Three, Two, One (321)

I want to ask why. More and more whys. But he’s out of the Jeep again. And now it’s getting dark and there’s no way I can let him get away. Because if I lose him—

“Come on,” he says, opening my door and taking my hand again. He closes the door softly behind me, and then he leads me up the short driveway to a gate that surrounds the backyard.

He pulls the latch and we go through.

As soon as I open the door, the putrid smell of a decaying body hits me. I close it back up and turn to face Blue.

“Now what?” she asks.

I just shake my head and tug her along to the detached garage and open that door with the same key I used for the house. Inside is Lanie’s Toyota Camry. “Get in,” I tell Blue, as I walk around to the driver’s side.

“We’re stealing a car?”

“Blue,” I tell her calmly. “Get the fuck in the car. We’re not stealing it, but I don’t have time to explain what we’re doing. Once we get somewhere safe, I’ll fill you in. But right now, we’re on the run. Do you understand? People are looking for us. Bad people. People who will kill me and take you. And if you think you get second chances to escape the kind of people who took you, you’re wrong. So we need to stay focused. Now get in the fucking car.”

She inhales sharply, because my rant gets louder as I talk. But she walks over to the passenger side and gets in like she’s told. I get in the driver’s side, start the car up, and push the button for the garage door. It rises slowly and I almost expect an army of hitmen to be on the other side waiting. But our luck holds. I pull the car out and park it behind the Jeep. Then I turn to Blue. “Stay here. I’m gonna put the Jeep in the garage to hide our tracks if anyone comes by here looking for me.”

I don’t wait for an answer, I just get out and climb back in the Jeep. I look at Blue’s face when I pull up the drive, and she’s looking around like she’s expecting assassins too. She’s scared. And she should be, because this is it. After four years of waiting, this is it. The moment when it all comes crashing down.

I cut the engine, grab the prepaid phone and the bag I packed before we left, and leave the Jeep behind.

“Who’s after us?” Blue asks when I climb back in the Camry.

I press the button on the garage door remote and watch my Jeep disappear. I’ll probably never see it again. This hits me hard. Because this life I’ve built over the past four years wasn’t so bad as far as lives go.

“Ark,” she says, grabbing a hold of my upper arm as I pull away from the house. “Please.”

I turn back onto the main road, and then make a left into a bank parking lot. “Just please, Blue. In an hour we’ll be settled and I’ll tell you what I think. But I need to go into the bank and get something. I’ll be right back.”

“No,” she says, grabbing my arm with two hands this time. “No, I don’t want to stay out here alone.”

Her fear is real and I have to remind myself that she’s been locked up for a year and a half. No real outside contact at all. “OK. But don’t talk. Don’t ask me any questions. Don’t say anything.”

She nods and we both get out and walk inside the bank. I point to a sitting area near the entrance and she sits as I walk up to the bank manager’s office and knock on the open door.

“I need to access a safety deposit box.”

“Yes, sir, please have a seat and I’ll help you with that.”

I take a seat and give him all my information. He types away on his computer, frowning for several minutes, and then finally gives me his full attention. “I’m sorry, sir. But this box has special”—he squints his eyes at me as he searches for a word—“conditions attached to it.”

“I understand,” I tell him quickly. “I just need the box.” I hold up my key on my key chain. “Now.”

“Yes, sir.” He clears his throat and stands, buttoning his jacket as he walks me to the back of the bank where we enter the vault.

Two minutes later, I’m staring down at the little white drawstring bag. I peek inside. New ID. New passport. Ten thousand dollars in cash to get me through. I never got an ID or passport for Blue—she never left the house, so she never needed them. But now we need them. And she doesn’t have them. I close the box and walk back out of the room, fully aware that my actions here have been reported to the person who got me these credentials in the first place.

“Do you need anything else, sir?”

“No, thank you,” I say, walking back over to Blue, who is wringing her hands in her lap. She smiles weakly as she rises and then I take her by the arm and we walk outside.

When we’re safely back inside the car and driving north up towards Boulder, she breaks our silence. “You’re not who you say you are, are you?”

“That’s not entirely true,” I tell her back. “I’m the guy you think I am.”

“Porn king?”

“Check,” I say.

“Savior of cold and shivering girls in the rain?”

“Check.” I smile at that one and I can feel her relax a little.

“JD’s best friend?”

“Definitely check.” I look over at her as we get on the freeway, and then quickly look away. “This is real, Blue. All of it. Everything I’ve done with you and with JD. It’s real. So no matter what happens, don’t ever forget that. OK?” I chance another look over at her and she nods. But her expression is somber. Almost sad. “Hey,” I say, grabbing her knee and giving it a squeeze. “Don’t worry. It’s gonna be OK. I swear. I know you’re probably imagining all kinds of things about me right now, but I swear, it’s gonna be OK.”