particularly fond of cursing. I also don't imagine he'd be on board with kidnapping, pedophilia, and murder. Not to mention –”

“Shut the fuck up,” the beard says.

“I'm pretty sure I read that in a book somewhere,” I go on. “The Bible – maybe you've heard of it?”

“You ain't got a clue what you're talkin' about,” non-beard says.

“You gonna believe this lyin' little whore?” the beard's voice is low, cold. “She tell you she's married and she went and fucked somebody else?”

I shrug. “I also heard her parents sold her off to your boss when she was what, thirteen?” I say. “Well below the age of consent, isn't it? And also – a crime.”

“Shut the fuck up,” beard says.

“Such witty repartee,” I say and roll my eyes.

“Witty what?” non-beard man asks.

“Forget it,” I say. “It'd be lost on you anyway.”

The two men exchange another look and I can tell they're antsy to get this show on the road. The prize they came to claim is sitting two feet from them and I can see in their eyes they really think they're walking out of here with her.

Which means, it's time to disabuse them of that notion.

I clear my throat and lean back in my chair, making sure they see that my hand is still in my coat pocket. I tap the butt of the gun on the table to get their attention. Leaning forward slightly, I lock eyes with the beard.

“In my pocket,” I say, pitching my voice low to avoid being overheard, “is a forty-five-caliber pistol. I know you're both armed, but I guarantee you that I'll be able to put two holes in each of your chests before you even draw. And believe me, gentlemen, forty-fives can do some nasty damage. Especially up close and personal like we are.”

The two men exchange a look that tells me they're trying to determine whether or not I'm telling the truth. I pull the hammer back on the gun, letting them hear the distinctive sound of a weapon being cocked. They look at me and narrow their eyes.

“Okay fellas, as much as I'd love to stay and continue with this scintillating conversation, I'm sure we all have better things to be doing with our time,” I say. “So, we're going –”

“The whore is comin' with us,” beard says.

I sigh and tap the butt of the gun on the table again to emphasize the fact that they have no leverage in this deal.

“Here's what's going to happen,” I say. “Calee and I are going to stand up and walk out of here. And you're going to sit there and watch us go.”

“The hell we will,” non-beard guy spits.

“Oh, you will,” I say. “Otherwise, I will put two in your chest. Last I checked, Colorado is a stand your ground state, so all I have to do is claim self-defence – and Calee, of course, will back me up on that. So, when they find the weapons on your corpses, everything is going to check out and we'll walk away anyway. So why don't we skip all the unpleasantness, drama with the cops, and oh yeah, your bloody deaths and just go our own way?”

The two men look at each other and I can tell they're thinking about reaching for their guns. I really don't want this to devolve into a gun battle in the middle of the shopping mall and want to avoid that if at all possible.

I tap the butt of the gun in my pocket on the table again for emphasis. “I have the high ground here, guys,” I say. “I'm a trained soldier. A marksman. You'll both be dead long before your guns clear your holsters. I guarantee you that.”

With my other hand, I take Calee by the arm and together, we stand up. The two men stare holes through me, but neither seems willing to challenge me.

“Come on,” I say to Calee. “We need to get out of here.”

Together, we turn and hurry out of the shopping center and through the parking lot. I look behind us but don't spot the cowboys following behind. No doubt, they believe they can pick us up anytime with the tracking device they'd planted in Calee's boot.

Good thing I left it on the hood of their car after I'd trashed it.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

Calee looks at me and nods, but still looks pretty shaken up. I imagine seeing the two men again after all she'd suffered at their hands couldn't have been easy for her.

“I guess I was pretty useless, huh?” she asks, giving me a weak smile. “I just – I just froze up.”

“Nonsense,” I say. “You did great. You got them where I wanted them to be and you held your ground. You could have let them take you away and you didn't. That took guts, and that's a win, Calee. You were great.”

She looks at me, her eyes hopeful. “Really?”

I nod. “Really.”

She stands a little bit straighter and the air of defeat that had been clinging to her starts to dissipate. The smile on her face becomes less false and uncertain, replaced by one that's more genuine. She looks behind us, intently scanning the crowd.

“What if they follow us?” she asks.

“That's going to be difficult for them to do.”

She looks at me, her expression curious. “Why is that?”

“I disabled their car,” I reply. “They won't be going anywhere for a while.”

She smiles again as I open the door to our car and usher her inside. Some of the tension in her shoulders eases and she starts to giggle. She looks up at me, her eyes wide and filled with wonder.

“So, does this mean we're free?” she asks. “We're finally free?”

I nod. “Looks that way,” I reply. “You won't have to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.”

Her giggles become outright laughter as I close the door and walk around to the driver's side. Slipping behind the wheel, I start the car.

“Thank you, Eric,” she says.

And then she leans over and kisses my cheek. The warm feel of her lips on my skin, innocent though it was, lingers. It stirs something in me that I can't place or understand. It's just – different. I don't have time to think about it though. We need to put some distance between us and the cowboys.

Putting the car in gear, I pull out of the parking lot and we head for the freeway. We head for home.