Cassandra stared out the window as Anthony drove in silence. To her, his silence tormented her more than she would admit. She turned to ask him when he put contact lenses in, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. She returned to the window and thought about it. Cassandra was distracted by his abdomen when he changed his shirt and didn't notice any other changes about him. The news report, knowing people were searching for him, must have been what urged him to change his appearance. Cassandra sighed a breath of relief, with the change in his eye color, maybe she could focus on her safety.

He turned off the highway and descended on a parklike hill. Cassandra stiffened in her seat as she noticed they were out in the middle of nowhere, no houses or businesses nearby. Thoughts of him taking her somewhere private to kill her, crossed her mind. "Where are we going?" She found the courage to ask.

"If we keep driving around," he answered, "we'll run out of gas. There's a lake down here, not used as much as it used to be. I think we'll be out of sight for a while until my phone rings." He didn't tell her who would call, but Cassandra knew he referred to 'the boss' he spoke of several times before.

Several minutes later, he parked the car. Her hand had been laying on the door knob although she hadn't thought of opening it. Anthony reached for the gun, and Cassandra gulped as she removed her hand and placed it on her lap. He continued pointing at her while he reached under the seat. When he sat up, she noticed the roll of rope in his hand. "Please don't," she begged.

"I can't trust you," he replied as he shook his head.

Cassandra winced as he tightened the rope around her wrist, swearing it felt tighter than the last time. She cried out as he double knotted her hands together. "You're hurting me," she whined to deaf ears.

Anthony stepped out of the car and stretched. Cassandra watched as he walked in front of the car and onto her side. "I didn't say you couldn't get any fresh air," he told her as he opened her door. "I don't want you trying to pull a fast one."

With his help, Cassandra stepped out of the car. She nodded her head toward the water as if asking if she could go near it. Anthony said nothing but kept his eyes on her. She walked to the shore and placed her sore feet in the water, leaned over and splashed water on her dirty face. For a moment, Cassandra felt relieved but knew she wasn't out of danger. She stood up and glanced around. She figured out where they were.

After she returned to the car, Anthony handed her a bottle of warm water. This time, with tied wrists, she maneuvered the bottle better and drank with ease. Anthony gulped his bottle down and moaned, "I have to take a piss."

He walked toward the lake when Cassandra made a run for it. She wasn't far from civilization after all and needed to get away from the murderer. Her legs took long strides as her arms clung to her chest. She heard Anthony swear and knew he would catch her, still she had to at least try.

She didn't get too far away when Anthony's body came crashing down on her. They tumbled to the ground. Pain seared throughout her body as he covered it with his own. Cassandra cried out and continued her attempt to get away. Anthony covered her mouth with his hand and didn't remove it even after she bit down. She saw anger rage through him and longed for his touch. Cassandra crawled backwards, but he pressed his hard body into her. Anthony's knee pressed against the innermost part of her thigh, creating a fire in her jeans.

"Stop," he screamed at her as she continued to wiggle away from him. Anthony pinched her cheeks together and forced her to look at him. "Damn it, girl, I'm not supposed to tell you this."

Cassandra paused when he spoke. Her curiosity rose. "Tell me what?" she mumbled underneath his hand.

He straddled her body and let go of her mouth. Cassandra knew if she screamed, he wouldn't tell her. She lied still and waited until he spoke.

"I'm not the bad guy, my boss isn't the bad guy either.  Stop running from me."

Anthony's weight eased up and Cassandra pulled herself into a sitting position. He reached for his gun and she knew better than try to run. "If you're not the bad guy, why are you pointing that at me?"

"For your safety," he replied. "More to scare you than anything else." Anthony sat beside her but gripped her arm just in case. "Please stop running from me."

Cassandra didn't know what to think. She couldn't figure out why her mother's killer escaped from prison to kidnap her, but claimed he wasn't the bad guy. "If you're not the bad one," she spoke. "Who is?"

"I can't tell you," Anthony answered. Cassandra inched away from him, not believing a word he said. "Look, the boss will have a fit when he finds out I'm telling you this much, but I'm not the one who killed her. They did, and now they want you dead too."

"I don't understand," she told him. "Why were you in prison if you didn't murder my mother?"

Anthony reached over and for the first time, held her hand gently. "They told you, convinced you, I wasn't there that night, but I was, Cassandra. You were right all along. Do you remember? I told you I'd be right back." She shook her head, not knowing what to think. "I'm a little late, but I'm here now, just like promised."

Cassandra bawled her eyes out. Nothing made sense, yet everything made perfect sense. She needed to know what was going on. "If you're telling me the truth, why were you in prison?" She knew she already asked him but felt he didn't give her the correct answer.

"I left you to check on her, hoping she was still alive." Anthony's eyes glistened as he told his side of the story. "As I bent over to check her pulse, the police arrived. I tried to explain but nobody listened. They arrested me, your father wanted a quick conviction, so his family name wouldn't be dragged through the mud. I couldn't afford a good attorney, and the jury believed them and sent me away for a crime I didn't commit."

Cassandra cried harder and felt herself lean against his shoulder. The memories that surfaced caused more pain than anything physical he could ever do to her. She felt his arm wrap around her as she nestled closer to him. "Oh my God, were you the one who saved me that night?"

"Yes," Anthony answered. "They medicated you and convinced you I didn't exist because if you could testify my location at the time of the shooting, I would have been found innocent and set free." Cassandra hid her face between her legs and sobbed. "We've kidnapped you to hide you from the killers."

Cassandra's head snapped up. He'd been trying to tell her about them since she fled moments before, but she hadn't been paying attention. "Who are they and why do they want me dead now?"

"They wanted you dead then too," Anthony told her. "If I didn't show up before the cops did, you would have died the same night as your mother."

The ground was unsteady as Cassandra tried to stand. Anthony stood beside her and pulled out a pocket knife. He cut through the rope but kept his eyes on her. "Thank you," she wept.

Anthony put his arm around her waist to steady her. "If you like life, you'll stop trying to get away from me and let me protect you."

They walked back to the car and sat inside in silence. Cassandra pulled the hair off her face and tried to knot it behind her head to keep it in place. A million things ran through her mind. "Is my father's phone tapped?"

"What?"

"We wouldn't be on the run if I didn't call him," she answered as she figured pieces of the puzzle out. "Can they tell where I am because I called him?"

Anthony leaned over the steering wheel and stared out into the dusky sky. "Something like that," he answered. "I had you post from Greece to give us some time, but since you made a phone call here in the States, they will know you're not there."

Cassandra hung her head. If they found her, and succeeded at killing her, she knew it would be her fault. Her tears dried up as she sat in shock. Anthony swore again as he threw the flip phone down. His entire story could have been a lie, anything to convince her to stay with him, but somehow, she believed him. They waited to find out where to go to keep her safe.

It gave her an idea. "We have a house on the other side of this lake."

Anthony turned his head and gave her a questionable brow. "What do you mean?"

"I realized where we were when I washed up in the lake earlier. That's where I planned to go when I tried to run from you. Can't we wait it out there?"

A smile spread across his face. "How far is it?"

"About 15 minutes, maybe a little more if we have to stay off the main roads."