Sienna may have led a sheltered life, but it was an honest one. Or, at least she’d thought it was. Her mom had drummed into her that you couldn’t trust people you didn’t know, something that Sienna only paid half attention to. She never thought that it meant that she couldn’t trust her mother. But here she was, holding proof in her hands that her mom wasn’t who she said she was. Was Sienna? Perhaps her entire life had been a lie. The betrayal ripped through her like a knife. Her head was still muddled by grief, and rather than abating any grief she felt, her discovery just added another level of fucked up. In a matter of days, she’d been thrust into a new reality, one where the only things that mattered were her foot on the accelerator and her own survival. She had no idea what was left of her life anymore, but she could make her own reality.

The landscape passed by her window, but she barely noticed. She’d never been so far from home before, and should have been reveling in it, but her attentions were firmly on what the hell was she going to do. Even the spectacular orange sunset, which on any other day would mesmerize her, barely warranted attention. The road lay straight before her, and that was what she needed—a way to get as far away from home as quickly as possible. Her mother’s small Honda rattled as she pressed her foot down further.

Her thoughts moved just as fast. Had her mother been involved in some kind of underground crime ring? That was always what false papers meant in the movies. What about her father? She’d never known the man, and all her mom had told her was that he was not in the picture. Had he done something to land them all in trouble? Maybe they were in witness protection, or hiding from someone. Was that possible? It would explain Laura’s paranoia, how she’d barely let a young Sienna out of her sight.

If her name even is Laura.

Sienna had no idea which identity was right, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Perhaps it was better if she just disappeared into the night. If she didn’t know the truth, then she couldn’t do anything about it. Her thoughts drifted back to her father. Maybe the whole mess was simpler than she was imagining. Had her mom simply fallen in love with the wrong man? She thumped the steering wheel in frustration, conflicting emotions tumbling through her mind faster than she could process them. Had her mother been the perpetrator, or a victim? Had she been hiding from the good guys, or the bad? A chill ran through her. If she’d been hiding from something bad, had it found her that night?

She had to know. She’d allow herself a few more days of blissful ignorance, just until she stopped feeling like her mind and heart were splintering apart. Then she’d start with the papers and figure out what she could from there. Sienna gazed out to the highway ahead of her, hardening her resolve. Two days to get over the shock, that’s what she’d allow herself. Then she was going to find out what the fuck was going on. She took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. With the decision came a modicum of peace. Nothing earth-shattering, but enough, at least, that her heart stopped trying to pound its way out of her chest.

She squinted at the road ahead. The light was growing darker and the whirlwind of the day was starting to catch up with her. She let the gas up a little. Signs ahead pointed to a town named Foremont. Maybe she should stop for awhile, catch her breath? No. She had a lot of road still between her and Vegas, where she could disappear into anonymity, and still at least half a tank of gas left. She blazed past the exit and looked quickly down at her phone to check her navigation app. There was another, larger town a couple of hours away. She’d stop there, get something to eat, and fuel up the car, too. That was all, though. Even if she had to drive for two days straight, she wasn’t stopping until she felt safe. Until then, it was just the road to keep her company, along with the sunset. It filled the entire sky now that she was out of the suburbs, blazing pinks and oranges along the horizon touching the edge of an indigo night creeping along the sky. It was beautiful, in its own way, the colors reflecting off the sunburned cliffs. Her pulse calmed again at the sight and she could feel her worries almost drifting away with the setting sun, a masterpiece of chaotic design and crafted gradients falling across her car’s hood.

The hood that currently had a strand of white smoke furling out from inside it. She looked down at the dash console. The car was overheating.

“Fuck!” She slammed on the brakes and hit her hand on the dash again, harder. Her entire life had been tipped upside down. Couldn’t the car at least behave itself?! She pulled over to the side of the road and climbed out, an unlikely cool breeze raising goose bumps on her arms. She was in the middle of nowhere, the town’s exit long since passed by, with no water and no one to call.

Maybe she could just wait it out until the car cooled down, then drive a little slower? Yeah, that’d work. It wasn’t going to help to panic. She reached into the car and pulled out her Kindle. If she was stuck here for a while, then she’d read. Better than letting her mind fly apart again. It wasn’t until she’d read the same paragraph six times that she gave up on that. Tossing the Kindle on the seat beside her, Sienna turned the key. Nothing. A low groan passed her lips as she clenched her hands.

Calm down.

If she didn’t get herself under control, then she would be likely to end up with a broken car, and that wasn’t going to help her any. What she needed was patience, but that was in short supply ever since she’d fled her home. She looked up. The sky was inky; the sun had disappeared nearly entirely. Maybe the cooling of the air might help the damn car?

And maybe a coyote will come out and find you first. Or a snake.

Sienna couldn’t jump back in the car fast enough. She turned on the emergency lights and put the seat back and her hands behind her head, trying to clear her thoughts again. This time, she lasted a whole five minutes before turning the key again, pressing on the gas so softly her foot barely moved.

Nothing. Fuck.

Just how cold did it get out here after dark? God, she was tired. It would be so nice to just close her eyes and drift into oblivion, but who knew what would happen if she did. Her eyelids drooped.

Must. Stay. Awake.

Something slamming against her window jolted her awake. Shit! Had she fallen asleep? She rubbed at her eyes and craned her neck. An elderly man stood on the road by her car. He wore a greasy blue jumpsuit and his long white beard made him look more like Santa than a mechanic.

Or a garden gnome.

If he was here to rescue her, she wasn’t going to argue with his fashion skills. She rolled down the window. “Uh, hello?”

He stuck his head in the window. “Need any help, miss?”

Sienna smoothed down her hair, hoping she didn’t look as messed up as she felt. Where the hell had he come from without her noticing? “Umm, maybe. You scared the shit out of me.”

The man shrugged. “You’re the one sleeping by the side of the road.” He gestured over his shoulder. “I’m just the guy with the tow truck.” He turned, walking back to the truck. Sienna swallowed hard. Time to grow a pair for the first time that day.

“Please. Don’t leave.” He kept walking and she hopped out of the car. “I’m sorry, I was just scared.”

His eyes softened. “I won’t hurt you, lass. Where are you going?”

“Vegas.”

“Oh, well.” He frowned. “I don’t go that far myself anymore, but I can organize a company for you. It’ll be around twelve hundred dollars to tow your car that far.”

Great. “I don’t have anywhere near that.”

“Sorry to hear that.” He opened the door and climbed back into the truck. Sienna’s head dropped. He was leaving, and she was still stuck here. She started to walk back to her car, then jumped at the sharp sound of his car horn.

“You coming or not?”

“What?”

“I can take you back to town, come get your car in the morning, and drop it at the mechanic’s.” He eyed her. “That is, if you want to.”

She ran over to the passenger side, stepping up on the rail so she could talk through the window. “Really?”

“You think I’d just leave you out here on your own all night? Hop in.”

She jumped into the cabin and looked over at the man. “Thank you.”

He laughed and pulled out onto the highway. “Ain’t no need to thank me. Anyone would have done it. Listen, I’m stopping at the truck stop down here for dinner, then we can continue on to town if you still want to come with me.”

Sienna smiled for the first time that day. “As long as they have water, that’s fine with me.”

“Where you headed?”

“Not sure yet, just not here.”

He chuckled. “Around here’s alright. Good people”—he pulled into a truck stop—“and good food, too.” Sienna’s eyes widened. She was expecting a small country fuel stop. This place was huge. There were enough trucks to fill a stadium and still have some left over, and the restaurant looked like it could feed the entire town at once. It was probably the only rest stop within a hundred miles, somewhere that people passed through just wanting to get to their destination, moving quickly without noticing a thing.

The perfect place to hide.