Chapter 4
Ava
I take a sip of my coffee before placing it in the holder between us and rummaging in the takeout bag he handed me.
I unwrap the first sandwich a little bit to make sure it’s the ham and cheese he ordered and then fold the paper back to make it easier to eat while he’s driving.
“Here you go. Thanks for the coffee and the sandwich. I’m glad you stopped now,” I tell him, handing it to him before unwrapping my own.
“Thank you. Why don’t you relax for a while? We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”
“Where are we going?”
He keeps a close watch on the rearview mirror in between bites of his sandwich.
“A little place in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. It’s got everything we need to hide out for a while.
We’ll let things blow over for a few days, a week, and then I’ll come back and check in on your brother, make sure it’s safe, and then bring you home. ”
I still have the burner my brother has me keep in case of emergencies. “Can I call my mom if we don’t use a phone that can be traced?”
He shakes his head. “No,” he says through a mouthful of food.
“You’re impossible.”
He swallows, but my comment doesn’t seem to bother him at all. “I’m the best way to safety that you have. And don’t forget it.”
“I didn’t bring any clothes.”
He smirks, and at first, I think he’s going to make some snide comment about not needing any, or any multitude of crude things I would expect from any of my brother’s friends, but he doesn’t.
“We’ll figure something out when we get where we’re going.
I’ve got some stuff stashed that will work minus the bra and panties, of course,” he says, smiling.
I give him my best scowl. “You find that humorous, do you?”
He tries to put on a straight face and fails miserably, but in all fairness, he does try. “Well, you have to admit, you in a pair of boxers is probably a little bit funny.”
“Hee hee, but seriously? My brother is going to frikkin flip when he can’t get ahold of me. Very protective, I mean big guns and shit protective. Maybe we should go back and stay in town, closer, and then you can go check on him tomorrow.”
The highway is flying by and he continues to routinely look in the rearview.
“Look, I don’t know what your brother is into but he’s in some major trouble because people like him don’t just tell some stranger to take their sister and get them to safety, no matter what unless he’s worried that hanging around is the worst option for the safety of that person.
You’re clearly safer with me than you are back at that house. ”
“You brought me home and got me out of the bar. I do trust that you’re not going to hurt me, but still, I’d feel much better if my family knew where I was.”
He nods. “And I do happen to know a little about gang tats, not as much as some, but your brother is part of someone’s crew, and if someone’s after him, leads me to believe it’s another gang, and put that together with what you told me about the bullets and autos they’re packing, you’re much safer with me.
They’re not going to find you, at least not on my watch, capiche? ”
My eyes pop open when he says that, because said like that, there is no mistaking where he came from. “You’re Italian?”
He smiles. “Always the question when people take in my hair color and blue eyes. Full blooded. My mother came from northern Italy and has blonde hair and blue eyes. It’s really not as uncommon as people tend to think.
I bet about ten percent of the people living in the northern part of the country have blue eyes, with about the same for grey and hazel. ”
“Really? I’ve never been to Italy. I was hoping once I got home from college Mom and I could make a trip over together, but she’s been so sick.
She started her first round of chemo a few weeks ago and of course, she’s too stubborn to give her notice.
That’s why Paulie’s so uptight lately. He’s got a big job coming up that should more than pay for our mom’s treatments as long as nothing goes wrong and the other crews don’t get wind of it. ”
“It’s not time for the holiday break at college or anything. You come home because of your mom?” he asks.
“Yeah, I like to go with her for the treatments and take care of her after they’re done.
College can wait. As long as we have a roof over our head, food to eat, and we’re together, that’s all that really matters to us right now.
In the meantime, I’m tutoring online. My professors got me the jobs and it’s flexible so I can work around Mom’s treatment schedule and still contribute to the household expenses. It’s working for us right now.”
“I'm sorry about your mom, but glad you can be with her.”
I yawn and cover my mouth. “Sorry, it’s been a long day. Mom was up early to get ready for work. I couldn’t get back to sleep thinking about her after that. I was trying to figure out how to get her to quit that job without having it be something else that she’s having to give up, you know?”
“I don’t know. My parents are both healthy, but finding a way for her to make the choice without it seeming like another loss makes good sense. Rest. I’ll wake you up when we get past all the tolls.”
“Sounds good,” I tell him, putting the seat down and snuggling into it.
I toss and turn for a minute, and then grab my jacket and pull it into the seat with me, creating a makeshift pillow, drifting to sleep dreaming of blue eyes like the sea, and lips that capture mine in a passion that takes my breath away.
“Kade.”
“Kade…”
A hand on my shoulder gently rouses me. I groggily open my eyes. “Get up. We have to change cars.”
My eyes fly open, looking around in the night at the weigh station we’ve pulled into on the interstate.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom? If so, do it now because after this we’re going to disappear off the grid.”