Wrong Side of the Tracks by Ashley Zakrzewski
ChapterOne
Bubba hefted his last bag into the back of his pick-up and double checked the straps he’d used to tie down his bike. He’d left Laredo two days before and was taking his time on his way back to Tucson. He wanted to see a little bit of the country between here and there before he went home and back to work at the mechanic shop. But he was ready to be home. He was tired of the string of hole in the wall apartments. He missed his bed and the people he’d left behind.
He made one last check of the room he’d spent last night in, then got in the truck to make the last stretch back to Tucson. He’d reached El Paso and was looking forward to finishing the last five hours of this drive, when his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Cole? Is that you?”
The voice on the line was the last one he’d expected to hear.
“Celia, is that you?” He hadn’t heard from her in at least ten years and hadn’t thought he would ever hear from her again.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call. I need help.” The feminine voice coming over the line carried so many memories with it, Bubba had to find a place to pull off the highway.
“It’s me. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what to do. I need to get out of here, but I can’t do it on my own. They’ll catch me and stop me. I’ll never be able to get away.”
‘Where are you?” Bubba didn’t stop to think about what he was about to do. The panic and stress in Celia’s voice had him ready to do whatever he had to do to help her.
“I’m at home, kind of, in Mobile.”
“Are you safe?”
“I—I think so. For now, at least.”
“Can you stay safe for twenty-four hours?”
“I think so.”
“Don’t think. If you can’t be sure you’ll be safe for the next twenty-four hours until I can get there, get out. Get as much cash as you can now, then ditch your cell, car, and credit cards. Find a hole in the wall motel where no one would look for you and lock yourself inside. Once you get as much cash as you can, do not use your cards, not even for the motel. Especially not for the motel. If you have enough cash get a cheap burner and text me where you’re staying. If not, ask to borrow someone’s phone and send it. Then hunker down and wait. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m in south Texas right now and it’s going to take me at least twelve hours to get to you.”
When they’d finished on the phone, he sent a quick text message to his contact in Tucson, then used his phone to find the fastest route to Mobile. In less than ten minutes he was on I-10 racing to the girl he hadn’t seen in more than ten years. The girl he’d left behind so long ago, that until this moment he hadn’t realized still held a big chunk of his heart.