At the Four Horsemen, it worked for me.
I wasn’t the kind of guy who lit up a room. I was the one who bathed it in darkness, then turned it red. I was the one people cowered away from.
I didn’t blame them.
But that first night when she showed up, smelling like booze and crying about a fiancé that didn’t exist, Amelia smiled at my darkness.
Hell, she might as well have patted me on the chest and called me cute.
She seemed like the type to spot a rabid dog on the side of the road, coax it into her car, and take it home just to give it a bath, put it in a sweater, and call it her “goodest boy.”
. . . I wanted to be her goodest boy.
I flicked the turn signal and eased over to take an exit that let off into a small town. It sported a single gas station and an old diner that looked like it used to be a house.
The truck bumped and wobbled as I pulled into the gas station lot. I was half tempted to see if I could run in, pay for thetank of gas, fill up, and get back on the road before Amelia woke up.
But she was right. I couldn’t treat her like a hostage.
“Amelia,” I said gently as I jostled my arm, trying to slide her off without startling her.
She mumbled, her eyelids fluttering, but didn’t quite wake.
I smoothed my palm over the crown of her head and down the back of her neck. “Amelia, I’m stopping for gas. Do you need anything?”
“Huh?” she mumbled listlessly as she peeled her cheek off my arm.
“I’m stopping for gas. We need to get back on the road. Do you need anything?”
She blinked, then shook her head.
“You sure?” I pressed. “We’ve still got a ways to go.”
“I highly doubt you’re going to let me go to the bathroom alone after last time, and I don’t feel like having you watch me pee,” she grumbled. “Besides. I don’t have shoes.”
“And whose fault is that?”
Amelia’s glare was razor-sharp.
“Go back to sleep,” I said. “I’ll be quick.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You do realize that you’re leaving me alone in here, right?”
“Yes,” I said honestly as I reached into the bag and pulled out a wad of cash. “I know you can run. But I don’t think you’re going to.” I cocked my head to study her eyes. “Can I trust you to stay in here and lay low?”
Amelia hesitated, then nodded. I didn’t fully believe her. Once bitten, twice shy, I supposed.
“You hungry?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I still feel sick.”
“It’ll ease up soon,” I promised as I pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Keep your head down and go back to sleep.”
I made my way across the lot, keeping my strides even. Running was suspicious. I wanted to be forgettable.
I offered a wordless chin-tip to the old-timer behind the register. He clocked me immediately, looking me up and down, but didn’t say anything more than, “Good morning.”
An apparel rack caught my eye. I raided it, then snagged a few protein bars from an endcap, grabbed an energy drink and bottle of water from the fridge, and paid up at the register.
