Drive (10 page)

             
As it turned out, the woods along the river had thinned out tremendously since the start of their journey. They only fought their way through a few hundred feet before they found themselves on the side of an empty highway. The car they had originally heard was long gone by now, but the distant rumbling of traffic promised that there were more to follow.

             
Not wanting to be seen, Sawyer and Jordan continued their trek in the shadows of the tree line until they reached the outskirts of town. They hadn’t traveled nearly far enough to risk stopping, no matter how desperate both were for a shower and a clean change of clothes. The only thing that was entirely unavoidable was eating, so Jordan put the necessary faith in her changed appearance and braved the first convenience store they stumbled upon. It wasn’t much, but she managed to put together a halfway decent meal with two jugs of milk, premade subs from their deli-cooler and couple of banana’s she snagged from the little fruit tray they had beside the check-out counter. Jordan wasn’t about to go without food again anytime soon, so she made sure to throw several protein bars and bottled waters up onto the counter as well before paying cash for everything and hurrying out of the store before anyone could ask her why she was living on gas station groceries in the first place.

             
Back outside she spotted Sawyer in the driver’s seat of a white Acura. She wasted no time climbing in the passenger seat, motivated by both the desire to eat, as well as the need to escape without getting caught.

             
They hadn’t traveled very far at all when they came upon the freeway’s onramp. Eager to gain speed, Sawyer took it.

             
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” Jordan asked with her mouth full of bread and turkey. It was the best sandwich she had ever eaten and she was positive she would remember it for years to come, telling anyone who would listen about the gas station sub that changed her life.

             
“I’m good. Why? You don’t trust my driving abilities?” Sawyer had one hand on the wheel, using the other to try and free his food from the saran wrapping holding it prisoner.             

             
“No, your driving is fine…for an amateur. I’m just saying, if we end up in some sort of a chase again, we’re both going to want me in the driver’s seat.”

             
  Sawyer chuckled.

             
“No doubt. I’m going to put off having one of those for a bit if I can. I think we can both use the break, don’t you?”

             
“Abso-freakin-lutely!” Jordan crumpled up the empty wrapper, disappointed that her sandwich had disappeared so quickly. “So, where are we headed? I mean, I know you said south, but how south are we talkin’ here?”

             
“Florida,” Sawyer replied in between bites.

             
“Why Florida? Is this like part of some master plan of yours or are you just thinking it would be nice to touch up on your tan before you wind up as a corpse?”

             
Sawyer grinned.

             
“You know you really have a way of putting a positive spin on things.”

             
“It’s a gift,” Jordan quipped, amused with herself.

             
“In that case, thank you for sharing your gift so generously.” Then Sawyer went on, “I know a guy. He’s in Florida.”

             
“You know a guy? What does that mean?”

             
“It means, I know a guy. We’ve worked together in the past. He owes me and I think he could help us.”

             
Jordan took a swig from her milk before putting the cap back on the bottle.

             
“What about your buddy Gary? Aren’t we going to try to get back in touch with him?”

             
She looked over and saw Sawyer struggling with the peel of his banana and took it from him. A moment later she handed it back to him completely peeled.

             
“Thanks,” he said. “I haven’t decided what to do about Gary just yet. I mean, all signs point toward the lady at the motel selling us out, but there’s no way to be sure. If there is a leak at the station, if someone intercepted the call and managed to figure out the coded message…It’s just too big of a risk right now.”

             
Jordan nodded thoughtfully.

             
“And this guy you know in Florida? He’s a cop?”

             
Sawyer snorted.

             
“No. Definitely
not
a cop.”

             
“Please tell me he’s not in the mob!”

             
Sawyer shrugged.

             
“Not exactly.”

             
“What?!” Jordan wasn’t even trying to hide her exasperation. “What does that mean? Either he is or he isn’t!”

             
“He’s more of a freelancer. With the kind of work he does it’s not beneficial for him to get tied down with one gig. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because we go way back. I’m the one who got him the job with the Mancini’s in the first place. His loyalties lie with me. Not them.”

             
Jordan said nothing more. She just watched Sawyer as he drove. His focus appeared to be linked to the open road ahead, but Jordan could sense that he had switched onto autopilot and was somewhere far, far away buried in his thoughts. Part of her wanted to know where his mind had taken him, while the other was strangely relieved to feel some sense of disconnect from him. It was the first time since he had first kissed her at the motel that she didn’t feel the intensity of having every part of her being interlaced with his. The break in connection left an emptiness behind that felt uncomfortably reminiscent of the cold she had experienced the night before, and yet, she told herself that it was better this way. That she needed to be reminded of who she was without him, because getting lost in Sawyer was a voyage she feared she’d never return from. And that knowledge frightened her more than all the hit men in all the world.

              Ten hours and a silver Chevy Malibu later, Jordan and Sawyer arrived at the world’s most famous beach. They had taken turns doing the driving, leaving Jordan back in the passenger seat as they drove under the archway welcoming them and everyone else to Daytona Beach, FL. Even in the dead of night, she sat glued to her window as they passed by the Speedway. Not that she had ever seen much point in spending hours driving around in circles, but she couldn’t deny that she envied the speeds at which the drivers did so.

             
The weather had changed dramatically since traveling south and Jordan rolled down the window, enjoying the breeze on her face and noting how much more the salty ocean air appealed to her compared to the river’s scent from the previous night. Traffic was steady even though it was late, but every so often Jordan could make out the sound of waves crashing onto shore only a few feet behind the row of condominiums that lined the street they were traveling on.

             
It wasn’t much longer before Sawyer pulled the car off of the main drag and down a small side street. From there it was two more right turns and he came to a stop in front of a small beach cottage. The full moon overhead cast enough light down upon them for Jordan to see that the little house was well kept. It was painted a lovely shade of peach, complimented by a bright turquoise trim and matching sea turtles which had been painted all along the garage door.

             
“Here we are,” said Sawyer, stating the obvious.

             
“Should I wait in the car?”

             
Sawyer shook his head.

             
“No. Fish is cool. You’ll like him. Promise.” He winked at her as he reached for the door to get out. Jordan followed suit.

             
“Um, Fish?”

             
“Yeah, that’s his name,” he said. It was automatic now as he reached for her hand to lead her up the walkway and Jordan let him. When they reached the door, Sawyer struck it several times with his knuckles and waited.

             
“It’s late. He’s probably sleeping,” said Jordan.

             
Sawyer was about to respond when the door flew open, revealing a young man. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, probably around twenty-four, twenty-five max. Although judging by his wardrobe, it was closer to twelve. He ran his hand through his rusty red hair at the sight of them.

             
“Bloody hell, mate! I’d really hoped you wouldn’t show up here.”

             
“Good to see you, too,” Sawyer nodded at him. Without waiting for an invitation, he began to walk inside, Jordan tagging along behind him awkwardly. “Fish, Jordan. Jordan meet Fish.”

             
Jordan heard the door shut behind her. When she turned to look, Fish was holding out his hand reluctantly.

             
“Finally found a girl who fancies you, I take it.” His thick accent was undeniable.

             
“Please tell me your last name is Fish,” said Jordan.

             
“It’s Baxter, why?”

             
Jordan slugged Sawyer in his good shoulder. “You call him Fish because he’s British?!”

             
“Ow.” Sawyer rubbed the spot of impact while Fish laughed at him loudly.

             
“To be fair, I do eat
a lot
of fish and chips.”

             
Jordan shook her head, appalled with the both of them.

             
“Well, I can’t call you that. What does your mother call you?”

             
“You want to call me Pattycakes?” Fish asked, still amused.

             
Jordan exhaled loudly.

             
“Fine. Fish it is.”

             
“I don’t see why it bothers you all that much really. I mean, sure, it’s an animal and all, but it’s a damn tasty one. You’re the one that has a boy’s name, aren’t you?!”

             
Jordan shot daggers at him through her eyes.             

“Better watch it with this one, buddy. She can be lethal when she wants to be.
Nearly killed me within five minutes of meeting her.”

Jordan shifted her focus from one annoying boy to the other.

“Right. Of course, you made a splendid first impression, what with the gun you were pointing at my head. Gave me all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings, let me tell you,” she sneered. “Meanwhile, what’s a girl gotta do around here to get a hot shower?!”

“Fish?”
Sawyer looked to his friend who was standing by, taking in their interaction and looking utterly entertained by it all.

“What? Oh, right,” he turned toward the hall and pointed at the door at the end, “loo’s right through there. If there’s any clean towels they’ll be in there…if there aren’t, well, then there aren’t.”

“Thanks.” Jordan grabbed her bag from Sawyer’s hand and brushed past him on her way to the bathroom.

Both guys stood by silently, listening for the door to shut. It wasn’t until they heard the sound of rushing water that Sawyer and Fish began to move again.

“So, what the hell happened?” Fish was the first to speak.

Sawyer shook his head as he shuffled his way toward the couch and fell into it, exhausted from the preceding twenty-four hours.

“Honestly, I don’t have a fucking clue. That’s why I need your help. Someone set me up and until I figure out who and why, Jordan and I are marked for execution.” He ran his fingers over his face repeatedly in an effort to stay awake and focused.

“What’s the deal with Jordan? How’d she end up in this mess with you?”

“I went to her for help. It was a mistake, but I didn’t have a choice.”

“Oh, you mean like coming to me? ‘
Cause I gotta tell you mate, I’m not particularly keen on going on the run with the two of you. You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks.” Sawyer couldn’t help but laugh. Things had gone from bad to worse ever since he found himself at the scene of the wrong crime at the wrong time. He knew Fish wouldn’t really turn him away, but he didn’t blame him for wishing he could.

Fish plopped himself down in the recliner across from Sawyer.

“Seriously though.
What do you need? Whatever I can do, I’ll do it.”

Sawyer nodded graciously.

“Thanks man. I really appreciate that, ‘cause right now, I honestly don’t know who else I can trust.”

“While I suspect being trustworthy didn’t work in my favor this time, I’ve got your back, mate. But you gotta tell me what went down. All I know is that you killed that Esposito bloke and started an all-out war. The only thing that’s keeping them from blowing each other’s heads off is the fact that both sides want to be the ones to kill you first! The whole thing is completely mad!”

Sawyer leaned back into the soft cushions of Fish’s leather couch, reveling in the feeling of finally being able to relax his muscles. With his head tilted to the ceiling and his eyes closed he began, “I got a call to check out some activity at one of the warehouses. The call came in from Brucey, but he’s just a lackey, I doubt he had anything to do with any of this. He was just following orders, whose orders I don’t know. When I got there the Esposito kid was already dead. Demi saw me standing over his body and just started screaming like crazy. Then, next thing I know, old Carmine is firing a round in my direction. I had no choice but to shoot back. I wasn’t aiming to kill, I just wanted Carmine to back off, but the old nut sack wouldn’t give it a rest and I got hit in the shoulder. After that, I took off.” Sawyer paused for a moment, waiting to see if Fish would ask any questions, but he just sat there listening and waiting for Sawyer to go on. So, he continued, “I was bleeding pretty badly, so when I spotted an off duty ambulance, I jumped in. I figured I could get my shoulder looked at and have a getaway car, kill two birds so to speak. Only the medic turned out to be crazy.”

“Ah, this is the part of the story where Jordan shows up.”

“Yeah. She took me for one hell of a ride before sending me headfirst into the windshield. Anyway, after she knocked me unconscious she was kind enough to tend to my wounds.”

“Wait, she didn’t try to call the cops?”

“I told you she was crazy. So, there we were in this empty parking lot in the dead of night and she’s fixing me up when this unmarked car pulls up. Next thing we know, bullets are flying, glass is shattering and we got no way out. Or, at least that’s what I thought, until Jordan drove the rig from the floor board! The second we were out of bullet range, she jumped in the driver’s seat and took off. It took some skillful driving, but she managed to shake ‘em.”

Fish was scratching his head.

“And now you can’t shake her.”

Sawyer pressed his lips together firmly shaking his head.

“It’s not like that. I mean, sure, at first I was planning on getting her out of town and then cutting her loose, but now…”

“Don’t tell me you’re falling for her!” Fish was suddenly sitting straight up in his seat.
“Bloody hell.”

“Yeah, I know.” Sawyer took in a deep breath and held it for as long as he could as all of the information he had gone over a million times already went rushing through his mind. No matter how he approached it, he couldn’t find the angle. Who had something to gain by eliminating him? Or was it simply about starting the war? He didn’t understand. When he heard the bathroom door open, he blew out the air he’d been holding in, choking on it in the process.

Jordan was still busy drying her hair on a towel when she came walking into the living room to join the guys. She could sense that she had interrupted something, but ignored it. She already knew Fish wasn’t exactly into legal dealings, so the less she knew about their conversation, the better off she was.

“You’re up,” she said, tossing her wet towel to Sawyer.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” he asked holding it up and away from himself.

“Try to dry yourself off would be my guess. It was the last one. Unless you’d rather share with Fish…”

Sawyer kept a hold of the towel and stood up.

“Nope, this’ll work.” He disappeared down the hall, leaving Fish and Jordan behind in the living room with an increasingly awkward silence settling in around them.

“Well then, you probably want to get some sleep,” Fish said, desperate to escape the uncomfortable moment.

“Sleep would be great, thanks.”

              Jordan followed Fish as he walked through to the kitchen and attached dining area before reaching a small room at the very back of the house. The moment Jordan walked in, it became clear as day to her what type of work Fish was involved in. An entire corner of the room had been dedicated to computer equipment, including several flat screens, all of which appeared to be linked together. This was apparent from the little clownfish that kept zooming from one frame to the other as part of a massive ocean scene screensaver. The whole thing reminded Jordan of Finding Nemo. She couldn’t help but search for Dory every time she saw something move in the background.

             
“No need to ask what kind of work
you
do,” Jordan said flatly.

             
“Would you believe that I’m really into online gaming?” Fish asked, one brow lifted, his head cocked to the side.

             
“No.”

             
“Didn’t think so.” He was standing in front of a small sofa opposite his desk. “It’s just a Futon, but it should do the trick,” he said as he bent down to pull it out into a full size bed. “There’s blankets on the top shelf in the closet, but as far as pillows go I’m afraid these are all I have to offer.” He was holding one of two throw pillows in his hands and making a face. Jordan’s guess was he hadn’t picked them out himself, given the gaudy design and the pearl embellishments.

             
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Trust me, if you knew where I spent last night, you’d know that what you are offering me is like a fancy resort in comparison.” Jordan felt a slight twinge of guilt at the lie. The truth was, as much as she wanted to claim her night in the woods had been horrific, there simply was nothing to complain about regarding the night she spent in Sawyer’s arms.

             
Fish just smirked, clearly having his own theories of how she and Sawyer had been spending their time in between car chases. Before he left the room he turned back one last time, “Oh, it’s probably best if you don’t touch anything.”

             
“Why? Could checking my email accidently lead to me hacking into the U.S. Treasury or something?” Jordan was joking, but Fish just tipped his head to the side and said, “You never know. Alright then. Good night.”

             
“Night.”