back to Tyler as he approached a stop sign. “Drop me here. I’ll find my way.”
“Screw that!” He threw the truck into park and let it idle. “I doubt you can even stand. If you can’t make the decision, I will.”
Feeling as though she was drowning in inertia, Regan looked out the side window at the house they were next to. It looked like a parking lot, with six cars crammed into the driveway and the yard next to it.
Then it clicked. She knew what Kelsey would have done.
“Turn the truck around.” She directed Tyler back to the commercial strip near the highway, then up and down cross roads, looking for the right place. The sky had lightened considerably and they were close to dawn, but all the retail parking lots were empty. Even the twenty-four-hour superstore’s lot only had three cars, probably belonging to employees.
Finally, she spotted it.
“There. Pull in there.” She pointed across the street. Tyler gave her a quizzical look but complied, making a left turn and cutting through a furniture warehouse lot to get back on the road. A second later, he pulled into the car dealership she’d indicated.
“Just park. Driving around might spook them.”
He didn’t say anything, just pulled the truck up to the side of the lot and shifted into park, waiting. Regan climbed out and started walking up the aisle of used cars. Kelsey would park there, instead of where the shiny new ones gleamed under bright lights. If she remembered what Regan had taught her during her driver training.
Driving around can draw the attention of those who are after you. They’ll be searching the streets, maybe checking fast food places or gas stations where you might stop for supplies or directions. You’ll blend in here.
Kelsey had been a sponge, soaking up lesson after lesson. But if Regan was having trouble planning on the run, how could she expect her daughter to remember one detail from two years ago?
But then there it was. The car she’d seen at the side of the road, parked at the end of the row between an ancient Datsun and a Saturn sedan. Regan walked faster, her heart pounding. She couldn’t see anyone through the glare on the rear window. If they’d left the car and moved on, she would have no idea where to go next.
The rear door on the passenger side opened. Regan tensed, prepared for it to be someone else, another goon playing with her mind and emerging to kill her or taunt her with her daughter’s capture. She held her breath and stopped, ready to run or fight.
Then Kelsey’s dark, beautiful head popped up over the side of the car.
Chapter Seven
“Mom!” Kelsey started running, and so did Regan, the pain in her bare feet and hip disappearing in her overwhelming relief.
Kelsey body-slammed her, her arms wrapping tight around her. Regan clutched her daughter to her with her good arm, trying to hold back the sobs. Kelsey was openly crying.
“I’m glad you’re okay, ma’am.”
Regan looked up to see Van, holding a hockey stick and looking like she’d played a full tournament, standing next to a tall, handsome boy braced for a fight.
“Thank you for helping my daughter.” The words came thickly. She released her headlock on Kelsey but didn’t take her arm away. Her daughter twisted in her embrace.
“Mom, this is Tom. Tom Johnson.”
He held out a hand. “How do you do.”
Regan laughed and let go of Kelsey to shake it. “I do pretty damned poorly at the moment. We’ve got to get out of here.” She looked back. Tyler had gotten out of the truck but remained beside it, watching. Ready.
“What happened to you, Mom?” Kelsey seemed to notice her mother’s state for the first time. Her eyes cataloged the filth on the navy hospital scrubs. The sling. The dark patch of blood on her hip over her knife wound. Her bare feet. When she looked up, she was frowning mightily. “You should be in the hospital.”
“Yep. But I’m not, and we can’t stay here. Come on.” She waited while Van
“Screw that!” He threw the truck into park and let it idle. “I doubt you can even stand. If you can’t make the decision, I will.”
Feeling as though she was drowning in inertia, Regan looked out the side window at the house they were next to. It looked like a parking lot, with six cars crammed into the driveway and the yard next to it.
Then it clicked. She knew what Kelsey would have done.
“Turn the truck around.” She directed Tyler back to the commercial strip near the highway, then up and down cross roads, looking for the right place. The sky had lightened considerably and they were close to dawn, but all the retail parking lots were empty. Even the twenty-four-hour superstore’s lot only had three cars, probably belonging to employees.
Finally, she spotted it.
“There. Pull in there.” She pointed across the street. Tyler gave her a quizzical look but complied, making a left turn and cutting through a furniture warehouse lot to get back on the road. A second later, he pulled into the car dealership she’d indicated.
“Just park. Driving around might spook them.”
He didn’t say anything, just pulled the truck up to the side of the lot and shifted into park, waiting. Regan climbed out and started walking up the aisle of used cars. Kelsey would park there, instead of where the shiny new ones gleamed under bright lights. If she remembered what Regan had taught her during her driver training.
Driving around can draw the attention of those who are after you. They’ll be searching the streets, maybe checking fast food places or gas stations where you might stop for supplies or directions. You’ll blend in here.
Kelsey had been a sponge, soaking up lesson after lesson. But if Regan was having trouble planning on the run, how could she expect her daughter to remember one detail from two years ago?
But then there it was. The car she’d seen at the side of the road, parked at the end of the row between an ancient Datsun and a Saturn sedan. Regan walked faster, her heart pounding. She couldn’t see anyone through the glare on the rear window. If they’d left the car and moved on, she would have no idea where to go next.
The rear door on the passenger side opened. Regan tensed, prepared for it to be someone else, another goon playing with her mind and emerging to kill her or taunt her with her daughter’s capture. She held her breath and stopped, ready to run or fight.
Then Kelsey’s dark, beautiful head popped up over the side of the car.
Chapter Seven
“Mom!” Kelsey started running, and so did Regan, the pain in her bare feet and hip disappearing in her overwhelming relief.
Kelsey body-slammed her, her arms wrapping tight around her. Regan clutched her daughter to her with her good arm, trying to hold back the sobs. Kelsey was openly crying.
“I’m glad you’re okay, ma’am.”
Regan looked up to see Van, holding a hockey stick and looking like she’d played a full tournament, standing next to a tall, handsome boy braced for a fight.
“Thank you for helping my daughter.” The words came thickly. She released her headlock on Kelsey but didn’t take her arm away. Her daughter twisted in her embrace.
“Mom, this is Tom. Tom Johnson.”
He held out a hand. “How do you do.”
Regan laughed and let go of Kelsey to shake it. “I do pretty damned poorly at the moment. We’ve got to get out of here.” She looked back. Tyler had gotten out of the truck but remained beside it, watching. Ready.
“What happened to you, Mom?” Kelsey seemed to notice her mother’s state for the first time. Her eyes cataloged the filth on the navy hospital scrubs. The sling. The dark patch of blood on her hip over her knife wound. Her bare feet. When she looked up, she was frowning mightily. “You should be in the hospital.”
“Yep. But I’m not, and we can’t stay here. Come on.” She waited while Van
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