They started up the car and tore off down the street. I couldn’t even find tears at this point. I felt like giving up, as everything seemed hopeless.
But then I heard a familiar rumble. I looked out the back window and saw Rex following behind with the rest of the gang. I wondered why he didn’t just drive up and rescue me.
We drove for a while, another hour outside the city with Rex in almost clear view through the back window. I think he must have unnerved the officers, because they pulled over to let him pass. I hoped he wouldn’t, but he drove right past.
The cops let out a collective exhale and continued to drive. As they drove, I didn’t see any sign of Rex. Then the cops pulled off the road as they had last night.
“Get out,” they said.
I did as I was told. The kept shoving me and kicking me as we walked through the woods, getting a small amount of delight from every exasperated sigh I released.
“If you guys are going to kill me, why don’t you just get it over with?” I said, battered and bruised.
“Why would we kill you right away? A cute girl like you has her uses,” they said.
I knew what that meant. They were holding a length of rope, and I wished I had just let them shoot me last night. I wished I could call out to Rex, but I didn’t know where he was.
“Okay, here is far enough,” they said.
I stopped and looked around. There wasn’t much to see in the moonlight. With the rope, they bound my legs together and tied my handcuffs to a nearby tree.
“Guys, can we make a deal? I still have that money from the other day,” I said.
“I don’t think that’s worth much right now. Besides, we get those envelopes every time we take in a dealer that Mr. Novak wants off the street.”
Their hands started tugging at my jeans, and though I struggled against the ropes and handcuffs, there was little I could do to stop them. They shoved my pants down to my ankles and tore off my shirt.
“Only one person puts hands on her, and it sure as hell ain’t the two of you!” I heard bellowed from the forest.
I stood there, dumbfounded. It had sounded like Rex.
“Who the hell is out there?” they said, drawing their pistols.
Before either of them could do anything, Rex threw a giant fist into their faces. I heard their bones break under the weight of his strike. One of them fell to the ground and didn’t move.
“What took you so long?” I said hurriedly. “We gotta run before they get up.”
“Who says they’re getting up?” Rex said.
The conscious officer tried to raise his gun at Rex, but it was a wasted effort. Rex grabbed his hand and dealt him a punch to the chest.
Then Rex looked over at me, bent over with my ass sticking straight in the air.
“That’s a good look for you,” he said with a chuckle.
“Oh, ha ha, very funny,” I replied sarcastically.
He sauntered over and untied the rope that kept me stuck to the tree. I jumped up and gave Rex the biggest kiss I could manage. He didn’t stop me, and I felt his large hand planted on my back. His familiar touch was welcome, and I yearned for more of it. He eventually managed to push me off, even though I was pretty sure he didn’t want to.
“Might want to make yourself decent. We gotta ride,” he said.
Then a bullet rang out in the night, pinging off the tree I had just been tied to.
Rex turned around, still holding the other officer’s gun, and started firing. He unloaded the entire gun into the two sorry sacks of meat on the ground before returning to me.
“There, problem solved,” he said.
I pulled up my pants and started searching the cops for the key to the handcuffs. Blood was soaking through everywhere. I took the other officer’s gun and stuffed it into my waistband, and then a phone fell into the dirt nearby. It was the phone they’d been talking on last night. I had a feeling it might come in handy, so I pocketed that as well.
“We gotta move their car. If other cops don’t hear about them reporting in, they’re going to be looking for it,” Rex said.
I nodded and took their keys as well. At least they had learned from their past mistake.
I undid the rope around my legs and kicked it aside. With keys in hand, I trudged toward the police car. My heart was still beating like mad, and I needed to clear my head.
Rex had parked his motorcycle behind the car, and I slipped back into the driver’s seat again. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the moment. I was driving a police car for the second time in two nights.
We drove back to the small town where I’d been arrested, but just outside the town I ditched the car, shoving it into a ravine. Rex did most of the heavy lifting.
“Where’s the rest of the gang?” I asked.
“They went on ahead and are waiting for us in the next town down the road. I told them I’d meet them after I got you back,” he said.
I craned my neck up and kissed him again.
“Maybe they can wait for us a little longer,” I said with a wicked smile.
Rex laughed.
7.