Two towns, then three. We’re leaving Torch Lake behind, maybe forever, and I am filled with a strange mix of nostalgia and hope. I don’t understand the nostalgia. Not really. Torch Lake was a little slice of heaven, but it was also its own special brand of hell. Fucking tonsillitis.

But then, in the midst of it all, there was Sia. Sia putting a cool hand on my forehead. Sia bringing tea and lukewarm water that would cause the least pain as I swallowed.

Fine. It was mostly heaven.

After the third town, I flip the safety on the gun and put it carefully on the floor of the car. Then I gather Sia into my arms. And kiss her. And kiss her again. She mewls and comes to life in my hands. Never in my life have I wished for a privacy divider more.

“Hey,” says Portia from the front seat. “It’s a long drive. Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m Portia Thomas, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.” I offer her my hand from the backseat and blink into the headlights on the road. “Where the hell did you come from?”

“She came from college,” Sia says wonderingly.

Portia laughs. It’s a delightful sound and full of energy. It does not sound like she’s driving a getaway car in the middle of the night. “I came from the city, same as you.” I can only see the side of her face in the dim glow from the dashboard, not her eyes. “There’s more than one family in the city of Chicago.”

“Oh, my god, stop,” says Sia, dropping her head against my shoulder. “I can’t take it. Is everyone in my life involved? Everyone?”

“Don’t worry about it, girlfriend,” Portia says easily. “You won’t have to pay attention to this stuff again if I have my way about it.”

Sia yawns. “What’s your plan, then? We all move into an apartment together and you guard the door?”

“Live with a married woman? No way.” A laugh rises in my chest at Portia’s words. “No, you guys need to get out of dodge.”

Sia groans. “Not again.”

“Yes again.” Portia’s tone brooks no argument. “Let those guys cool down. Live your lives. And in a little while, you might even be able to go home.”

It seems like this last bit is directed at me. “I doubt that.”

“I don’t.”

Her certainty strikes me as hilarious. The adrenaline is still rushing through my veins, even though we’ve been driving for forty-five minutes, and I stifle a laugh. “How would you know?”

“I’ve heard of your family.” Portia accelerates on our way out of town number four. “Marco Moretto’s not going to lose a son over this. If he’s smart, he’ll realize he’s gained a daughter.”

Portia’s being very sweet, but Sia doesn’t say anything.

She’s fallen asleep.

It hurts, how much I love holding her. It literally makes my muscles ache with joy. I didn’t know that was possible, but I never want to let her go. So I don’t. Even when my arm falls asleep, I hold on. Even when my leg falls asleep from her head on my lap, I hold on.

I might not ever let her out of arm’s reach again. It seems like a reasonable thought, here in the dark with small towns rushing by every fifteen minutes, then twenty.

There’s only one question I have for Portia.

Sia doesn’t stir when I ask it.

“How’d you find her?”

She sighs. “You ever have a bad feeling about something?”

“All the time.”

“I was drunk that night, not stupid. I had the Uber driver turn around. Your car didn’t fit in with her neighborhood.” Portia shrugs one shoulder, as if this is commonplace. “I put a tracker on the wheel well.”

“I sold that car.”

“I know.”

She doesn’t elaborate, and I stare out at the road in silence. There’s more to her than meets the eye.

She doesn’t wake up for another three hours, when Portia pulls the SUV into the smallest airport I’ve ever seen. It’s in the middle of some forest in Michigan’s upper peninsula. The size of the planes parked outside the tiny building doesn’t inspire much confidence.

“Where are we?” Sia yawns, her hair a complete mess. She looks gorgeous.

“Airport.” Portia opens the glove box and pulls out two slim envelope. “Boarding passes. Your plane leaves in...” She consults the clock on the dash. “Twenty minutes.”

“Oh, my god, what about security?” Sia runs a hand frantically over her hair. “Our bags…”

“You don’t have a bag,” Portia says. “Just your purse. And look at this place. Security is going to be a breeze.”

She hugs us both for a long time in the parking lot.

“But where—” Sia has too many questions.

“There’s an itinerary on the boarding passes. Now get out of here.”

I take Sia’s hand and steer her toward the front entrance of the airport. The morning air is fresh and summery, and we’re headed off into a new life. This time, it’s really starting over. “I love you, Portia,” she calls over her shoulder. “What about college?”

“I love you too,” says Portia. I turn my head to see her. She’s got one foot in the SUV already. That woman has places to go.

“Thank you,” I tell her. It’s fucking inadequate, but it’ll have to do. For now, at least.

“Any time, Romeo,” Portia says, and I turn back toward the airport. Toward the future. Behind us, the SUV door closes with a click snap.

Sia takes a deep breath. We’re only a few steps away from the doors. In a moment, they’ll open automatically, and we’ll step into the carpeted security area of the world’s most backwater airport.

Before the hour is up, we’ll be in the air, flying to...destination unknown. “Do you think we can do it?”

“Do what?” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “Start over?”

“Yeah. We’ve had to do it so much, and—”

I stop outside those doors and kiss her.

I keep it on the safe side. I don’t want to be so filthy that airport security gets involved, but filthy enough to distract her from her fears. “Wife, don’t worry.” Sia smiles, her cheeks flushing. “My love for you is boundless. The more I give that love to you, the more it grows.” I laugh, reflecting the joy on her face, and Sia laughs, too.

She takes my hand.

She turns toward the doors.

“Let’s go.”