The Perfect Cover (The Perfect Stranger #2) - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,16
you hadn’t considered this.”
“Okay,” I say, exhaling slowly.
I don’t want to admit that she’s right, so I just start the engine. “Let’s go.”
“Hey there.” Mac’s voice comes in crystal clear through the crack in my window. “Wait for me.”
11
Isabelle
When we get to Oklahoma...
When Mac climbs into the car, the first thing that I notice is his casual, happy-go-lucky smile. He has big white teeth and dusty blonde hair that falls in his face.
He doesn’t look anything like a person who has just been on the run for ten days. While Tyler looks tired and detached, even like a deer in the headlights at times, Mac has an easy-going quality to him that’s quite attractive.
I get out of the front seat to let him in to the back and immediately he throws his arms around Tyler, giving him a big warm hug.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he says, spreading out and taking over the entire back seat.
It’s not a big space, it is a Honda Accord after all. I wonder if I should sit in the back and let the two of them reconnect upfront.
“You made it,” Mac says, grabbing Tyler’s arm again as he drives. “We fucking made it.”
Mac spreads his arms out over the backs of our seats, sticking his head in between ours.
It’s a little bit claustrophobic, but there’s not much I can do about it.
As we drive out of town, I look around and check for police cars. I don’t think I let out a full sigh until we get back onto the interstate.
“I can’t believe you actually came here,” Mac says, patting Tyler on his shoulder.
“I can’t believe I did either.”
“Hell, I thought that this was going to be a set-up for sure.”
“So did she,” Tyler says, giving me a wink.
There isn’t an ounce of cruelty in that wink, just an acknowledgment of the truth.
“I’m sorry,” I say shyly.
“Hell, don’t be.” Mac shakes his head. “I would’ve thought the same thing. In fact, I did. This whole way here I kept looking over my shoulder checking to see if there were any cops on the horizon. Of course, if they were, they would have stayed hidden until we connected, but that didn’t stop me from looking.”
I let out a sigh of relief as we exchange smiles. Now, I don’t feel like such a traitor.
“Listen, I wasn’t sure you would be here. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to make it here, but, man, it’s so good to see you.” He throws his arms around Tyler again. Tyler grabs back at him, steering with his knee.
The easiness of their friendship immediately puts me at ease. Perhaps, Tyler was right all along. I should have trusted him.
As we drive through Missouri, darkness falls. It’s almost time to pull over, but Tyler wants to make it to Oklahoma. The further west we go and the more states that we put in between us and Pennsylvania, the better off we’ll be.
I know this, but my eyelids don’t. They start to feel heavier and heavier with each passing moment.
Eventually, I stop fighting it. I simply relax my body and drift off.
I don’t wake up again until we get to the Motel 6 parking lot and they tell me that we are at our destination.
I go inside and get a room. They require a credit card and ID. I pray to God that no one is checking on my whereabouts. I don’t think they are.
I wouldn’t be using the credit card if I had a choice. I have plenty of cash, but the clerk insists.
I want to get two rooms and have some alone time with Tyler, but I know that they have been apart for a long time and have a lot of catching up to do.
Besides, the clerk will definitely remember me and my name if I ask her for two rooms right away. The only way I can figure to do this is to go ahead and get another one sometime later tonight, maybe in a few hours, when there’s a shift change. If it’s the same clerk, then I can at least explain it by saying that we had a fight.
We have plenty of food in the cooler as well as plenty of snacks, so there’s no need to go to the store. Covering their heads with baseball hats and popping their collars up, Tyler and Mac follow me into the room at the far end of the building.
The door goes straight to the outside