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“I’m sorry,” she sputtered.
“It’s alright,” he assured her. “Everything’s going to be alright.” He obviously wasn’t certain of that, since he had no control over Hayley’s father’s health. But he could for damn sure control everything else and make this operation as smooth and seamless as possible. “I’ll take care of it,” he told her. “We’ll go visit your folks. We’ll go right away. I’ll keep you safe.”
It made him uneasy, the way he always did before they rolled out in the desert. But he knew from experience all he could do was make sure no mistakes were made on his end. He’d promised her he’d protect her. And that’s exactly what he intended to do. He tried not to think about the other promise he’d made, that he would let her go whenever she decided it was time. She missed her family something fierce. And he wanted her with him more than he’d ever care to admit out loud to anyone. And that was a hell of a situation to find himself in.
Chapter 32
Chris left the garage in the capable hands of the boys, even Caleb put in for some vacation time to help out so they didn’t get behind. The night before they left, Hayley told him everything. All the details that he’d been missing. That she was from Raleigh, North Carolina. That her parents were still married and still lived in the same house she grew up in. He’d nodded, taking it all in, and then urged her to get some sleep because they would be hitting the road early the next morning.
After she fell asleep, he slipped out of the bedroom and grabbed his cell phone off the kitchen counter. “Her name is Sarah Marie Davis,” he told a sleep-fuzzed Caleb. “She’s from Raleigh.”
Caleb made a grunt that was something like a cross between acknowledgement and frustration. “I’ll dig up what I can,” he promised.
Chris nodded, mostly to himself. “We’re taking the truck to Virginia. Then we’re renting a car from there.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call you when you’re on the road.”
Chris hung up, double checked their bags and set them by the front door. He didn’t much like going in blind. He hoped Caleb would be able to pick up something, anything that might be useful. When he couldn’t possibly find anything else to do, he finally slipped out of his jeans and into a pair of shorts and slid into bed next to Slick.
Her breathing was steady and even and he pulled her close, breathing in her scent. There were so many things that could go wrong, not the least of which was Slick simply deciding she’d had enough of running and refusing to go back with him. He pushed the thoughts out of his head. He could only afford to focus on things he could control.
The next morning, they woke early and he sent her out to the truck with her black duffel back. After sending her away, he headed to the bedroom and opened the closet door. The .44 was too big, way too conspicuous. He pulled out a footlocker tucked into the back corner of the closet and unlocked the stainless steel padlock. He drew out a .38, checked the barrel, and slid it into an ankle holster. He grabbed a few speed loaders for good measure. He strapped on the gun and stored the speed loaders in his own bag.
He obviously didn’t need the gun for the 1,700 miles it would take to get to North Carolina, but the holster was unfamiliar and he wanted the use the time to get used to wearing it. He zipped up the bag, shouldered it, and grabbed the cat.
Chris dropped off the furball next door with Easy. If Easy was irritated about having to take care of the little ninja, he didn’t show it. He seemed to understand that what they were doing was inherently dangerous and wasn’t going to dump a bunch of trivial shit on them. He actually hugged Hayley and wished them a safe drive. Chris promised to call that night when they hit the motel they’d be staying at half way between SD and NC.
Hayley, for her part, was putting on a brave face. Between fear for her father and fear for her life she seemed to be holding together remarkably well. Chris wished he’d had time to take her to a range and teach her to shoot. He could’ve gotten her a similar holster with perhaps a .25 or a .38, something small for her hands. But it would’ve taken weeks, probably months, before she’d be comfortable with it and longer than that to become proficient at it. He’d have to shoulder the entire responsibility of their security himself.
The ride was smooth, but achingly long. The hills of the Dakotas gave way to the flatlands of Nebraska and Kansas. They caught sight of the St. Louis Arch just before sunset. Chris was winding down anyway, and chose the first hotel off the highway they saw a sign for. He checked them in and helped Hayley carry their bags upstairs.
