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She was doing that a lot lately…praying. She figured she was about 50-50 with The Big Guy Upstairs answering. Maybe this would tip it to 40-60?
She looked up over the enormous cab and met a pair of—hell the only way to describe them was kind—eyes. It was a woman and she was smiling slightly, a concerned yet confused look clouding her face.
“Can I help you?”
Ava nodded and said, “I need a ride.”
The woman’s brows drew down. “I can’t hear you, girl.”
“I need a ride,” she repeated, hopefully louder this time.
The woman winced this time but nodded. “I can see that. You running from something?”
Ava nodded.
“Drugs?”
Ava shook her head this time.
“Then get in, and bring that gorgeous dog with you,” the woman encouraged and settled back.
Ava wasted no time, pushing Caesar up and then climbing in behind him. Caesar immediately headed to the back compartment of the huge cab and settled with his head between the front seats. Ava glanced in the rearview mirrors, looking for the SUV or any of the large men who’d been following her.
Nothing.
Still no sigh of relief. They were close—too close. And they’d almost gotten her this time.
Had she been sloppy? She leaned her head against the seat back and decided she could dissect it all later. Right now, she just wanted the damn truck to drive.
The light changed and the woman, not much bigger than Ava herself, put the big rig in motion. With each mile that passed Ava breathed if not easy, then easier.
She had no money, no clothing, and probably no chance of evading them much longer. But she had Caesar.
The woman tapped Ava’s arm. Startled, Ava realized the woman had been talking to her. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
“My name is Jo, short for Josephine. What’s your name, girl?”
“Ava,” she answered immediately. She was so fatigued she was beyond lying. How long had it been since someone had called her by her real name anyway? “My name is Ava.”
“Well, Ava, I’m heading to New York. Got a drop to make near Manhattan. You in for a ride or do I need to drop you somewhere?” The woman’s shoulders rose and fell as if she were laughing but there was no smile on her face.
“I’ll ride if you don’t mind. I’ll go to the end of the line.”
Jo nodded, accepting that she had a rider until her drop in New York. “We need to get that arm seen about then.”
“Don’t stop,” Ava begged.
The woman winced again, and Ava realized she was probably yelling. The rig stopped at another red light. Hell, they’d only managed about five blocks since Ava had hopped in. Jo glanced over at Ava, peering at her like she was trying to see into Ava’s soul.
Then she nodded again. “We’ll dress the wound when we stop in South Carolina for fuel. For right now, you just rest. You and that big animal trying to sneak licks on me when I ain’t lookin’. I got you, girl.”
Jo was almost too good to be true and in Ava’s experience, things that appeared that way usually were. But this was what she had. If Jo were anything but a truck driver she was screwed.
But again, this was all she had. She’d make it to New York, and in the meantime and between-time, she’d plan. Right now, her arm ached, and she was so damn tired she was struggling to stay awake.
She glanced at Jo, reached to lay a hand on Caesar’s head, and laid her head back against the rest.
Every slap of rubber against the pavement below took her farther from the men hunting her. She’d live another day.
