Her head snapped up.
It was Stan. And he wasn’t alone. His friend was as skinny as a broomstick—a broomstick with long, stringy hair. Dirty jeans hung low on his hips.
“I can’t go with you,” she said, trying to remain calm despite the voice in her head telling her to get the hell out of there. “My friend is coming to pick me up. She’ll be here any minute.”
“How did you call your friend? The payphone is out of order.”
“My other friend…the guy who just left…called her for me.”
His grin told her he knew she was lying. “Why don’t you come with us and wait for your friend there? I set up a nice little lunch in the back of my truck. The three of us are going to have a good time. We’ve got everything you need until she comes for you.”
“No, thanks. I’d rather wait here.”
She didn’t think her predicament could go from bad to worse, but that’s exactly what had happened. Panic settled over her in waves. There was no way she was climbing into that truck again.
Her heart beat faster as she scanned the area.
Where had everybody gone?
Both men’s gazes feasted on her, their intentions clear. They weren’t asking her to join them, they were telling her.
The skinny man pounded a fist on the wood table.
She jumped.
“Come on. Let’s go. Now!” His eyes were wild. He was as high as a kite.
She stood, pretending she might go with them. Instead, she pushed off from the table and took off, sprinting across the wide expanse of grass. Her ankle hit a soft spot in the ground and nearly buckled. But she regained her balance and ran into the women’s restroom before she remembered there was no main door to the bathroom, no way to lock the men completely out.
Hidden within the middle stall, she stood on the toilet, trapped. Her breathing was uneven, her chest rising and falling. She’d never been so afraid in her life.
Footsteps echoed off of the cement walls. “I know you’re hiding in here.”
It was the skinny one.
“No reason to try to run off again. We just want to have a little fun.”
The first stall door creaked slowly open and then slammed shut with a bang.
He moved down the line, one door at a time.
When he got to her stall, she kicked the door as hard as she could.
Broomstick fell to the ground. She darted from the bathroom and slammed into Stan’s barrel chest. He held her close, his dirty hands clinging to her waist as he grinded against her like a dog in heat. She was going to be sick.
“I got her, Al,” Stan shouted to his friend.
“I think the bitch might have broke my nose,” the guy called from the bathroom.
“Leave her alone!” a third voice challenged.
Angela looked in the direction of the voice. It was Chris. He’d come back for her.
“Fuck you!” Stan shot back. “You had your chance.”
Al exited the bathroom. He pulled out a three-inch blade, making sure everyone saw it, then looked at Chris when he said, “You best turn around and go back the way you came.”
Chris waited for Al to approach. Just as he had done in the morgue, he took a couple of long strides toward the man and grabbed hold of his wrist, twisting until Al let out a wild screech and dropped the knife.
He went for Stan next, told Angela to duck, then punched him in the side of the head. As the trucker fell to his knees, Chris grabbed hold of Angela, stopping her from falling to the ground with him, and said, “Get in the car.”
She didn’t have to be told twice.
She ran toward the vehicle and jumped inside. Chris was right behind her. He slid in behind the wheel and peeled out of the parking lot.
Chapter Seven
They had been driving for hours. The sign on the side of the highway told Jason they had just entered Nebraska.
Neither of them had said a word since the incident at the rest stop.
Until now.
“Since we’re in Nebraska,” Angela said, “I was thinking we could stop at my mom’s house for the night. I haven’t seen her since she moved here. We talk on the phone every so often,” she went on after he said nothing in response. “I was thinking I could borrow her computer, so you could do some research, figure out if that defense attorney you’re planning on visiting still lives in California. It would be a shame to get all that way and discover he moved.”
He remained silent, kept his eyes on the road.
“I could say you were Rob, since she’s never met him. She wouldn’t even know the difference.” She sighed. “She doesn’t watch television, so even if you happened to be on the news, she would have no idea.”