Something to Die For by Kaye Blue

Nine

Angel

“I just committed my first felonies.”

I blurted the sentence out maybe ten minutes after we had left the prison, when my heart had finally calmed, when something like reason came over me.

To my surprise, Crowe chuckled.

I glanced over at him. He looked comical behind the wheel of my two-door hybrid-electric car.

“That something you concerned about?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I responded.

It was stupid, but I was grasping for anything I could. Some normalcy, though everything inside of me told me that normalcy was gone now.

“Well, did you enjoy it?”

I looked at him, saw the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

“I don’t know how to respond to that,” I said as I uncuffed my wrist and then leaned over to uncuff his. “But pull over.”

“Why?”

“Look, Crowe you helped me out. But…”

“I told you I’d get you to your mother’s. And I’m going to keep my word,” he said.

I shouldn’t have believed him, was stupid to even consider doing so, but for some reason I did.

“And besides,” he added, “if the cops do show up, you can tell them I kidnapped you. That sells better if I’m driving.”

“I guess,” I said.

What I didn’t say, what I couldn’t dare speak out loud, was that I didn’t think it would matter.

No US Marshals were going to come looking for Lucas.

I don’t know how I knew that, but somehow I did. Knew that absolutely everything had changed.

The urge, no, the need, to get home came back stronger.

So strong that I didn’t argue with Lucas.

“She’s thirty miles away. Go straight down this highway, and I’ll tell you when to turn off,” I said.

We’d already made it ten miles, and we were moving fast, recklessly so.

But I didn’t say anything about that either.

The sooner I got to her, the sooner I’d be able to take a breath.

“This car’s a piece of shit,” he said.

“What?” I responded, refocusing from my distraction.

“It’s shit. It has absolutely no get up and go,” he said.

I looked at him, marveled, and then to my surprise, started laughing.

I probably sounded deranged. I felt deranged. But at least I was amused.

“My father said the same thing,” I said.

I laughed for a moment longer, and then finally quieted, the burst of humor fading as fast as it had come.

“You’re doing good, Doc. Just hold it together,” Crowe said, seeming to sense the change in me.

I wanted to argue, tell him he didn’t need to worry about me, but I didn’t.

Instead, I nodded, focused on staying calm. I needed to keep my wits about me, and panicking wouldn’t help me now.

“Where will you go?” I finally asked, grasping for something to talk about.

He didn’t respond, and when I looked over, I saw that his demeanor had changed.

He’d been intent before, focused, but he seemed even more so now, more alert.

“What is it?” I asked, struggling not to panic.

“I’m not sure. But something’s—”

He cut off abruptly, his eyes focused ahead.