In less than twenty minutes we were back on the road, I gave Alana one of my jackets to keep her shielded against the elements. We had no time to waste; I need to get to the next state if I was going to keep ahead of Shamrock.

Alana’s arms were wound tightly around my waist, and her head ducked low behind me; I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on in her mind. A carefree existence suddenly ripped away from her and now she was on the run, with a man who couldn’t keep his shit together. I rode like a demon on a mission, about two hours out, we pulled up to a gas station to fill up and to get a bite to eat. Since leaving the cabin there had been no time for conversation. To be honest, I hadn’t a clue what to say to her.

“I’m going to the ladies’ room,” she mumbled as she hugged the leather jacket around her.

“I’ll go with you,” I said as I pushed the bike in next to the building, obscuring it from the road.

“You’re not going in with me.”

“No, I’m not going in with you, I just need to make sure it’s all safe.”

“Ugh, they have no idea where we went, I’ll be fine.”

Needless to say, I went with her, and stood outside until she came back out.

“We can grab a quick bite to eat, then we need to head out,” I said as we made our way back towards the bike.

“Sure,” she muttered.

“Alana, are you okay?” I asked.

“Just peachy,” she said. Yeah it was a dumb question, she wasn’t okay. And I had to understand the fact that she was dealing with a shit load at the moment. Strangely enough, I wasn’t feeling the intense attraction from earlier in the morning. Call it trepidation, or maybe it was the fact that I helped myself in the shower. Right now she was just a frightened little bird who I need to protect.

The convenience store’s door chime jingled as we entered. “Grab a few things, when we get to the next state we’ll have a proper meal.”

Alana nodded and made her way through to the fridges at the back of the store while I grabbed a few chocolate bars and snacks. The teller was a fat greasy bastard who vegetated behind the television screen and hardly took note of us.

“Excuse me, where are your road maps?” I asked.

He looked at me and then pointed to the shelf behind him, “Well can I get one?”

With a sigh that would kill all surrounding vegetation, he stood up and waddled to the shelf, took one of the maps and dropped it carelessly on the counter. Service in some of these places was shocking, I thought as I piled the rest of the stuff on the counter. While I waited for Alana, I took the time to page through a newspaper, hoping to see some good news on Fergus, but there was nothing yet. He was still on the most wanted list. The sound of a V8 engine drew my attention, and when I looked out the faded dirty windows, I noticed two of Shamrock’s guys.

“Fuck,” I cursed under my breath, as I ducked behind the counter and crouched my way to where Alana was still making up her mind on what to drink, “Do whatever I say, and do not try anything stupid.”

“Hey! Are you going to pay for this stuff?” the teller asked when he stood up.

I pulled out my gun and pointed it straight at him, “If you want to fucking live, you’ll do exactly as I say. Those two men out there…” I started, “Don’t look at them, just do what I say.”

He nodded, eyes wide and fearful, “If they ask you, if you saw us, you just say no. Play it cool and you’ll live to see another day, if you utter one word to them I swear I’ll shoot you myself.”

“Is it them?” Alana asked in a panic as I pulled her around to the back of the store and next to the fire exit.

“Yes, and we need to move fast. They don’t know we’re here yet.”

“But what if they see us?” she asked nervously.

“They won’t,” I said far more confidently than I felt.

The door jingled again, and I shoved her in behind a stack of boxes, and held my finger up over my mouth, “Don’t move,” I mouthed.

I peeked towards the counter. One bald guy was stacking his arms full of snacks while the other one leaned against the counter. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but at least it looked like the cashier was keeping as cool as he could. I watched for about two minutes, when the one against the counter reached into his breast pocket. He pulled out a gun and put it on the counter. Chubby cheeks stepped back and held up his hands, his eyes darting from the man to the door where I stood. Fuck! I should have shot him myself, I thought. Footsteps drew closer, and I shoved myself into the corner with Alana, cupping my hand over her mouth. The darkness lent some protection, but if those goons came any closer, someone was going to get hurt.

The footsteps stopped just next to the door, when I heard chubby cheeks speak up, “The couple you’re looking for left about thirty minutes ago, I swear,” he called, “The guy and a girl with red hair.”

The footsteps moved away from the door and I let out a sigh of relief, hoping they would buy the story. Then a single shot rang out. Alana gasped and I tightened my hand over her mouth. They had shot the teller in cold blood, now it was only a matter of time before they found us. But much to my surprise, I heard the screeching of tires as they sped off.

“Oh my god, they shot that guy?!” Alana cried out hysterically the moment I let her go.

“Wait here,” I ordered as I ducked low and crawled out of the storage room, I kept low as I made my way to the counter. The teller was shot point blank in the head and his brains were splattered all over the cigarette shelf behind him. Looking up I noticed the security light blinking, which means he had reached for the panic button giving me probably about ten minutes to get out of here. I rushed around the counter careful not to touch anything and found the video surveillance. I used the hem of my shirt to push the eject button and then grabbed the disk. We had no time to waste. I went back to the storage room and plucked Alana up by her arm, instead of using the front door, we went out the back.

“Is he dead?” Alana asked.

“Yes.”

“Should we not call the police?”

“Trust me sweetheart, they’re already on the way, and if they find us, we’ll be behind bars in no time.”

“But we can’t just leave him like that?” she continued.

I know she was scared and confused, but I needed her to get a grip and fast. The sooner she realized that life isn’t a box of chocolates and a bed of roses, the better. I grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her lightly, “Alana, listen to me. The cops, the FBI and the whole fucking country is going to hunt you down. Simply because you’re Fergus’ daughter. Now I’m going to be as blunt as I can be. You’re a fugitive, and that’s that. Get on the fucking bike,” I ground out and handed her the helmet.

I started the bike and waited for her to get on, but she just stood frozen.

“Alana! Get on the god damn bike.”

Realization swept over her and she launched herself on to the back of the bike and we sped off.