“It’s damn good he has been.” Kade sighs. “If we’re really doing this, if we’re taking her and going off-grid, he’s not going to be able to access that account again. Money trails are gonna lead them right to us.” He looks at his watch. “We’ve probably got about two hours before we need to be on the move again. Dean Cockhead will know we’re gone by now. The police were on their way to the dock when we took off. They’ll have a body. There’ll be a shit-ton of questions.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “This is heavy duty, man.”
“I know.” I nod. “But…I’ve got to protect her. We need to find somewhere quiet and remote for her to heal, and then we can make some decisions from there.”
Kade huffs. “And how the hell are we supposed to find that?”
“I know somewhere.” Riley walks into the room, drying his hands on a towel.
I lurch towards him, trying to get into the room.
He holds me back. “He’s just stitching her up.”
“Is she okay?”
Riley waits until I’m looking him in the eye. “She’s gonna be fine. He’s giving us painkillers, antibiotics, the works. He’s even shown me how to clean the wound. She got lucky. The bullet was easy to remove. It didn’t hit any of her vital organs. Blood loss was her greatest enemy, and he’s giving her some now.”
I step back, my knees nearly buckling. “So, she’s gonna live. She’s okay.”
“Yeah.” Riley grins.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I pinch the bridge of my nose and sink into the chair beside me. “Thank God.”
Someone squeezes my shoulder. I don’t know who it is and I don’t have the courage to look up and check. My eyes are stinging. Relief is making me want to blubber like a frickin’ baby.
“So, you know a place?” Kade brings the conversation back on point.
Riley sighs and I look up in time to see him lick his bottom lip. “When I was a kid, my mom would take me to visit my uncle. He was basically a hermit who lived up in the mountains. Middle of freaking nowhere. The closest town has a population of like eighty people.”
“Sounds perfect,” Kade mumbles. “Unless your uncle’s a narc.”
“Look, I don’t even know if he’s alive anymore. I haven’t heard from him since…”
I sit up, jerked out of my seat by the look on his face. It’s been nearly a decade since his parents’ bodies were discovered, shot dead in their car on the side of a road. They were three miles from home.
“It’s okay.” Riley clenches his jaw, then starts rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, tonight’s kind of thrown me.”
Kade grabs his shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “It’s thrown all of us, man.”
Riley swallows and clears his throat. “Look, if Uncle Rafe is still around, I’m pretty sure we can trust him. The guy’s a total hermit. From what I remember, he barely spoke to anyone but me and my mom. I think it’ll be a safe place for us.”
“Where is it?” I ask.
“Wyoming.”
“Do you remember how to get there?”
“We can use maps to get us to the little town of Legacy, and then I’m pretty sure I can work it out from there.”
“We’ll need a car.”
Doc appears in the doorway, sniffing loudly to get our attention. “I’ve got a spare. Been trying to sell the thing for a couple of months. It’s a piece of shit but the engine still works.”
“How much?” Riley asks.
“Four thousand.”
“For a piece of shit?” he argues. “We’ll give you four for the car and the surgery.”
The man gives him a pointed glare.
Riley scoffs. “Don’t tell me it costs three grand to do a forty-minute surgery. You didn’t even use full anesthesia.”
“She’s gonna live because of me,” he barks.
I lay my hand on Riley’s chest and whisper, “Just pay him. I don’t care how much it costs.”
Doc sighs. “Give me five and we have a deal.”
Riley nods. “Done.”
Kade counts out another few thousand and we hand the cash over. The doc then gives us a rundown of how to look after my girl. He’s reluctant for us to move her but can obviously sense our need to get going. After a few huffs, he takes us down to his rust bucket and helps me set up a bed in the back.
“You take shifts,” Doc instructs us as we load up the vehicle.
Kade yawns, rubbing his eyes and then giving me a reassuring smile. I’m conscious of how little sleep we’ve all had, but we need to get moving before the sun comes up and the police cover the area with an even heavier search party.
“Drive casual. Don’t draw attention to yourselves.” Doc hands Kade the keys, then turns to Riley. “Stick to the back roads I mapped out for you. It’s the safest way out of Wisconsin. You’ll need to be on full alert the whole time. Only use cash, and don’t stop driving until you reach where you’re going.”
“Thanks for your help.” My voice is husky with emotion.
He gives me an empathetic smile. “I know what this feels like. And I was a guilty son of a bitch. You kids aren’t throwing off that vibe to me. I’m helping you out now, and then I’m gonna forget I ever knew you. Got it?”
“Got it.” Kade nods and hops into the driver’s seat. The engine ticks over before finally sputtering to life.
I slip into the back, nestling Chris’s head on my lap. She’s pale and weak, but breathing.
Doc pokes his head through the window to check her one more time. “Remember everything I told you.”
I nod. “I’ll take care of her.”