Brianne squeaked, as if she’d convinced herself the sight of her carjacker had been a bad dream. “Oh God.”
“Can he be trusted?”
Lambert screwed his face up into a distasteful frown, but shrugged and replied, “Hasn’t dicked us over yet.”
Since it had been a while since the last time he saw his scaly partner, Cole kept his eyes on the shoulder until the Squam bounded into view. He reached for the shotgun he’d tucked near his feet, making sure Brianne saw it as he stepped outside. “Stay put,” he told her.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the weapon as she nodded meekly.
“What’s wrong?” Frank asked as he approached the car. His eyes darted back and forth before focusing on a vehicle approaching from the other lane. He stood closer to Cole and lowered his head so anyone in that dark blue Camry couldn’t make out more than the shapes of two men standing beside the hatchback. “We can’t stop in plain sight like this.”
“I know,” Cole replied. “You’re taking this girl into those trees and keeping an eye on her.”
Frank’s brow furrowed. It would have been a menacing expression for anyone his size, but on a man covered in yellow scales with gill flaps along his nose, it was downright chilling. “I won’t kill her.”
“Damn right you won’t. I want you to keep her here while me and Lambert drive ahead to that truck stop. Give us about fifteen minutes to top off the tank and get some supplies and then point her toward the same place. It’s only about a mile walk so she should be able to make it.”
“And what if she doesn’t?” Frank asked. “A pretty girl on her own, walking on a stretch of road, she could get into trouble.”
Suddenly, Cole felt bad for bringing the shotgun along. Not only had Frank proven to be nothing but honorable this far, but he seemed more concerned for Brianne’s welfare than he himself did. “Then stick with her to make sure she gets there safely. You might want to stay out of sight, though. I think you freak her out.”
“I understand.”
Cole opened the car and settled behind the wheel. “Hand her off to Frank.”
Brianne looked outside and practically jumped into Lambert’s arms. “No. No! Please don’t!”
“Get out,” Cole demanded.
When she looked to him, Lambert said, “You heard the man, sweet stuff.”
Somehow, the endearing tone in Lambert’s voice seemed more of a motivator than the shotgun in Cole’s hands. She kicked the door open. Almost immediately Frank was there to take her hand and help her out. Resigned to her fate, Brianne sobbed to herself and shuffled away.
“How far away can you read someone?” Cole asked.
“Don’t know. Depends on if I know them or not.”
“What about her? Will you be able to read her from a mile or two down the road?”
“Hell yes. That girl’s scared shitless, and not too bright anyways. Makes for a good combo.”
“Just let me know if she gets hurt.” Grudgingly, Cole drove away. The next time he checked his rearview mirror, Frank and the blonde were already out of sight.
About two minutes later he pulled up to the farthest pump at the truck stop that had been advertised on the billboard. “Thank Christ,” Lambert said. “I gotta take a piss.”
“Hold it.”
“I can’t!”
“You’re dressed in a freaking gray jumpsuit. You know what that makes you look like? Someone who escaped from a prison!”
“Fine,” Lambert grunted as he unzipped the front of his jumpsuit and rolled down the top portion so it was gathered around his waist to reveal a sweat-stained wife beater similar to the one Frank wore. “Better?”
Cole counted up Brianne’s money. She had thirty-eight bucks and the debit card. He handed the cash to Lambert and said, “Get as much food and water as you can with this. Don’t attract attention. If there’s trouble, run for the highway and I’ll pick you up. Come to think of it, wait until I’m done pumping the gas.”
“You wanna pump somethin’?” the inmate grunted. “Then follow me into the toilet.” With that, he stuffed the cash into his waistband and headed for the main building of the truck stop.
Cole felt a tension in his belly that had nothing to do with the tendrils wrapped around his guts as he slid Brianne’s debit card through the reader on the pump. The fact that he was probably being taped by a security camera didn’t bother him, since stealing a tank of gas barely qualified as legal trouble anymore. He