“Where am I going?” My voice is a stuttering mess.
“Get on the highway and head south until I tell you to.”
“Um, the cops are following us,” I blurt out and chew on my bottom lip while I wait for his response.
“I figured they would. I got it all planned out. All you have to do is drive like you normally would and shut your damn mouth.”
Fuck you! I want to scream back at him. I fantasize about getting on the highway and driving like a bat out of hell, and then ramming this fucker into the nearest pole, killing us both. That way neither one of us will get a damn thing out of this whole fucked-up situation.
It doesn’t matter if I live or die right now, anyway. My life is over whether he kills me or I kill myself. Turner is never going to want me back after this, and even though I have said time and time again I would be able to live my life without him, I know I won’t be able to. He is my life, and without him my existence is empty and meaningless. The only thing that matters to me right now is seeing him, even if it’s for the last time.
I pull onto the expressway and travel the speed limit for a few miles in silence before Trent finally speaks.
“Get off on the exit to your brother’s house and pull into the gas station on the right. You’ll see a white truck parked on the left side. Pull up right next to it and then get out. I want you to go into the gas station and buy something, and then walk back out and get in that truck.”
He really is fucking crazy. I could tell anyone in that store he has kidnapped me and he wouldn’t even know. The wheels are turning big time in my head. If I play this out right and let the clerk know my situation, he could inform the cops who are behind us. Maybe somehow they can follow or track us. Think, Clove. You can do this. There has to be a way for them to be able to follow us without him picking up on it.
Trent must sense some of what is going through my head.
“Don’t even think about telling anyone in that store a damn thing, bitch. If I think you peeped even one fucking word to anyone, your family will be burying you right next to your fucking husband.”
I have never been so scared in my entire life. I hope like hell they at least let me see Turner so we can try to figure out a way around this. I glance down at the clock and see it has been almost an hour since I hung up the phone with Zack. He has got to be freaking the hell out by now and has blown up my phone wondering where I am and why I am not answering. I am sure he has talked to the two officers who are still several cars behind me.
I turn on my blinker to indicate I am getting off on the exit, and when I look in my mirror I notice the cops are, too. They still have no idea Trent is in the car with me.
“How are you going to get out of the car without them noticing you? They’re going to see you.”
“Don’t worry your beautiful little head about what I am going to do. You just do what you’re told.”
His hand reaches up over the top of the seat and grabs my hair as we come to a stop at the end of the exit. I cry out in pain and shock.
“Quit asking so many questions. Just do what you’re fucking told, Clove.”
He releases his hold on my hair as tears start to form in my eyes. I don’t know how much more I can take. I feel like I am at my breaking point. I don’t want to just sit by and do nothing, so when I pull into the gas station I decide I am going to say something to someone in there. The way things stand now it really doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do, because once they have gotten whatever they need out of Turner and me, they are going to kill us, regardless.
Wait. I remember Trent said he needed something from me when we were back at my house. Desperately I try to figure out what it is. If I am the only one who can get him what he needs, then maybe, just maybe, I can make some demands of my own.
Pulling up next to the truck, I put the car in park and shut it off. I gather my purse and just when I am reaching for the door handle to get out, Trent’s brutal words halt my hand in midair.
“Wait one motherfucking second, bitch. There is something you need to hear first before you step out of this car.”
He takes out his phone and dials a number. There is a slight pause before the line is picked up.
“Yeah, Dad, we’re on our way. I told you she was a feisty one, but I know how much she loves that pussy of a brother of mine, so if you don’t hear from me in five minutes, blow his fucking knee cap out.”
His voice sounds vengeful, and yet why do I feel like I hear the smallest hint of regret when he speaks? Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part. Not wanting to hear anymore, I jump out of the car and head into the back of the gas station where I grab a bottle of water and a bag of chips. I now know exactly what I am going to do to try and keep Turner alive.
There are two people standing in line in front of me at the checkout lane as I wait impatiently, constantly checking my watch. I have a minute and a half left to get this done. Sweat pops up on my forehead and I start tapping my foot. Come on! Thirty seconds remain when I finally drop my items onto the counter.
“Will that be all, miss?” The clerk behind the register asks.
For a few seconds I stare at her blankly, trying to decide what to do.
“Yes,” I finally squeak out.
She immediately scans my items. I hand her over a five-dollar bill and grab my stuff and make my way to the door.
“Miss! Your change!” she calls out.
“Keep it.”
I scramble through the door and scan the area looking for the cop car. When I see it parked on the opposite side from where I am, my nerves go on high alert. I round the corner of the gas station and open the passenger side door of the truck.
“Hurry the hell up.” Trent leans over and jerks me roughly inside. “Scoot all the way down in the seat and stay there until I tell you to get up.”
How I would love to deny him and tell him to shove his demands straight up his ass. But I do as I am told and slide down in the seat as he starts the truck and pulls out. He now has on a baseball cap and sunglasses, trying to hide his looks.
As long as I stay ducked down like this I am not going to have a clue where we are going, so I try and pay attention to the turns he is making. I realize he has turned back onto the highway heading in the direction we just came from. Trent looks repeatedly into the rear view mirror and I study his facial expressions, trying to figure out what he is thinking and if we’re being followed. He seems completely at ease, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. He shows no signs of panic or worry. I wish he would take those damn sunglasses off so I could see his eyes.
My legs start to cramp up as I continue to sit on my hands and knees in the front of the truck. Fuck him and his damn demands. I cannot keep my mouth shut anymore.
“By the look on your face I would say the coast is clear, so I am getting up now.” I put what little bit of strength I have left into my words.
“I don’t think so.”
He lifts an eyebrow and smirks down at me.
“Fuck you! I am not riding like this any longer,” I insist, pulling myself up from the uncomfortable position I was in. Several minutes tick by before he speaks again.