“I could let you go, sure. But before I do something crazy like that…” He reaches past me and rips the key from the ignition, “I want you to tell me why in the hell you’re speeding down my beautiful highway in a car that belongs to a dead person.”
The curse of being at a loss for words is a new diagnosis for me.
“What’s a matter, boy? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“When did he die? I mean, this isn’t his car. It’s my car. He’s my husband.”
“Exactly what I said. Some people never think straight.” He smirks as he dangles the keys in front ofthe window. “I’m going to hold these while I go make some calls. No funny business from the two of you.”
He departs, heading back into the darkness behind us while the sun breaks over the line of trees ahead. He bends over, reaches through the window to grab a radio, and begins talking into it, but I can’t hear what’s being said. He doesn’t take his eyes off us as he continues to yack away.
“I’m sorry.” Seven places a hand upon mine.
I continue staring in the rearview mirror and shake my head. “The reason I pushed his sorry ass down the stairs is because I wanted him to die.” I look at him. “So, what the fuck are you apologizing for?”
He just nods in return. Says nothing. The punk has finally learned his lesson that sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all. And that’s exactly what I need—nothing. In the back of my head, I had to have known it’d come to this, but I was so hellbent on writing my own ending that I somehow misjudged how long it was until my past caught up to me. It was always there, nipping at my heels. After everything that sorry sonofabitch did to me, I refuse to go out like this. I refuse to go out in a prison cell while he gets off scot-free.
My only regret is that I lost control and stole away the last miserable years of his life. Like Mama, he deserved to go out choking on his dying breaths. What I stole from him, he’s about to steal right back. Just when I was starting to feel something—anything—again.
“At least there are hot men in prison,” I say jokingly, but Seven isn’t amused.
He narrows his eyes on me. “Remember that whole thing about me being yours? If you go down, I’m going down too.” He squeezes my hand tighter. “Where you go, I go.”
“I’m not letting you—” I stop abruptly when I take another glance at the rearview mirror.
A black SUV pulls off to the side of the road, coming to a rolling stop right behind the patrol car.
Seven turns his head over his shoulder and then, panic in his voice, says, “Noah! Drive, now!”
“He took the fucking keys,” I say deadpan, unable to break my attention from the scene playing out in the mirror.
Two men get out of the SUV and leave the car doors open before approaching the cop car.
The patrolman holds a hand out in front of him and yells, “Stop.”
They do no such thing, continuing their advance.
The patrolman reaches for the gun in his holster as he shouts again.
I dig through a console full of junk and retrieve a pocket knife from the bottom. Flip it open and get to work, using the blade to pop open an opening underneath the dash. There’s a sea of wires. “I’m just being honest with you, punk. I don’t know how to fucking do this.”
Seven slams the glove box closed and dangles a spare set of keys in front of my face.
I rip them out of his hands and give him the biggest fucking smooch on the lips.
I twist the key in the ignition. The engine roars to life, the tires screeching over the asphalt as we speed away.
When I pull away, I’m left with a mental image I kind of want to remember forever. Despite the dire circumstances we’ve found ourselves in, he has the biggest smile on his face. A smile bright enough to do what the sun ahead couldn’t.
A smile to give me the strength to fucking drive.
Seven watches out the back window while I focus on the road ahead.
“What’s happening back there?” I question, not able to make out anything in the rearview mirror as the daybreak ahead blinds me.
“You don’t want to know.”
Well, now I must know. I turn my head over my shoulder. The patrolman’s body lies in the middle of the road while Seven’s two best friends hurry back into the van, immediately giving chase.
