The door dinged, and Cade walked in, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He looked a bit odd, with that large bag, but maybe that was because Meg knew about all the cash in there.
He spied her and stalked through the store to where she stood. “I’m going to get a Coke. Want one?”
She did want something to drink. “I’ll look at what they have.”
As they stood looking at the large, glass doors, the biker turned the corner and approached them. Meg wasn’t sure if Cade did it on purpose or not, but he took a step toward her, shielding her in a protective stance.
The man nodded at Cade. “That your Mustang out there?” His gaze flickered to the parking lot.
“What about it?” Cade asked.
The man eyed him. “Just thought you might want to know the cops are out there checking it out.”
Meg’s throat went dry as she turned to see the biker spoke the truth. A cop car was parked behind them, and two deputies were standing there. One spoke into his shoulder radio.
Panic struck through her and Cade’s face paled. “Thanks, man.” Cade grabbed her arm and tugged her to the back of the store. “We have to leave.”
She tossed her package of peanuts on the counter by the coffee machine. “There.” She pointed to a swinging door that stated, “Employees Only.”
Cade scanned the store then nodded. “You go first. I’ll make sure no one sees.”
The teenager was busy staring at his phone. Meg slipped through the swinging door to the dim back room. Boxes lined one wall, a mop leaning against them. A small table and two chairs took up the center. Cade entered at a quick pace. “Hurry.”
Meg turned the corner and sighed with relief at a door, bright light coming in under it. She turned the knob and they rushed out into an alleyway, a row of dumpsters to their left. A delivery van sat idling, the owner chatting with someone, the back open. “This way,” Cade said as he turned toward the street.
What would they do when they got to the street? There were no trees to hide in. There weren’t any buildings to run behind. There was nothing but pavement. “Wait,” she heard herself say, a horrible idea forming in her mind. She motioned toward the delivery truck.
Cade shook his head, but all Meg could think about was how the police would be coming through that door any second and they’d be caught. “Come on,” she hissed, running toward the truck, glad when she glanced back to see him following her.
She pushed all warning bells out of her head as she climbed into the back of the truck and hid behind a stack of boxes. Cade crouched down next to her, his duffle bag taking up enough room that he had to press against her. “Now what?” he whispered.
She held her breath as the seconds ticked by, waiting for the police to come streaming out of the back of the convenience store. If that happened, surely they’d search the truck and find them. But no cops materialized. Maybe they were waiting for backup.
Then the truck owner came around, pulled the door down and locked it. A second later the truck swayed then took off. The motion made Meg fall back, and Cade put his arm around her to steady her. “I can’t believe that worked.”
He seemed happy, but Meg was still full of apprehension. “What if the driver finds us in here?”
“I don’t know. I’ll think of something.”
And then it hit Meg what they’d just done. They’d abandoned their car. Left all her belongings. She lost the ukulele her father had given her, the only possession she had that meant anything to her. She tried to hold it together, but tears pricked at her eyes and she couldn’t stop them.
“Hey,” Cade said over the noise of the truck. “Don’t worry. We’ll make it out of this.” He pulled her to his chest. She buried her face into the fabric of his T-shirt and tried to not think about losing the one thing that mattered to her.
Cade spoke into her ear. “It’s okay. I’m going to fix everything.”
The warm timbre of his voice and the way his arms felt around her made her heart melt. This man was everything she ever wanted. Everything she longed for. Why did he have to be wanted by the police?
