Louis itself and beyond.
As the intersection grew closer, she applied more force and the brakes groaned louder. Sam took a deep breath and looked at him. “I’ve got a kid, okay? A four-year-old boy. Whatever you’re into, I can’t be a part of it. I’m a single mother, and I’m all he has.”
He looked at her for a moment without saying anything. His eyes narrowed. His lips tightened. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Sam was just starting to think that maybe her words had made a difference when he added, “I hate to break this to you, but that doesn’t change a thing. You think the people who are chasing us are going to cut you any slack because you’ve got a kid? Nice dream world you’re living in.”
“If you let me go—” Desperation laced her words.
“We’ll talk about it,” he interrupted. “Later. Once you get me to where I want to go.” He paused, glanced away, looked back at her. “So, where’s your kid?”
CHAPTER FIVE
T he question jolted Sam. No way was she telling him that.
“What’s it to you?” The look she shot him crackled with suspicion.
“They can’t find you, they might very well go after him. It’s the way these bastards work.”
Sam’s chest tightened with horror, rendering any answer impossible for the moment. Her stomach plunged straight to her toes. As they reached the intersection, she smashed the protesting brakes into the floor, grinding them down until the truck came to a full stop.
“They’d go after a little kid?” She found she could talk again, barely, as the truck, swinging wide, got under way once more. The idea that Tyler might be in danger flooded her system with icy waves of panic. It was an effort to try to think clearly, but she did her best. And what she came up with was, rush home, grab Tyler, and run.
Only she had to ditch Quasimodo first.
“They take him, they get leverage. They kill him, it instills fear.”
“Kill him?” Heart thudding, Sam had to consciously order herself to take a breath. “He’s four. What kind of monsters are they?”
“You said it: monsters.” He hadn’t objected to her left turn, but now he pointed right. “Pull into that alley.” He indicated a shadowy path that snaked between a broken-down service station and a closed Italian restaurant to disappear into the darkness beyond. “We’ll cut the BMW loose there.” He threw her a sharp look. “And if you’re thinking of cutting and running, just keep in mind that if you do, when they find the BMW—and they will—they’ll find this wrecker still attached to it. They’ll use it to track you down.”
Sam felt her stomach tighten. Finding her wouldn’t be hard: the license plate was registered to her. To say nothing of the fact that the name of the business—Sam’s Towing Service—along with her cell phone number was painted in big, glow-in-the-dark white letters along both sides of the truck.
What could she say? It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, just thinking about how big those letters were and how easy they were to read in the dark made her want to give her clueless previous self a swift kick in the butt.
“Yeah, that’s right, your name’s on it.” It was like he could read her mind. “And a phone number that I bet is yours is on there, too. Great big. Hard to miss.”
“Both those men back there are dead,” she said in a constricted voice as she followed his directions and pulled into thealley. “They were the only ones who saw me. There may be an army of killers after you, but they’re not after me. Once I get the BMW unhooked, they won’t even know I exist.”
“That’s one of the reasons I finished them off. I was trying to make sure you’d be safe.”
Her expression must have been doubtful, because he continued, “It’s the truth. And look at the thanks I got: you tried to run off and leave me. No, you tried to run over me. Not nice.”
Sam shot him a look. “Sorry if I didn’t quite get that
As the intersection grew closer, she applied more force and the brakes groaned louder. Sam took a deep breath and looked at him. “I’ve got a kid, okay? A four-year-old boy. Whatever you’re into, I can’t be a part of it. I’m a single mother, and I’m all he has.”
He looked at her for a moment without saying anything. His eyes narrowed. His lips tightened. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Sam was just starting to think that maybe her words had made a difference when he added, “I hate to break this to you, but that doesn’t change a thing. You think the people who are chasing us are going to cut you any slack because you’ve got a kid? Nice dream world you’re living in.”
“If you let me go—” Desperation laced her words.
“We’ll talk about it,” he interrupted. “Later. Once you get me to where I want to go.” He paused, glanced away, looked back at her. “So, where’s your kid?”
CHAPTER FIVE
T he question jolted Sam. No way was she telling him that.
“What’s it to you?” The look she shot him crackled with suspicion.
“They can’t find you, they might very well go after him. It’s the way these bastards work.”
Sam’s chest tightened with horror, rendering any answer impossible for the moment. Her stomach plunged straight to her toes. As they reached the intersection, she smashed the protesting brakes into the floor, grinding them down until the truck came to a full stop.
“They’d go after a little kid?” She found she could talk again, barely, as the truck, swinging wide, got under way once more. The idea that Tyler might be in danger flooded her system with icy waves of panic. It was an effort to try to think clearly, but she did her best. And what she came up with was, rush home, grab Tyler, and run.
Only she had to ditch Quasimodo first.
“They take him, they get leverage. They kill him, it instills fear.”
“Kill him?” Heart thudding, Sam had to consciously order herself to take a breath. “He’s four. What kind of monsters are they?”
“You said it: monsters.” He hadn’t objected to her left turn, but now he pointed right. “Pull into that alley.” He indicated a shadowy path that snaked between a broken-down service station and a closed Italian restaurant to disappear into the darkness beyond. “We’ll cut the BMW loose there.” He threw her a sharp look. “And if you’re thinking of cutting and running, just keep in mind that if you do, when they find the BMW—and they will—they’ll find this wrecker still attached to it. They’ll use it to track you down.”
Sam felt her stomach tighten. Finding her wouldn’t be hard: the license plate was registered to her. To say nothing of the fact that the name of the business—Sam’s Towing Service—along with her cell phone number was painted in big, glow-in-the-dark white letters along both sides of the truck.
What could she say? It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, just thinking about how big those letters were and how easy they were to read in the dark made her want to give her clueless previous self a swift kick in the butt.
“Yeah, that’s right, your name’s on it.” It was like he could read her mind. “And a phone number that I bet is yours is on there, too. Great big. Hard to miss.”
“Both those men back there are dead,” she said in a constricted voice as she followed his directions and pulled into thealley. “They were the only ones who saw me. There may be an army of killers after you, but they’re not after me. Once I get the BMW unhooked, they won’t even know I exist.”
“That’s one of the reasons I finished them off. I was trying to make sure you’d be safe.”
Her expression must have been doubtful, because he continued, “It’s the truth. And look at the thanks I got: you tried to run off and leave me. No, you tried to run over me. Not nice.”
Sam shot him a look. “Sorry if I didn’t quite get that
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