“He was a meth head. And not my fiancé.”
“I see,” Toussaint said. He sounded young. Overly friendly. “You’re not particularly saddened over his passing?”
“He was violent,” I said, lowering my voice and turning away from Evan. “If you’re any kind of halfway decent detective you would already know that.”
“Are you glad he is dead, Ms. Clark?”
“Are those my only two options?” I asked. “Glad or sad? How about conflicted? He beat the hell out of me, Mr. Toussaint. That doesn’t mean I want him dead but it also doesn’t mean I’m going to shed a tear that he’s gone.”
“Fair enough,” Det. Toussaint said. “I have another question for you, Ms. Clark. Are you acquainted with a man by the name of Evan Salinger?”
“What about him?” I glanced over at Evan, and saw his hands tighten around steering wheel.
“Is he with you now? Are you able to speak freely?”
I said nothing, as the enormity of what was happening struck me. To run from the police; it was a serious fucking thing to do, with dire consequences. There was no going back. If Evan and I went north, we’d be fugitives. If we turned back, we had a shot. Lee’s death was an accident. Evan was protecting me. Or I could claim self-defense. We could rely on the system to do the right thing…
I knew what would happen if we turned back. Evan wouldn’t let me plead self-defense. He’d confess to Lee’s death, and given his history, they’d lock him up forever. It wouldn’t matter that it had been an accident, or that Lee had beat the shit out of me that night…They’d take Evan away from me. Again.
“Ms. Clark?” Toussaint’s voice in my ear. “Are you still there?”
This is what a second chance looks like. For both of us.
“Ms. Clark?” Detective Toussaint persisted. “Are you aware that—”
“Yes, I’m aware, detective,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m very aware of everything. Thanks for calling.”
I ended the call, rolled down the window, and chucked the phone out of the truck. In my side mirror, I watched it smash onto the highway behind us and break into a dozen pieces.
A smile spread over Evan’s face like a sunrise after a dark night. Then he burst out laughing, a hearty deep bellow that tapered away into a warm, affectionate expression of relief and joy and everything good.
I sat back against my seat and lay my head against the headrest, smiling lazily, feeling more heavy boulders of time and regret crack inside me and fall away.
After Jo ditched her cell phone, I hooked the truck back around onto Highway 35 north, which would take us around Dallas. Elation surged through my veins, pressing my foot to the gas. I wanted to get wherever we needed to go as fast as possible.
It was late afternoon when we hit Denton, Texas. I checked us into a small motel towards the center of town and paid cash again.
“We need supplies,” I said. “I’ll go. You stay here and rest.”
“I can go with you.”
I shook my head. “Police are sending out APB’s with our descriptions right about now. I can put on dark glasses and a hat but you…”
Her fingers touched the scar on her cheek. She nodded, wincing at the pain in her neck. “Can’t argue with that.” She started to climb into one of the two beds. “Hurry back, okay?”
I hurried. I hated being away from her, leaving her unprotected. I zipped through the local Walmart, tossing whatever I thought she might need into the cart. What did women need to travel? Lotions? Hygiene products? Makeup? It looked like Jo didn’t wear makeup anymore. Good. She didn’t need it. She was as hauntingly beautiful as I’d remembered—even more now that she was with me. Flesh and blood, not ghost and memory.
At the last minute—and fueled by some serious wishful thinking—I grabbed a box of condoms. Jo didn’t have to see them. We might never use them, but if the moment came, I’d be goddamned if I wasn’t going to be prepared.
I stopped at a pizza joint near the Walmart, waited while they made me a large pie with everything, then hurried back to the motel.
Jo stirred as I came in, sitting up and sniffing deeply as I set the pizza on the dresser. I dumped out the Walmart bags on the bed. Tampons, deodorant, toothpaste, hairbrush and travel size hair conditioner and shampoo. “Wasn’t quite sure what you needed.”
Jo rested her chin on her hand, smiling. “This so obviously a guy’s shopping trip.”
“Did I forget anything? I can go back.”
“No, you thought of everything.” She picked up a tampon box. “Not many men would brave the feminine hygiene aisle alone.”
I grinned. “It’s not like anyone would think they’re for me.”
Her smile slipped. “Thank you for this, Evan, but I still don’t have any money. And that still sucks.”
“I told you, I have enough. A little over a thousand bucks.”
“Is it enough to get us wherever we need to go?”