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“Small-town folk do tend to be very trusting.” She sighed. “Noah, I’m so sorry. You were right. I shouldn’t have posted.”
He grunted. “Anyway. I’m weighing the pros and cons of going back for the car. Or at least the camping gear. We should go at night if we do.”
She felt like he was talking more to himself, mentally working things out, so she just nodded.
“We weren’t followed, so assuming we ditched him, we’ll blend in better with this truck. Well, until we get to a big city. We need a rental car. This bucket of rust won’t make it to NYC anyway.”
She couldn’t argue with that.
“I’m thinking we wait a bit, slink into town, grab what we need from the car, leave a note and some money for Bobby, and hit the road again. Then just drive until we find a hotel.”
“I’m sure Bobby wouldn’t mind if we kept the truck a little longer. Once you explain what happened.”
“And drop enough cash.” He chuckled. “We’ll head east but tell Loose Lips we went north. That might throw off the shooter if he goes back to Bobby. If he believes that, and as long as youquit posting,” he paused to give her a pointed stare, “we should be fine.”
“I’m sorry, Noah,” she said. “This is all my fault. I can’t fathom that someone would kill over a stupid internet award. This just seems so surreal to me.”
“I want a list of all the other nominees. Will you text or email that to me? I’d rather play offense than defense. Let’s see if we can figure out who we’re dealing with.”
With their limited supplies, she patched him up the best she could. “Won’t you need a tetanus shot or something?”
“I’ll worry about a doctor later,” he said, starting the engine. “Will you grab me a shirt out of my bag?”
“Gladly,” she muttered. “You think legs are distracting.”
While he drove, she dug around in the glove box for some paper and wrote a note to Bobby saying they would call to explain but needed the truck a while longer. She forwarded Noah the email with the names of her competitors and then took a quick look at her page.
“There’s another message,” she said glumly.
“What’s it say?”
“‘Next time, I won’t miss. Drop out now.’”
Noah killed the headlights two blocks from the auto shop and rolled to a stop on the side street nearest it. Besides the cars parked in front of the bar, Main Street was deserted. They snuck in from the alley. Noah left a wad of cash and the note under the mat in Daisy’s car. He grabbed the sleeping bags and tent while she filled her purse with merchandise.
“Do you really need all that stuff?” Noah whispered harshly.
“I still have to work,” she said. “Everything I’m packing is worth money to me.”
He huffed out his frustration but carried the camping gear so she could focus on her weighed-down bag. They packed up as much as they could carry and were back at the truck in less than five minutes.
“I don’t think anyone saw us,” she said as he started the pickup. “I checked the map, and if we head east, there’s a town with a motel about thirty miles away.”
They drove in silence, both lost in thought. How was this happening? Who cared enough to kill over an award?Shouldshe just drop out? It wasn’t worth getting hurt or someone trying to keep her safe getting hurt.
When they arrived at the motel, Noah told her to stay in the truck. “You’re too pretty to not stick out. All anyone would have to ask about is a blond-haired, blue-eyed Barbie doll, and even a pizza box would know who they were talking about,” he said.
“Thank you?” she said, thinking there was a compliment in there somewhere.
He returned from the motel office and reparked in a space right outside the room door. “I only got one room this time. I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”
She wasn’t going to argue. Being shot at had scared her, so sharing a room was fine. Noah had been vigilantly watching for anyone following them, and continued to scan the parking lot and general area for anything suspicious. Once they were in the room, with the door locked and deadbolt in place, he relaxed a little.
“I’ll take the bed nearest the door.” He pulled a gun from an ankle holster and put it on the nightstand. “You know anything about guns?”
“My dad used to take us to the range, but I haven’t been in years. I could shoot one if I had to, but to answer your question, not much.”
“Don’t touch it then.”
