their shit in Russia and only came here to run the family when his brother died. They wouldn’t know
if it wasn’t really her.”
I took a second look at the picture. “And where are we gonna find someone who looks like this
around here?”
Two
Sia
My piece of shit car breaking down in the middle of nowhere wasn’t on my itinerary. Cincinnati, Ohio
was. I couldn’t stay in Kentucky any longer. Staying in one state for long wasn’t safe, let alone here.
These Southern towns weren’t as friendly as they said they’d be. They were way worse than the Midwest, and I grew up in Chicago. But it was just my luck to get stranded at night in Newport, Kentucky, a few miles from the next state where I should be.
I needed to be on the move. All the time. At least, until they caught him and put him back where he
belonged.
Laying down the map, I grabbed my burner from the passenger seat. It couldn’t pick up a signal,
though. Of course. Not that it mattered. The shops were closed, and I didn’t have anyone to call to
pick me up.
Why wouldn’t I have a smartphone where I could have an app to get a ride or a GPS? When you
were on the run, hiding, technology could be as lethal as rattlesnakes.
I took a deep breath, studying the empty road. I was probably a mile away from the nearest
anything in every direction. “Okay. Think, Sia.” Grabbing the map again, I searched for the nearest
gas station. Then I glanced back and forth at the road one more time. “If I stay in the car till morning without a heater, I’ll freeze to death, if I don’t get kidnapped before that happens. If I get out of the car and walk to the gas station, I’ll probably meet the same fate. Except if I don’t and I make it there, I can find a ride to Cincinnati.”
If I’d learned anything, it was that you had to keep moving to survive. Without much of a thought, I
hoisted my backpack on my shoulder and climbed out of the car.
*****
Savage
“How about Candy?” Viper, my Enforcer suggested at Church. “She has big blue eyes. If she goes blonde and cleans up, she’ll pass.”
“No fucking way.” I lit a joint, leaning back in my chair. “She’s the best ass we have on the poles
and one of our own. I’m not selling her. Not that she can pull it off anyway. Have you heard the bitch speaking? She’ll give us away at hello.”
Cottonmouth snorted. “You got that right. We need an outsider that’s not working. A college chick
or one of those clueless girls they get from Eastern Europe to sell around or something.”
“How much?” Racer, our Road captain, asked, chewing on a toothpick.
Cottonmouth shrugged. “Five grand tops.”
