Strangers in Danger

Chapter 23: Lucas

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief that Cara's plan seemed to be working so far. She stood up and put the laptop back in its case.

"Once we're on the road, I'll send a text that will start the program remotely. And then..." she paused and looked out the window. "Who knows. But it's out there."

Cara continued to gaze outside. The afternoon had gotten away from us and the sun had started to dip behind the trees. I didn't speak when she turned to look at me and slowly walked toward me. I grabbed her hips as she straddled my knees and lowered herself onto my lap. "So we have a little time before nightfall and I have a few ideas for a distraction," I closed my eyes and sighed as she gently pressed her lips into my neck.

"So I'm just a distraction?" I breathed, almost taken over by the feeling of her warm breath near my ear.

Cara stopped kissing me and placed her forehead on my shoulder. "Is that a real question or a sexy question?"

I honestly didn't know, but it didn't matter since it had obviously triggered something in Cara. I wrapped my arms around her but I didn't answer.

She shifted so that her eyes met mine. Once so full of mischief they were now sad. "You're not just a distraction, but can there be anything else?"

I sighed. I wanted there to be. Like old, weathered glass, I knew that a connection forged in shared trauma was likely to shatter.

"Let's head west," I heard myself say. "Wyoming, Idaho. Change our names. Start a new life. Enough running from motel to motel. Let's just run far away from here and then stop. We just stop running."

I tried to read her face, but it showed little expression beyond disbelief. "Luke, you barely know me."

"Cara, I have lived in close quarters with you for three weeks. We have fought, we have made up, we have gotten hurt and sick, we've discussed finances, our deepest secrets. We have crammed a year of dating into three very stressful weeks. And yes, it may end poorly, but we are literally running for our lives here. Moving to a small town in Idaho and splitting a few months later is probably the best of all the bad outcomes."

Cara's face softened and she placed her hand on my cheek. She stroked it gently with her thumb. She opened her mouth to say something but never let it go. I was about to break the silence when she brought her lips near mine. "Ok," she whispered.

I pulled her in tight and relief flowed through my body. I didn't know if we'd make it out of the state, or even survive the night, but a small ember of hope was all I needed to keep going.

We pulled apart reluctantly, knowing it was time to leave our most comfortable sanctuary. Cara got up to gather our things and I paused for a minute to say a silent prayer to any higher power that might be listening. The next 12 hours would be the most dangerous. We were going on the offensive and I didn't know how Diane would react. Either she became a different person after we split, or I never really knew her to begin with.

I threw my backpack over my shoulders and followed Cara out of the room. In one hand she held her cell phone, ready to deploy everything we had. I took the other and we walked quickly towards the elevator.

Then I stopped.