Road Tripping

by Noelle Adams

  “But this is Miss Horner’s truck." She gulped, imagining possible scenarios. The last thing she wanted was to get poor Miss Horner in trouble. “What if they track her down, thinking she’s me? I can’t believe you got me into this mess.”

  “It sure wasn’t by choice,” he muttered, glancing over at her in obvious frustration. “Do you think I want to be dragging you around with me?” Taking advantage of the fact that she was too furious to respond, he went on, “Miss Horner will be fine. One look at her, and they’ll know she wasn’t involved. I hate it as much as you do, but you’re safest with me.”

  Ashley was about to let loose a long, impassioned tirade, but the scene in front of her distracted her attention. Ethan had gotten trapped behind a tour bus. The bus was in the passing lane trying to get by a semi-truck. Neither was moving very fast, and so the pickup was effectively caught with no way to pass either vehicle. The sedan was pulling up beside them. They were trapped.

  Or should have been.

  Ethan stepped on the gas and edged between the bus and semi-truck—right in between them—where there was clearly no lane in which to drive.

  Ashley almost screamed, but bit her lip to stifle it. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable crunch as the pickup was squished in between the two much larger vehicles.

  It never came. The truck swerved over onto the shoulder. Both drivers were laying on their horns. But Ethan had pulled past them and now had a clear road in front of him.

  The sedan didn’t have time to do a similar maneuver, so, after the truck moved back into its lane, the bad guys were still stuck behind the bus.

  Even though she was supposed to be a good girl and not take pleasure in dare-devil stunts, Ashley gave a little squeal of excitement. Ethan met her eyes, and they grinned at each other warmly before she remembered that she hated him.

  She scowled when she recalled everything he’d done, and Ethan turned back to the road, accelerating until he was going well over the speed limit.

  She was surprised Miss Horner’s truck could even reach that speed.

  “So why are they chasing us again?" Ashley asked after a few minutes of silence.

  “They’re chasing me. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And now you’re stuck.” Ethan took the next exit. The sedan still wasn’t in sight, but he was clearly nervous. He checked the rearview mirror every thirty seconds or so.

  Ashley sighed. “They aren’t behind us now. Can’t you just drop me off at a gas station or something?”

  “Too risky,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “Your purse flew off the hood when we drove away, so they’d be able to find your license, even if they don’t see you get out of the truck. If these guys are who I think they might be, they’re dangerous. I’m not going to leave you to their mercy. This is my fault.”

  “That’s for sure,” Ashley mumbled, not quite under her breath. “It’s like a damned Jason Statham movie.”

  “Just stick with me for a little while until I can figure this out. Do you despise me so much it’s worth risking your life for?”

  It wasn’t as easy a decision as it sounded. Risking her life was not a good option, but neither was spending time with Ethan Moore. The funny thing was she still trusted him—despite everything. It was instinctive. He’d been like part of her family all her life, and she just didn’t believe he’d be lying to her now or putting her in danger by any choice of his own.

  When she was twelve years old, a boy in the class above her had followed her home, teasing her brutally about the pimple on her nose.

  She’d been close to tears and trying desperately not to show it when Ethan had appeared out of nowhere.

  Ethan had always teased her a lot himself, but he’d never made her cry back then.

  The other boy was a year younger than Ethan, but he was a hulking bully, while Ethan had been a scrawny kid. He was considerably smaller than the other boy.

  It hadn’t mattered. Ethan hadn’t said a word. Just planted himself between the boy and Ashley and hadn’t moved.

  The other boy tried to pick a fight, but Ethan still refused to budge. When the boy got frustrated and swung, Ethan just ducked and laughed.

  Finally, the boy had cussed out Ethan and left Ashley alone.

  Ethan had walked her home.

  He hadn’t been particularly cute at thirteen—certainly not as cute as he was now—but he’d still been her hero. For years, he’d been her hero.

  She kept the memory and the resulting emotion to herself, however, and was silent the rest of the way to his place.

  His family’s land was mostly wooded, and the river marked one of the borders. There was a big rambling house, an unattached garage, a huge workshop, and a boat dock.

  “What are we doing? Won’t they look for you here?”

  “Yeah, but I need to take care of something. We’ll just stay for two minutes.” He pulled the truck behind the workshop, near the dock, and said, “If you see anyone coming, just drive away.”

  She was too surprised to say anything when he jumped out of the truck and ran down the dock and into the boat.

  Then she got out of the truck and walked over toward the boat herself. She didn’t think she was stupid, but she was confused and scared, and she didn’t want to be left alone. Plus, she’d managed to get a good look at the boat moored at the dock for the first time.

  It was small, but she knew enough about boats to know that it must have cost a fortune.

  Ethan almost plowed into her as he came out of the boat and raced down the dock, right when she was approaching.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” he demanded, grabbing her shoulders by both hands as he jerked to a stop. “I told you to stay in the truck.”

  “I don’t care what you told me.”

  He turned her around toward the truck. “We need to get out of here.”

  She didn’t see that he’d gotten anything from the boat, but maybe it was so small it fit in his pocket. She turned back toward the river. “When did you get that boat? It must have cost a fortune.”

  “It did. Now let’s get out of here.”

  “I want some answers now.”

  “You’re safer not knowing.”

  “Apparently, I’ll be just as dead whether I know or not.”

  “Okay, fine. If you’ll just start moving, I’ll tell you.” He managed to get her to walk toward the truck. “I’ve been trying to see if I can get out of this…”

  “This what?”

  “This net.”

  She understood immediately what he meant. Evidently, he’d been trying to extricate himself from the moonshiners, and she could have told him that wasn’t an easy thing to do. Buster had always given her the creeps, ever since she was fourteen and he’d winked at her when she’d seen him in the hardware store. She muttered, “You and your criminal activities. It’s enough to make a girl scream.”

  Ethan raised an eyebrow. “You planning on screaming any time soon?”

  Somehow, he had made it sound both obnoxious and sexual. Only Ethan could accomplish such a feat so easily. Ashley felt herself blushing, which made her even madder. “When did you get so arrogant—”

  Before she could complete her question, the boat exploded.

  They were far enough away to not be harmed, but the sound and momentum pushed her down onto her already skinned knees and palms. She just stayed there with her eyes squeezed shut. She was sure she would wake up any moment. Real life didn’t happen like this. Not when you were trying desperately to stay out of trouble. You weren’t chased by bad guys with guns, and boats didn’t randomly explode. Any minute now, she would wake up in her cozy bed. She wouldn’t be at the old Moore place. She wouldn’t have skinned knees. And she wouldn’t be anywhere near Ethan and his horrible sneer. She would be in bed.

  Ethan’s hand was on her back. “Ashley,” he said urgently. “Ashley, are you all right?”

  “No,” she said hoarsely, not opening her eyes. “I’m w
aiting to wake up. Go away. I’m in bed. You don’t get to be in bed with me.”

  “What the…” Ethan’s hands were moving over her back now, then her shoulders, arms, and head. “Ashley, are you all right? Did you hit your head?”

  His touch made it clear. She was definitely awake. She sighed and moved into a sitting position on the ground. “I guess I’m not having a bad dream.”

  She saw relief reflected clearly in Ethan’s face as he managed to interpret her earlier comments. “No dream,” he replied, gently pushing her hair back from her eyes. He stopped himself with a start, apparently realizing what he was doing. Put both hands in his lap. “This is cold, hard reality.”

  “The boat blew up,” Ashley said, looking at the flaming remains. She could hear sirens approaching from a distance, but didn’t know if they were the result of the explosion or the earlier gunfire and car chase.

  Ethan got up and then helped her to her feet. “It wasn’t supposed to blow quite so soon. Let’s get out of here while we can. We don’t want to have to answer questions when the police get here.”

  That sounded reasonable, so she hurried to climb into the truck. When he started off, she asked, “Where are we going now?”

  “I’m going to just drive for a while, to make sure we’re not followed, and then we’ll find a motel for the night. We can figure out what to do tomorrow.”

  “I’m not sharing a motel room with you.”

  He slanted her an annoyed look with his vivid green eyes. “Believe me, that’s the last thing on my mind.”

  So she felt insulted again. Didn’t say much of anything until she was alone in a motel room, just off an exit on I-81, about an hour away, with nothing but a fast food bag full of food. She ate and took a shower. Then put her prissy clothes back on, since she had nothing else to wear, and turned on the television. Tried to pretend none of this had really happened.

  She thought about just calling the cops, but something stopped her from doing so.

  She knew what it was. It was some sort of lingering loyalty to Ethan—who still felt to her as close to family. Calling the police on Ethan would be like turning in her brother.

  Or not exactly her brother. Ethan didn’t feel like her brother. At all. But, still, despite her resolution for the last year and a half to always do the good, smart, and safe thing, she didn’t pick up the phone. She couldn’t bring herself to betray Ethan.

  Yet.

  She was flipping channels when there was a knock at the door. After peeking through the peephole, she opened the door for Ethan.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, sitting back down on the bed.

  Ethan sat down on the other bed across from her.

  When he didn’t say anything immediately, she said, “So deciding to resign from a life of crime isn’t as easy as you hoped.”

  He made a face—somewhere between frustration and reluctance.

  “So it’s your own guys chasing you?”

  “My guys?”

  “Your crew or whatever. The moonshiners. Your cohorts in crime.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You seem to have concocted quite a little drama about my activities.”

  “Hey, you’re the one who got my brother arrested, got chased by bad guys in black, and then blew up his own boat, so don’t talk to me about drama.”

  “Yeah. It’s a mess. But it didn’t happen the way you think.”

  She felt a strange little kick in her heart at the idea that there might be some sort of explanation for the good-hearted boy she’d known all her life turning into a bad guy. She waited for him to continue, to explain it away.

  But he just shook his head and looked away. “Anyway, that’s not the point. If they were my crew chasing me, they’d have beer bellies and chewing tobacco. And they wouldn’t be shooting at me. These guys aren’t from around here.”

  “So who are they?”

  “I think they must be hired guns.”

  “So who hired them?”

  “Jones, I believe.”

  “Damn Buster,” Ashley muttered.

  “My sentiment exactly.”

  “So why did Buster send the hired guns after you? What does he want from you?”

  “Originally, he wanted my boat dock. Now, it’s complicated. He doesn’t like me trying to extricate myself.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I need to get to South Dakota. I might have a way out, but I need to meet with someone in Sioux Falls.”

  “Who is it?”

  “He runs distribution on the other side of the Mississippi. He’s basically at the end of the distribution route.”

  “Buster distributes his moonshine all the way to South Dakota?” She was shocked, and her voice showed it.

  “Yeah.” Ethan shook his head. “It’s a big business. That’s why he takes it so seriously.”

  “So why don’t you just call this guy up?”

  “He’s paranoid about Jones and refuses to talk to me on the phone anymore, and he refuses to do anything over the internet. The only way to talk to him anymore is in person.”

  “Well, good luck with that,” she said sweetly, reaching for her phone. “I’m going home.”

  “No.” Ethan’s hand landed over Ashley’s on the phone, keeping her from picking it up. “You can’t. You have to come with me.”

  Ashley let out a howl of frustration. “This is ridiculous. Why do I have to come with you?”

  “They know who you are. I made a few calls, and they definitely know. Your folks should be okay, since they won’t be back in town for a couple of weeks. But you’re definitely in danger. I made the mistake of underestimating Jones, but I’m discovering he’s more ruthless than people realize. He’s not just a harmless good-ole-boy. Moonshining has been his family’s business for ninety years. It brings in huge money for him, and he’s not going to stand for anyone who gets in the way of it. Until I can fix things, you’re definitely in danger.”

  Her jaw dropped. Her shoulders dropped. Her heart dropped. “And you need to fix things in South Dakota?”

  “Yeah. I can’t let you go home and get kidnapped or worse so they can use you for leverage over me.”

  “But why would they think I’d be leverage. Why couldn’t I just be a random chick you met at the gas station?”

  “Jones knows me. He knows better than that.”

  She didn’t know what he meant by that, but maybe Buster knew that they’d grown up together.

  “Can’t I just hide out somewhere until it’s all over?” Her question was a little desperate, but she was feeling a little desperate. Anything was preferable to being on the run with Ethan for another day.

  His hand was still on hers. His touch was strong, warm, and steady. “Where would you hide? We’re okay in this motel for one night, but they’ll eventually start searching. He’s got people on the take all over that he can use for information. A fake name isn’t going to keep you safe for very long. I can’t trust the police—you know some of them are in Jones’s pocket—and I can’t trust anyone else to watch over you. They’re definitely going to be coming after me, and they wouldn’t hesitate to use you to get to me.”

  Ashley gave up and let out a huge sigh. She still trusted him. Even if she despised him, he felt familiar, like family—sort of. “When do we fly to South Dakota?”

  “We can’t fly,” Ethan said with a resigned frown. “He’ll be watching the airports. He’s bribed dozens of people who work there. We’ll have to drive.”

  Groaning, she pulled her hand away from Ethan’s. His touch was becoming unsettling. “How long will it take?”

  “It’s about an eighteen or twenty hour trip,” he explained, standing up. “So we’ll drive straight through tomorrow, I’ll meet with my guy in Sioux Falls, and we’ll clear this whole mess up. Jones will be off my back. No more bad guys chasing either one of us. With any luck, in two days this fiasco will all be a bad memory, and we’ll never have to see each other again.”
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br />   His tone became a little bitter at the end, but Ashley ignored it and concentrated on essentials. Two days, he’d said. Surely her nice, tidy, good-girl life wouldn’t be blown out of the water in just two days.

  “With my luck,” she mumbled, rubbing her face with her hands. “It will take us two weeks to even get to South Dakota.”

  Ethan ignored her pessimistic comment and turned to leave her room.

  “Are we going to rent a car?” she asked, before Ethan left. "Since they know Miss Horner’s truck, we won’t be able to take that, will we?"

  “No. We can’t take the truck, and I can’t rent a car. If I use my credit cards, they’ll be able to track us. This trip will have to be cash only. We also can’t use our phones, since they can track those too.”

  “My purse flew off the hood at the gas station, so I don’t have a phone or any money. All I have is Miss Horner’s gas credit card.” She’d had it in her pocket when they were first shot at. “How much cash do you have?”

  “About a thousand dollars.”

  Her mouth dropped open for like the fifth time that evening. “You carry a thousand dollars of cash around with you? It’s like you belong in some James Bond movie.”

  “I thought it was a Jason Statham movie. And instead of complaining about my habits, you should appreciate the fact that we have any money at all.”

  “How are we going to get a car?” Ashley asked.

  “We’ll think of something tomorrow,” Ethan called back to her as he pulled the door shut. “Don’t forget to chain your door.”

  Ashley made an irritated sound in response to his bossiness, loud enough for him to hear. But after waiting long enough to ensure he was in his own room, she got up to link the chain. Then she took off her skirt and top and got into bed.

  This was the most ridiculous, infuriating, frustrating situation she could ever have imagined. This was as far as possible from the no-trouble life she’d been trying to lead. But she was stuck. No way out of it now.

  Unless she was willing to betray Ethan by going to the police. Which she just wasn’t.

  She was in a motel in Dublin, Virginia. Ethan was in the next room. Tomorrow they would start out on a twenty-hour road trip, while eluding an unknown number of hired guns, brought in by sleazy, ruthless Buster Jones. They had to drive to Sioux Falls, South Dakota in order for Ethan to contact some guy for an unidentified reason—which she was definitely going to interrogate him about later.