by M. Garnet
“I don’t suppose you have scissors. If not, I need your sharpest knife.”
I looked over at Tim. He had also been changing. He took a moment to open a knife that he handed back to me. I cut off the tags and finally took the empty plastic bag. I sat Indian style so I could hold the bag and pull some hair forward. I cut long bangs adding long strands in front of my ears. I made sure all the clippings ended in the plastic bag. I finished by pulling the rest into a ponytail. I put all the tags and garbage into the same bag, then tied the top. I look around satisfied that I left no trail. I crawled back over the seat.
Tim looked at me and smiled. “I like it.”
We got back on the road. Tim instructed me that we were going to take back roads. He said we were going to take our time, but we were going to Indianapolis.
“Why there?” I was doing what he asked, heading south on Indiana state roads. I was going to follow his instructions, but I wanted information. I felt like I was split in half. I knew my feelings for Tim was impossible but true because I loved him. But I knew nothing about why we were running or why we were being hunted. I needed information.
“How much money do you have on you?” He was pulling out some road maps that he was spreading them on his lap. I looked over at him in surprise.
“I now have about four hundred thirty dollars left,” I answered truthfully.
“I have less, but in Indianapolis I can get a hundred thousand without going to any bank and without an ATM card. We need that money to keep running.”
Okay, my man has some money hidden. He has a plan that doesn’t involve that wicked gun. I can appreciate that.
The state highways were slower and sometimes had intersections with traffic. We stopped for a drive through lunch until we got into the suburbs of Indianapolis late in the day. The drive had been pleasant. Tim and I enjoyed talking about nothing but incidentals. We found things that we both liked and things that one of us liked and the other didn’t.
Tim could hold his liquor and drink most men under the table. I told him about my trouble with alcohol. We talked about what movies we liked. We didn’t seem to find much common ground until we got to Bourne, Avatar and The Hurt Locker. We realized we were action junkies.
We did relax. We laughed until Tim would start checking traffic. I didn’t feel like laughing. Someone was after us and they meant us harm. I also realized for all the talking we had done, none of it was about F. J. Franklin. There was no information on why they were dead set on getting him back. He had not told me why he was worried that they might want me besides me leading them to him.
At the very least, they meant to use us. If they couldn’t, they didn’t want anyone else to use us. So, that meant erasing us. The worse part—it was part of our own US Government. That was in capitals with a lot of punctuation marks and a lot of those initials.
It was still late in the afternoon, but Tim pointed out a La Quinta Inn. He had me park on the end, out of sight. He went in to register. We entered into the room that was on the ground floor. Tim called someone on the landline in the room, saying very few words. He then made another call, again saying very little, but listened for a long time.
“Leave our stuff here. We need to pick up some things.” He held the door open, but as I went past him, he stopped me, pulling me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. Then, he gave me one of those wonderful deep kisses that left me breathless. “Don’t worry, Michelle. It will all work out okay.” He pushed me out the door with his hand down on my butt.
This time, he drove. We went to a gun shop first. We didn’t buy a gun nor any shells or ammunition. I heard him ask the man for a bar of soap. The guy looked at him for a long time. Tim, then told him he wanted a bar like the one sold to another man. He gave the name of the other man and the guy behind the counter nodded yes.
While the clerk was in the back room, Tim asked me for two hundred dollars. I knelt down so I could dig out my money and gave him what he needed. He added his own four hundred dollars. Geez, it was a really expensive bar of soap. Okay, I knew it was not soap, but I didn’t know what it was, at least not yet. The sales man came back with an ordinary brown paper bag. Tim gave him the $600.
The man said, “Cool.”
We left the store and Tim put the bag on the floor behind the front seat. We traveled for another forty-five minutes.
We were just in the suburbs, going from strip store areas to nice neighborhoods, then back into strip store areas. It was all very nice with a safe feeling about them. Finally, Tim looked over at me. “How about Italian?” He turned into a parking lot next to a very nice but not too high-end Italian Restaurant.
I didn’t say anything, just going along. We went in, Tim requesting a seat in back. He ordered for us without looking at the menu. I just assumed he had been here before and knew the chef.
The food was marvelous with everything taking a little longer as none of the items, including the appetizer, seemed to be on the everyday menu. The waiter called over another waiter when Tim first started placing the order, but the second man assured us that they would be glad to create our meal as long as we had time. This small out of the way restaurant seemed to have a four star chef who could prepare anything that anyone ordered. Interesting.
Tim thanked him, assuring him that we were in no hurry. He reached across to take my hand, and in front of them, he placed a kiss in my palm.
The chef himself brought out our appetizer—a type of melted cheese and bread with tomatoes and wine that he flamed.
He kissed my knuckles. He assured Tim that his order would be complete as requested.
Tim smiled at me. “Just sit back and enjoy.”
An hour later, about half way through my veal scaloppini with pink sauce, I asked Tim if he had enough money to cover all of this. There were two bottles of wine on the table.
“No problem. The meal is covered. I will leave a hundred for a tip.”
I know my mouth fell open, but, then Tim took the fork full of food he was starting to eat and put it into mine.
Finally, two hours later we were drinking the finest coffee I had ever tasted. No bitterness, no aftertaste, just a smooth coffee with the rich cream that was added that made it almost like coffee ice cream except it was hot.
The chef came out with two white boxes. “I know you are too full for dessert right now.” He smiled again, kissing the back of my hand. “So I have prepared it for you to take with you to enjoy later tonight. Perhaps after a small personal exertion?” He smiled like a naughty elf setting the boxes on the table.
Tim finished his coffee and dug five twenties out of his pocket to put on the table.
“Ready, sweetheart?” he asked me.
The waiter held my chair as I got up. Tim took my arm and the waiter called Tim.
“Don’t forget your dessert, Sir.”
Tim looked at him and then said in a low voice as he took the boxes from the waiter, “I had my mind on another dessert, but thank you.”
I was glad the room was dimly lit so my blush didn’t show as we left the restaurant.
Tim drove, letting me relax in the sweet smelling leather. We went several blocks before turning down side streets where we finally came into an industrial area. He drove slowly past several large, mostly unused parking lots. Some of the lots were empty, surrounded by fences. The further we went, the rougher the area became. Potholes in the macadam, weeds choking the bent fences, trash littering the streets and ditches.
“Maybe I can help. What are you looking for, Tim?”
“Empty lots with junk and no security cameras.”
Oh, well that didn’t explain anything, but I could help. I looked out my side. I did notice that my side of the road looked more decrepit than his side. Mine backed up towards some buildings on the other side that were being torn down, but someone had stopped the project. I saw the tops of equipment that had sat a long time, rusting and falling with the buildings.
“Looks good. Let’s make another pass.” He drove down, going around a building so he could come back. “Yes, it will do.”
Then, we left the area to return to a better part of town. Tim drove up to a house. Here, he pulled in behind a Lincoln Town Car. “Michelle, trust me, get into the Town Car, the keys are in it. When I pull out, follow me back to the lot. Don’t go down the same street. Go down one street over and see if you can find a place without cameras. Wait for me. Let’s move our luggage first.”
We moved what we needed, which was mostly the new stuff that Tim pulled out. Tim laughed as he transferred our dessert boxes. The keys were in the center cup holder. I suppressed a sigh as the leather seats were like a soft chair. I adjusted the mirrors, then followed Tim.
I did as instructed. I sat in the car in front of a boarded up building that someone had already broken into. There had been some fire damage. I cracked the window on the passenger side, waiting. I was keeping a lookout in all the rear mirrors. My nerves were on edge. I guess I expected to be mugged, arrested, shot by a sniper, or see the Alien slime come down a building.
I was sitting in front of the building when I heard an explosion that shook the structure. I felt it inside the car. I looked around, but there was no one who came out of any of the buildings. This was really a dead area. I did see someone walking up behind me. He was in no hurry, just walking along. I didn’t need to watch. I felt the warm connection that grew as he approached. I had kept the car running. This great production of Detroit was so quiet, no one would know that it was idling. Tim slid into the passenger seat, closing the heavy door with a whoosh.
He leaned over before buckling up and kissed me on my cheek that was healing, but still bruised. I had covered it with makeup, but the blue and yellow was my badge. Every time I looked into the mirror, I let it remind me of the danger around us. The fact was true that Tim had already saved me from certain death from the men in the alley.
“Let’s go back to the motel and make mad passionate love. Remember, I owe you something since you tied me up in knots in a shower.” He smiled as he buckled in.
I had to smile also as I drove away in the powerful car. We were almost back to the motel before I got up the nerve to ask a couple of questions. I knew he was used to keeping everything inside. I was sure that as a team, he had still not been a team player. To protect himself and others, he kept his knowledge to himself. Now, I needed him to share knowing it wasn’t easy for him.
“Did you blow up the SUV?”
Tim had been lying back in the seat, evidently pretty sure we weren’t being followed. He rolled his head to look at me. “Yes, the soap was C-4. Do you know what that is?”
I took a moment to think. I nodded, yes, but I realized we had been driving around with it in behind the driver’s seat. Okay, Tim still had the ability to scare the shit out of me. “So your phone calls set up to get an explosive and to get a, what do you call them, a clean car?”
Tim nodded, yes. Then, he smiled. “Well, I got one more thing.”
I looked over at him for just a second as I pulled the car into the motel parking lot.
He nodded at the back seat. “Our dessert. The boxes hold the hundred thousand.”
I was glad I was slowing down because my surprise had me slamming on the brakes. I got control of myself.
I drove the big car into a parking spot. Tim and I got the items we needed out of the car and carried them into the motel.
Then, I visited heaven again. Tim made me pay for the shower trip I had enjoyed taking control of sex with him. He went down on me, in ways I didn’t believe possible. I’m sure I screamed enough to have any possible neighbors calling the front desk. When he was finished, he had to hold me up under the shower. He then carried me to bed. He exhausted every fiber of my body, leaving me too weak to stand. I went immediately asleep, curled within the circle of Tim’s arms and legs.
Again, looking back, I so regretted the loss of time in sleep. I needed the rest my body demanded so I really had no choice. The peace I felt at that time with the warm, strong body of the man I loved wrapped around my back—I felt that I could live the rest of my life just in that position. Yet, God and fate in the name of F. J. Franklin had other plans.
Chapter Eleven
Day Three: Eyes of Dangerous Love
I woke up and rolled over, stretching and smiling, but the smile faded when I couldn’t find Tim. I got up, choosing a skirt and blouse, calling out Tim’s name as I got dressed. When he didn’t answer, I looked into the bathroom, but found it empty. I did all the usual things done in a bathroom. I finished with brushing my teeth and admiring my new bangs. Then, I did some of the new usual things. I checked to make sure all of my stuff along with Tim’s items was available. I looked around for any traces in the room that would identify us.
I took the plastic bag from the wastebasket by the bed. I also gathered every tag, every scrap of paper, every tissue, even the note pad and pen by the phone. I looked around, then packed up my stuff. I saw that Tim’s case was in the room, but all packed also. The two dessert boxes were open and empty. His small saddlebag was missing. I pulled the window blind aside so that I could look out and saw the car still parked in front. I moved around the room and found the keys on top of the TV.
I went out to put all our stuff into the roomy back seat, then locked up the vehicle using a button so that it would not beep. I did not need to draw attention. I looked around the parking but still didn’t see Tim, then went back into the room. I turned on the TV, sitting back on the bed to wait. I was nervous, but there wasn’t much I could do until Tim got back with me.
An hour passed during which I had gone out three times to look around the parking lot. I had watched two families and a salesman load cars, then leave. On the third trip, I felt the heat, then saw Tim come around the backside of the building. I knew he saw me, but I went back inside. I left the door open an inch so he would be able to get in without the card. He came in quietly, walking right over to me. He took me in his arms. It was the smartest thing he could do. Being a woman, I was ready for an unreasonable battle.
“I’m sorry, but did I worry you? I should have left a note.”
He spoke in my hair as he ran his hands down to my bottom to cup me, bringing me against him. “Oh, God.” His voice was so deep against my ear.
I looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“You don’t have panties on and we have to leave right away.”
He held onto me tightly as he backed me out the door. Against the car, I felt the growth in his trousers as he pushed roughly into me and bending me back, he kissed me, passionately, but hard. The heat was rising in my legs, groin, and stomach. At last, he released me, moving away from me and stood looking at me.
“You know that you have me tied in a tiny knot around your small finger. Ask for anything and I will find a way to give it to you. Michelle, I love you.”
My magic lie detector sent off fireworks, balloons, and pink ribbons. He did not lie. I drew in a deep breath, holding it. He had said it. I knew how I felt, but to hear it in his low raspy voice was a gift that was above anything that I had ever dreamed that I wanted in the whole world.
“Oh, Tim, I love you. I realized it at Charley’s house. I was afraid to say anything. You don’t have to give me anything. Just be with me. Always.” I reached out to touch his face, gently, my fingers on his lips, then pulled them back to my lips.
Tim moved to the driver’s door. “I’ll drive.”
I went around and got into the passenger seat. Tim drove fast, but competentlt. He went through a fast food drive through to g
et us breakfast. He got on Route 455 that went around Indianapolis until he found Route 70 west and we settled down.
I looked over at Tim with his competent hands on the wheel. He seemed to be relaxed. “Where are we going?”
“I was thinking that a wedding in Las Vegas would be nice. What do you think?” There actually was a smile in his voice.
I looked over at him with nothing to say. Married. Of course. I had always dreamed of being married. Little girls grew up pretending about big weddings. Married to Tim? Yes! Anywhere anytime.
“Hey, little girl, no fancy comments?”
I watched his scarred hands, thinking they were better on me than on that leather bound wheel.
“I can only think of one thing to say. Yes!” I put my hand on his leg.
“Be careful. That can lead to pulling this car over for a quickie.”
His voice was husky as he quickly glanced down at my hand, then back at the road.
I had to laugh, but I did draw my hand back. I wouldn’t mind a quickie, but I didn’t want to interfere with his plans. “How long is the drive?”
Tim looked over this time with a smile. “About three days if we stop each night to make love.”
I could deal with that. I actually giggled with my nod of agreement. I hadn’t had the pleasure of a cross-country trip with my parents. I had planned so many trips on paper and in brochures as part of my job. I knew so many trips on computers, yet this was my first real one. It was going to be my honeymoon. What more could I ask for?
We took turns driving. After ten hours, we found a nice Marriot. We got a great room with all the amenities. We cleaned up before we went to their restaurant on the roof. There, we enjoyed an evening of good food. Tim even proved he could dance. I wasn’t sure why he wanted to splurge, but I didn’t ask. I also did not object. The dancing brought our bodies touching and closer. I had been feeling the heat all evening. Now, for the first time in a couple of days, I was feeling a pain in my lower stomach.