Billie
Billie walked the aisles of a discount department store, doing her best to hurry while looking casual. She realized she should have asked Carter what sizes he wore, but as it was, she'd just have to make her best guess.
She grabbed a pair of cargo shorts from a rack, then flipped through a pile of t-shirts until she found a nondescript gray one. As an afterthought, she yanked a pair of cheap flip-flops from a display.
Can't have him wearing those boots with shorts, she thought. He'd look ridiculous. This way, he'll just look like a slacker college dude instead of a biker.
An incredibly hot slacker college dude, she thought with a smile. Even though she knew these clothes would take away from Carter's outlaw look, the thought of his broad shoulders filling out the shirt still made her stomach flutter with desire.
And how was it that just being with him made her feel stronger and safer?
As she picked out a cheap sundress and a wide-brimmed hat for herself, she considered what Carter had said outside about how long they'd be traveling together. Even though he'd referred to her as a hostage the previous night, it was clear that he didn't really think of her as one. Otherwise, he'd never have allowed her to come in here alone.
So why did he still have her with him? And how long did he intend to keep her around?
Granted, if he did turn her loose, he'd still have to worry about her talking to the police. Since she'd grown to like him so much, she was rooting for him to reach Mexico and get away with the money, so she had no intention of cooperating with the authorities when they finally caught up to her—but she could still understand why he wouldn't necessarily believe that.
Still, he clearly wasn't going to kill her, either. And he was already talking about bringing her to the rendezvous with Hazmat and Oiler.
Would he take her all the way to the border? Maybe even past it?
And for that matter, did she even want to go home again?
After the tense scene at the cabin earlier, Billie knew that she should have been scared straight, eager to return to the safety and familiarity of Cactus Hollow. But she'd survived and kept her head together, and she found that the experience hadn't shaken her up all that much. If anything, it had shown her what she was made of and convinced her that she needed to spend more time outside of her comfort zone, braving danger and the unknown.
Maybe she could keep tagging along with Carter and the other bikers and prove herself useful to them in whatever scenario they set up for themselves south of the border. Sure, Hazmat had done a lot of barking last time, but Carter could clearly keep him from biting when it came down to it. He could convince them to let her ride along with their gang, couldn't he?
If he wanted to, of course. Which, for all she knew, he didn't.
She went to the seasonal aisle and selected a tube of sunburn lotion with aloe vera and lidocaine. Then she walked over to the men's grooming section for battery-powered clippers. The way she saw it, if they were going to avoid scrutiny, they'd both need new hairstyles. He probably wouldn't love that idea, but...
Suddenly, Billie noticed that a morbidly obese woman with a shopping cart was staring at her. Three small children stood around her ankles, whining and babbling at her incoherently.
“Ain't I seen you somewheres?” the woman asked. “Like on the TV?”
“Sure,” Billie answered. “I do commercials sometimes.”
“Fer what?”
“Oh, you know, the usual,” Billie stalled, trying to think. “Tampons, douches. If it's something for your vagina, chances are I've probably shilled for it at some point. Excuse me.”
She walked over to the counter quickly, cursing herself for not being able to come up with anything more plausible. Tampons? Douches? Jesus Christ. So much for not drawing attention to herself.
Billie paid for her purchases quickly and left. As she did, she could still feel the fat lady's eyes on her, and she could swear she heard her whispering to the clerk.