Except for Tommy’s best friend, Micah.
He took the ramp leading to the interstate.The sign overhead indicated they were heading south toward Milwaukee.She wondered where he planned to have this conversation with Di, not that it mattered.Staring blindly out the window, she tried to think about something other than being arrested for murder while Richard went on with his life.
“Why Milwaukee?”she asked, breaking the silence.
“The Milwaukee airport is bigger than the one in Madison.”He shrugged.“The city is also well outside of Madison’s jurisdiction.”
She grimaced, thinking that if she didn’t turn up soon, the police would ask the FBI for help, which meant jurisdiction wouldn’t matter.
Fifteen minutes later, Micah exited the freeway at a rest stop.There were no gas stations from what she could see, just a large bathroom facility.The off-ramp made a gentle curve and led right back onto the interstate for easy access.
Micah pulled into one of the diagonal parking spots.There was a box truck parked there and one other white car.As he turned off the engine, a family of four came out of the bathrooms and headed toward the white vehicle.
Bryn tugged her hand from his grasp and pushed open her door.“As long as we’re here, I’m going to use the facilities.”
“Me too.”Micah flashed a smile as if this was a nice Sunday outing rather than a hasty attempt to find a place to avoid being seen by the police.“That coffee has worked its way through my system.”
Inside, she found the bathrooms were roomy and clean.She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment, wondering again how she’d ended up in this mess.How had she become Richard’s scapegoat?Was it simply because she’d dated Damien, or would Richard have pinned this on her regardless?
She had no way of knowing unless he confessed, which obviously wasn’t happening anytime soon.Swallowing a sigh, she turned away.Ruminating over how she’d ended up here wasn’t going to help.There was no point in looking backward.Looking forward was scary enough.
When she emerged from the ladies’ room, she found Micah standing in the lobby area with his phone pressed to his ear.
“Call me back when you get a chance,” he was saying.“We’re going to need those IDs and passports I mentioned earlier.”
She shook her head as he lowered the phone.“I’m still not convinced that’s the best way to handle this.”
“You’d rather go to jail to serve a life sentence for murder?”He arched a brow.“You’re innocent, Bryn.”
“And you said you’d work to prove my innocence.”She turned away, dragging a hand through her hair.“There must be something we can do that doesn’t involve leaving the country illegally and hiding somewhere until the cops catch up to us.”
Micah was silent for a long moment.“Is this your way of saying you don’t want to go with me?”
His wounded tone had her spinning around to face him.“No, that’s not the problem, Micah.I don’t want to see you throw your life away because of me!”
“I’ll do anything for you, Bryn.”His gentle tone warmed her soul.He took a few steps toward her.She met him more than halfway.And then she was in his arms, being held tightly against his chest.She buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder, breathing in his unique musky scent.There was no denying how much she cared for him.
How much she was falling in love with him.
Tears pricked her eyes at the unfairness of it all.Not that anyone ever promised that life would be fair.Still, it was wrong to lose her freedom because of someone else’s diabolical actions.
When she sniffled again, pulling herself together with an effort, he leaned back and tipped her head up with a finger under her chin.“Don’t cry.It’s going to be okay.”
She didn’t see how that was possible but tried to nod in agreement.He surprised her by leaning in to kiss her.He probably meant it as a friendly kiss, but their lips brushed, clung, then meshed as the kiss deepened.
Her heart thumped erratically in her chest.Being kissed by Micah was incredible.So much better than anything she’d shared with Damien.She was instantly lost in their embrace, her heart wishing this could lead to something more.It was only when the door opened and someone walked in that they broke apart.She ducked her head, hoping the red flush in her cheeks wasn’t too noticeable.
Micah’s body tightened as the person who’d come into the building walked past them.When she glanced to the side, her blood congealed in her veins when she saw the state trooper uniform.
A cop!Of all the people to walk into the rest stop, it had to be a cop!
“Easy,” Micah murmured as the officer brushed past them to enter the men’s room.“He didn’t pay any attention to us.”
That was because they’d been kissing!If the officer had seen her face clearly, she knew this interlude would have ended with her in handcuffs.Her hands began to shake, and she couldn’t speak as Micah quickly guided her outside.She hurried to keep up with him as they made their way to the car.Her fingers were still trembling as she struggled to latch the seat belt.Finally, Micah was backing out of the parking space and getting back on the freeway.
Even then, she couldn’t relax.The near miss had knocked her off balance.And worse, she grimly realized this was a preview of what their life would be like if they bought fake IDs and left town.Flinching and hiding from every single police officer they ran across.Until someone who was working undercover found and arrested her.
Nope.She couldn’t do it.No matter how much she abhorred the idea of going to jail, she didn’t think hopping on a plane and leaving the country was the answer.She lowered her chin to her chest and spent a moment drawing in deep cleansing breaths to calm her racing heart.
