“Yeah, she’s sick but not in the way the media leads everyone to believe she’s sick. She has no terminal illness. She’s killing herself with drugs and whoever is supplying her with those drugs is to blame.”
I stare at him, finding it strange that someone else knows another of the family’s secrets. “Shepherd… that fucking house is just riddled with bullshit and secrets. Some days, I wish it would burn to the ground with the whole fucking family inside it, but they’re my parents. Yes, my mom is a drug addict, yes, my father knows how to speak with his hand better than his words. But I’m not going back, so it doesn’t fucking matter to me. And you might be good with a gun, but so is my father.”
“I could have shot him right then and he’d never have noticed me.”
I’m quiet because a part of me wonders if my father knew I was under there. But if he had, he never would have let me get away.
“Let’s go,” I say. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“As far from Tony as we can go. But that’s easier said than done. I’m sure Delta will be tracking us at this point and Delta leaves only bodies everywhere he goes. This way.”
“Do you want to check what’s in the safe?” I ask.
“When we find some light, we can. We probably shouldn’t grab a bus or a train since I’m sure he has someone looking for us and we don’t want your face seen after your father’s press release.”
“Aren’t you… blowing this out of proportion? How far does Tony’s reach go?”
“Killian, every runner, club owner, and exotic dancer that works for Tony is watching out for you and you’d be shocked how many there are.”
When we reach a gas station, Shepherd surveys the place before leading me over to a lamppost. There, he opens the lockbox and grabs the bound pack of money on top. As he starts flipping through it, I see a small plastic box, which I open. Inside is a flash drive that I pick up.
“What’s that?” Shepherd asks.
“A flash drive,” I say as I slip it into my pocket. “How much money?”
“More than I have time to count. Anything else in the box worth keeping?”
I pick up the papers and look through them, but there isn’t much of interest. I fold them up and cram them into my pocket anyway.
“See that old man with the truck?” Shepherd asks as he points at a man filling the tank of his truck.
I nod.
“He has a Maine license plate. He’s far from home and probably still traveling. I doubt he’ll recognize your face since he’s not from around here. So you’re going to go up to him and ask if you and your brother could ride in the truck.” He reaches out and tips my chin to the side. “Your face is still pretty bruised, so you tell him your daddy beat you and you just need to get away.”
I stare at him. “Excuse me, what? I’m going to… oh god.” How in the world does he expect me to just start spouting shit to this random man?
Shepherd sighs before reaching out and ruffling my hair. Then he pulls me to him and presses me against him as he starts walking. “Stop looking at him. Look down, hold on to me,” he says as he leads me up to the man.
“Sir?”
The man is clearly wary as he turns to us.
Shepherd seems to shrink down, even though neither of us are short and he’s about two inches taller than me at around six feet. “I-I know this isn’t right of me, but we need someone to drive us. You see, our father is abusive. I’d gotten away, but when I heard he was hitting my little brother, I came back. I got him away, but we need a ride out of town. Could we sit in the back of your truck?”
The man watches us for a moment before glancing down at Bear. “This your dog?”
“My father’s. He was using him for fighting, and I knew we had to get him away,” Shepherd says. “It’s okay if you don’t want us to. I understand,” Shepherd adds as he starts to push me back. “Come on. The buses will start running by six. I won’t let him find us.”
“Hold on,” the older man says. “Just… I know I should… just don’t make me regret this. You can sit