Chapter 19
Run Away
Lexie
I fell to the ground in seconds, but it all happened in slow motion. One millimeter to the left and I would have been swimming with the fishies, literally. I shielded my head from the shards of glass that showered over me just after I hit the ground. I took a deep breath, and I ran. I didn’t know which way I was going, but I was letting my legs take me there. I could hear alarms, yelling, and barking dogs behind me. I knew that I could be easily tracked, so taking to the trees wasn’t going to help me. Link’s men had keener abilities than I did. My only ally was the few minutes of a head start, which I felt like I was losing quickly. I knew I wasn’t going to escape them on foot. I needed to find civilization, and a car. I stopped for a second and listened for any sounds of human life. In the distance I heard the faint sounds of a radio, and the clinking of tools. I ran down the slope of the mountain, and towards the sound. I could hear the snarling dogs and half-breeds getting closer. My heart was beating fast, and my lungs were burning. Near the bottom of the hill I could see my salvation. A tiny log cabin sat nestled amongst the trees. A large metal garage with the door open sat at the back of the property. Inside the garage a handsome man was working on a rusty old jalopy, but next to the jalopy was a gift sent from above. A classic beauty. I didn’t know the year, make, or model, but I knew she was fast. I slowed as I approached the garage. The man in the garage watched cautiously as I emerged from the woods. I took a deep breath in an attempt to be able to speak. When I spoke my words were rushed and to the point.
“Excuse me sir. My name is Marine Sergeant Alexandria Love. I am being chased by enemies of our country who have taken me prisoner. I would like to borrow your car to get to the nearest FBI or CIA location.”
The stranger smiled a friendly pearly white smile. “Get in!”
Link’s men were less than a minute away as the kind stranger and I piled into his beautiful classic car and roared out of the driveway and down the mountain. My savior was at the wheel as I crouched down under the dashboard. We drove quickly and silently down the bumpy dirt road. My head must have hit the bottom of the dashboard fifty times.
“We’re getting close to Highway 50. Which way, ma’am?”
He had a very pleasant southern drawl. It was charming. For the first time I exhaled a sigh of relief. The sound of snarling dogs and growling men was gone. “They’ll expect me to go to the closest headquarters, so let’s go a little farther away, if that’s OK with you?”
“Anywhere you need to go, ma’am, I’m your guy!”
“Let’s head to Sacramento. What’s your name?”
“Aw, pardon my rudeness, Miss Alexandria. I’m Talon Wilkinson. I think it’s safe for you to get off the floor now.”
I popped up from the floor of the car, and nestled into the seat. I watched the hotels and casinos pass by as we drove through town. It wasn’t long ago that my own personal hell began here. “Thank you Talon, and please call me Lexie.”
“Yes ma’am…I mean, Lexie.”
We drove in silence for nearly an hour. I could feel my stress melting the farther we got away from Lake Tahoe. Finally Talon broke the ice. “Lexie, what happened to you? I don’t mean to intrude or be nosy, but you’re pretty banged up.”
I took a deep breath and watched as the trees and majestic mountains of the Sierra Nevada passed by my window. “Talon, I’ll never be able to repay your kindness, and you’re not being nosy, it’s just that I can’t talk about it. It’s all classified.”
“Now that makes more sense to me.”
“What do you mean?” I was perplexed.
“Well, when a girl as pretty as you is taken captive by an enemy of the country, you’d think we’d hear about it on the news.
I laughed loudly. My own laugh surprised me because I hadn’t heard it in what felt like a very long time. “Thank you for the compliment, Talon. Now I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“What brought you to Lake Tahoe?”
“My accent gave me away, huh?”
“Yesireebob it did! I’m guessing eastern Tennessee or western North Carolina.”
“North Carolina! You nailed it!” His toothy grin was heart-warming.
“Well, why Lake Tahoe?”
“Seemed as good a place as any. The lake and the mountains are nice. Lots of fresh air.”
“Do you ski?”
“No Miss Lexie. I’m a professional tracker.”
My heart stopped for a minute. I think Talon physically saw the blood drain from my face. He gently patted my hand with his.
“No worries Lexie. I don’t work for the people tracking you. I think it’s just a coincidence that you found me.”
“Maybe an awesome coincidence! Tell me about what you do.”
“There’s not that much to it really, and it’s something I just kinda fell into. I wanted to be a Navy diver, but I couldn’t qualify, asthma n’all. I drifted around a bit, working various jobs to make ends meet. I’d always been a hunter, and a hunting buddy of mine told me about this tracking school. I decided to take a course. I was kind of the star pupil, so the owner invited me on to teach courses for him. I’ve trained several military folks just like yourself, and made a little bit of money, but I wanted to venture out on my own. I opened up a tracking school here in California. The mountains are a great place to play hide and seek ya know?”
I nodded pensively, and a plan began to formulate.
“Talon, the man who took me prisoner also has five members of my unit held somewhere in the state of Kentucky. Are you a good enough tracker to help me find them?”
“I dunno, Lexie. I’m not familiar with Kentucky at all, and ….”
“I think you could do it, Talon. We could get like aerial maps or something to maybe get started.”
“It’s a little more complicated than maps.”
“I’m sorry Talon, I shouldn’t have asked. It’s just I don’t know what else to do.” I gave him my most beguiling look. I hated doing it. This man had been my saint and savior all in one afternoon. I had no idea if he could help me find my family, but I just didn’t want to be alone. I needed a companion. Perhaps it was selfish to put a civilian in danger, but I felt deep down that this man could handle anything.
“Alright Miss Lexie. I’ll give it a whirl.”
“You’ve just made me a very happy girl Mr. Wilkinson.” I could see him blushing from the corner of my eye. The Sierra Nevada Mountains were behind us, and we were getting closer to Sacramento. My stomach was grumbling, and I could smell barbeque sauce.
“Talon, I don’t mean to impose, but I’m ravenous, and I didn’t think to grab my purse before jumping out of my prison window.”
He laughed. “Forgive my manners. Miss Lexie, may I buy you dinner this evening?”
“Yes you may kind sir.” I flirtatiously batted my eyelashes at him. We followed my nose to a small restaurant right off the highway called Backyard BBQ. We feasted on plates of chicken and ribs, and sarsaparilla served in mason jars. I almost felt like myself again. I was almost happy, but something was not quite right. Everything seemed too perfect. Perhaps I was just being suspicious; however, it wasn’t like me to be suspicious. Oh well, I guess after the ordeal I’d just been through, it was alright to be a little suspicious. Talon was a genuinely nice person. He had a big toothy grin that was offset by his sun-kissed, weather beaten, North Carolina skin. His hair was dark and wavy, and you could get lost in his rich coffee brown eyes. I’d guessed he was well over six feet tall with broad shoulders and narrow hips. Hmmmm, just too perfect. On the surface, I couldn’t see anything wrong with him, but everything was just too right.
“Miss Lexie, is everything all right?”
I shook my head, blinked my eyes, and let out a nervous giggle. “Sorry. I was day dreaming.”
“No apologies necessary, ma’am” Talon continued talking about his life growing up near the ocean as we feasted on the most scrumpti
ous red velvet cake I’d ever tasted. I was genuinely stuffed. Talon kindly paid our bill, and we strolled nonchalantly back to the car. Talon slipped behind the driver’s seat of the beautiful black 1969 Pontiac GTO convertible. I hesitated, turned and stared back into the mountains. The sun was just beginning its westerly descent into the Pacific, casting an ominous orange hue onto the mountains. I shivered as a chill began to set in.
“Ma’am, s’everything alright?”
“It just seems too easy Talon. This all has been too easy.”
Talon slid over and opened the door. He gestured for me to take a seat. “You seem like a good person Miss Lexie. Maybe you’ve got some guardian angels watching over you.”
I instinctively nodded, and slid into the car. “Thank you for dinner.”
“Aw shucks! Thank you for accompanying me. It’s not very often that this fella gets to dine with such a beautiful lady.”
This time it was my turn to blush. Talon gently took my hand and delicately placed a kiss in the center of my palm. I grinned and shook my head. “You southern boys sure are charmers!”
Talon laughed devilishly before starting the engine and roaring out of the gravel parking lot, sending dust and stones flying behind us. We thundered back onto Highway 50 and made a beeline towards Sacramento. We were descending the foothills when I had a thought.
“Talon, perhaps we shouldn’t visit the FBI tonight. Maybe it’s not a good idea.”
“I’m not following, Lexie.”
“It’s just that I don’t know if I can trust them. I don’t know if I can really trust anyone…”
“Hey now!” Talon placed his hand to his heart and seemed truly offended by my remark. “How can you not trust a man who buys you the best barbeque meal you can get west of the Mississippi?”
I laughed nervously and placed my hand on top of his. “Talon, I’ve been through a lot, more than I’m sure you can even imagine. Water boarding would be like a birthday party compared to what I’ve endured for the last couple of months. I’m not saying that I don’t trust you, I kind of trust you, but people that I trusted in the past really, really let me down. The selfish part of me wants a companion in all of this, but the weird new part of me doesn’t want to trust anyone. It’s just hard.”
He grabbed my hand and kissed me lightly on the knuckles. “Ma’am, I won’t pretend to understand the torment you’ve been through, but I’ll be here, standing by, to pull you up from your hell when you’re ready.”
Talon was my angel. He winked at me and smiled his devilishly toothy grin. I stared out the window and watched as the moonlit golden hills of California passed by my window. We came upon a town near the bottom of the Foothills and decided to stay. Conveniently there was a Holiday Inn Express located within a shopping plaza. It looked like a fun place to stop. There were lots of stores, restaurants, and even a movie theater all within the same complex. Talon graciously paid for two adjoining rooms. I was keeping a running tally of the money I would need to pay him back.
I decided to freshen up a bit once we got to our rooms. Talon didn’t mind, since there was some sort of basketball game on television. I removed my layers of clothing and took a long, hot, much needed shower. The complimentary shampoos smelled heavenly, like oranges and ginger. I inhaled the calming scents and let the warm water wash the blood, dirt, and stress down the drain.
Chapter 20
Where Am I?
Evie
I could hear the beep, beep, beeping of a heart monitor, or maybe it was a smoke alarm, my alarm clock, maybe? I couldn’t open my eyes, but the sound was driving me insane, and it wouldn’t stop. Voices…I could hear someone talking. Why can’t I open my eyes?
“Doctor, she’s becoming tachy and her respers are off the charts?”
“Where’s she at”
“Heart rate just jumped from 62 to 140 and respers increased to the thirties.”
“She waking up”
“More Diprovan, Doctor?”
“Nope, I think it’s time for this little one to open her eyes.”
There was a brief period of silence. I couldn’t open my eyes, no matter how hard I tried. I felt myself trying to move my arms and legs, but they wouldn’t obey my brain. Oh God! Was I paralyzed? Did that son of a bee, what was his name….Dodge, Dave, Derrick… Oh holy hell who cares! Did he crush more than my ribs? Was my spine damaged? Why can’t I open my eyes??? Damn that infernal beeping is starting up again! Make it stop! Voices again…
“Evie, love, it’s time to wake up. Open your eyes.”
“Doctor, her heart is going to explode if it goes any faster; we’re nearing 200 bpm’s now. Her pressure’s beginning to drop.”
“She’ll be fine. Evie, you’re in my clinic. You’ve been sedated to heal. You’ve healed, now it’s time to open your eyes.
My eyes opened. I was blinded by the overhead fluorescent light shining down upon my bed. I winced and pulled my hand to my eyes. Oh Thank God! My arms still worked. I began to wriggle my toes. I could feel them moving.
“Doctor, her vitals are returning to normal.”
“See, Nurse Jen, there was no need for panic.”
I searched the room for the source of the voices. There he stood in all his glory, signing papers for the panicky nurse. Thane Ganyon. I tried to sit up, but still wasn’t strong enough. I reached my hand out to him. I could barely manage an audible whisper.
“Thane, where am I?”
He looked genuinely concerned as he approached my bedside. He gingerly sat down beside me and took my hand. “Evie, don’t try to talk right now. We just took a tube out of your throat. Nod if you understand.”
I nodded obediently.
“Joseph is presumed dead, and Drake is being dealt with. Anyone else wouldn’t have survived the injuries you sustained. Needless to say, Link doesn’t like his “possessions” being damaged by his followers.”
Drake, yeah that was his name. I laughed in my head because I’d already forgotten the little rat bastards name. I stared wide-eyed as the ordeal replayed in my mind.
“I was already on my way here, so I just got here a little faster to make sure you survived. We had to do a tiny bit of surgery, but it’ll be no big deal for someone of your breeding. It probably won’t even scar. If he’d broken just one more rib though, you’d probably be looking down on us from heaven right now”
I nodded once again and squeezed his hand silently offering my thanks.
“As I stated, I was already on my way here because Lexie escaped, and we figure she will show up here, unless…..”
He trailed off as a look of concern overtook his normally carefree face, but Oh my god! Lexie escaped! She’s out! It took all of my inner Jedi not to burst out with a gleeful cheerful scream.
“Enough about that. Let’s take a look at you.”
He grabbed a small pen light from the pocket of his white lab coat. He shined the light into my eyes, and bent down very close to my face, quietly whispering into my ear. “She’s not alone. She’s with one of my oldest and dearest friends.” He straightened up and shone the light into my other eye, bending down to whisper into my other ear. “He’s a badass Navy Seal. He’ll keep her safely away from here. It’s all coming together perfectly Evie”
I closed my eyes and clinched my jaw to try and fight back the tears that were forming in my eyes. Thane straightened back up and tucked his penlight back into his pocket. He patted my knee as he turned to leave. I knew he would fill me in when he could do so safely.
“Get some rest, Captain Bourocher. I need to get you back to your friends as soon as possible.”
Chapter 21
It’s a Date
Lexie
There was a gentle knock at my door. My hair was still wet from the shower. I wrapped the complimentary robe around me and tied it tightly at the waist. I hesitated momentarily, before looking through the peep hole. Talon was standing outside with shopping bags. With a smile on my face, I opened the door. Talon whistled.
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“Wow Miss Lexie! You clean up nice.”
Once again I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. “Thank you Talon.”
I was trying to peek into his shopping bags. “What’cha got there?”
“Well…I took the liberty of buying you a few things. I figured you might want to burn the clothes you were wearing earlier.”
I chuckled loudly. “What Mr. Wilkinson, were they not to your liking?”
“I can take them back if you like.”
I grabbed the bags from his hands playfully and ushered him into the room. “No way!! Thank you so much for doing this…for everything.”
“I hope everything is ok. The sales lady helped me out.” He nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his massive hand. “I’m not all too familiar with what women wear, and what sizes n’all.”
“I’ m sure everything will be fine. Thank you!” I gave him a big hug before retreating into the bathroom to change. He did surprisingly well at picking out clothes for me: a pink v-neck short sleeved tee shirt, khaki cargo shorts, pink socks that matched the tee shirt perfectly, and white Nikes with a pink swoosh. He even picked out pretty lacy under things in the perfect size. This guy didn’t know me, but it seemed like he knew me well. The shoes were a little big, but they would suffice. Otherwise, everything fit like a dream. I combed out my hair with the little black comb provided by the hotel, and stepped out into the living room.
“You look very pretty, Miss Lexie.”
“You’re amazing, Talon! Everything is great! Thank you so much! I feel like a new woman.”
“The lady at the boutique did most of the work; she deserves all the credit.”
“How did you know my sizes?”
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