Shine (Kentucky Outlaw Book 1) (8 page)

He was a mile down the road when the red and blue lights flashed behind him.
 
From what he could see in the mirror the officer was about a thousand feet away.

“Caught a five-o,” said Ethan.

“Just stick to the route until you get to the ditch spot,” said Ged.

“Right.”

Even though Ethan was being followed by the cops, he couldn’t just stop running the route in case there were more of them up ahead.
 
He had to continue on the path until he was half a mile from Traxler’s Bar.
 
Then he would find the ditch spot, which was a road that ran along the river.
 
The road was curvy and hard to travel at high speeds, so if Ethan kept his speed above what the police could drive he would be able to get away.
 
Until then, he had to drive fast enough to avoid arrest, but not so fast that he’d lose the cops.
 
If he lost them too soon the police might find the truck before it got to Traxler’s.

Whoever was driving the police cruiser had dreams of Nascar, because he hit the gas hard enough to catch up to Ethan at well over a hundred.
 
There was a big curve coming up, Ethan downshifted and took the curve quickly.
 

Over the loudspeaker he heard the officer shout, “Pull your ass to the side of the road now!”

The tires squealed as Ethan rounded another curve.
 
He slowed to seventy and hit the brakes.
 
The anti-locks kicked in, keeping him on the road.
 
The cop behind him didn’t expect it and had to swerve off the road to avoid hitting him.
 
Ethan laughed out loud and hit the gas again.
 
The officer swerved hard behind him and jumped his car back onto the road.
 
The cop car damn near broke an axle getting back onto the road and Ethan had to admit he was impressed, that move took real balls, but Ethan was a goddamn Dalton and he didn’t give up.
 
Shooting forward and got another five hundred feet between them again.

Over the loudspeaker the officers said, “This is your last warning!
 
I will open fire!”

Ethan shook his head, he’d heard that threat before. When his back window exploded, he twisted the wheel hard from the surprise, causing the car to go off the road and head straight into Marshal's Field.
 
The RX-8 was a low riding car, not meant for anything even close to off road.
 
Ethan’s speed dropped to forty and he heard the rocks and dirt tear up the underside of the car.

“Jesus Christ.
 
What is going on up there?” yelled Ged.

“Son of a bitch actually fired at me,” yelled back Ethan.

“Shit,” said Ged.

The officer was right behind him, the higher suspension allowing him to move faster over uneven terrain.
 
Another shot rang out, missing the car, the bouncing throwing off the cop’s aim.
 
Ethan thought of something he hadn’t pulled since high school, but he was desperate.
 
He grabbed a ski mask out from under the seat and pulled it over his head quickly.
 
He was about to be too close to the cop and might be identified.
 
Ethan got up as much speed as he could, whipped the wheel and yanked the parking brake.
 
The world spun quickly through the windshield as the little car skidded around in tight circle.
 
Ethan released the brake, stomped the accelerator, and went straight at the officer’s car.
 
Another shot and the side view mirror exploded. The cop zoomed by and couldn’t turn around fast enough.
 
Ethan sped back through the field and didn’t slow when he hit the road.
 
The car jumped and landed hard, but kept steady on the pavement.
 
There would be a lot of repairs before another run was made, but for now he was making his getaway.
 

“Ethan, answer me damn it.”

Ethan realized Ged had been calling his name through the speakers. “Yeah, I’m here, where are you?”
 

“We’re three minutes from Traxler’s.
 
We passed you by already.
 
Saw you in the field, but we had to keep going.
 
Never mind the ditch spot, we got to get that car off the road.
 
Just meet us at Traxler’s.”
 

Ethan got the car back up over a hundred, caught up with the truck, and followed close.
 
He was relieved when Traxler’s came into view.
 
Ethan heard sirens in the distance, he’d have to get off the road.
 
They pulled into Traxler’s parking lot and headed around back.
 
Cutler, one of Traxler’s men, opened the door and waved them in.
 
Once inside with the door shut, Ethan turned off the engine.
 
He didn’t get out of the car right away, but waited for his heartbeat to slow a little bit, if it ever would.

Ged knocked on the door and said, “Come on out, bank robber.”

Ethan was confused until he realized he was still wearing the ski mask.
 
He pulled it off and ran his hand through his sweaty hair.
 
He got out and looked at the car, estimating the damage.
 
There were all sorts of vegetation and rocks sticking out of the grill as well as where the cop had shot the car.
 
He knew there’d be trouble under the hood, but that was a problem for another day.

“Holy shit.” Traxler had come up behind Ethan.
 
“Now I know why I’m hearing sirens every damn where.
 
Guess you had a rough run.”

“Cut out the chatter and unload the shine,” said Zeke.

Ethan was still shaking from the gunshots and didn’t feel like moving anything, but he knew the run wasn’t over until every last drop of shine was off the truck.
 

Once Ethan, Ged, and Cutler, got all the liquor stored, Traxler looked it over and nodded in approval.
 
He pulled out a roll of bills and counted out ten thousand dollars.
 
Zeke counted along with Traxler and as soon as the money was passed over it disappeared into Zeke’s pocket.

“You going to have any problems moving it?” asked Ged.

“Hell no,” said Traxler with a big smile on his face.
 
“I already got folks lined up to buy your stuff.
 
I doubt any of this’ll still be here by the time the weekend is up.”

“One more thing,” said Zeke.
 
“I need to leave the car here.
 
Just for a day or two.”

Traxler shook his head.
 
“No way.
 
I got people sniffing around here enough as it is.
 
I can’t have no car on the property that was involved in a shootout.”

“Wasn’t a shootout,” said Ethan.
 
“He fired at me, I never shot at him.”

“Tell that to a judge.
 
Bad enough I got a garage full of moonshine, but that’ll be gone in three days.
 
I don’t no evidence lying around.”

“Till tomorrow then.
 
We’ll be here as soon as the sun sets and have it out of your way.
 
Come on, we can’t drive it home tonight.
 
Every damn officer in the county is looking for it.
 
You want any more shine?
 
We drive this home tonight and we’ll be sitting in a jail cell by dawn.”

“That’s if it even makes it home.”
 
Traxler looked like he’d rather do anything in the world than let that car sit in his garage overnight, but he finally agreed.
 
The Daltons all climbed in the truck and Cutler opened the garage door for them.
 
They took a different route home, a much longer route, but one that would most likely help them avoid any run ins with the law.

They were all quiet until halfway home when Zeke said, “You going to tell me what the hell happened back there?”

“I got shot at, that’s what the hell happened back there.”

“I mean before that.
 
You should’ve seen the cop long before you ever came across him.
 
That shit wouldn’t have happened two years ago.”

“I told you I lost it.
 
I can’t make the runs anymore.”

“Bullshit.
 
You just didn’t have your mind in the game.”

They didn’t say anymore until they got back to the house.
 
Zeke took the roll of money out of his pocket and counted out fifteen hundred dollars.
 
“Runner’s fee is still fifteen percent.”

Ethan took the money and Zeke and Ged headed into the house without saying another word.
 
Ethan got in his car – his real car, the Mustang – and took off.
 
He wanted a drink and he didn’t want his brother’s shine.
 
He headed back into town, making sure to obey the speed limit the whole way, and went to a Tommy’s.
 

Tommy’s was another blue-collar bar in town, but Ethan liked it just fine.
 
He could get a good drink and most importantly Tommy’s didn’t buy shine.
 
It was just a place he could sit back and relax.
 
Finding a seat in the corner Ethan ordered a double bourbon.
 
He sat with his drink, thinking about what Zeke had said about his head not being in the game.
 
He had wanted to fire back and tell his father and brother that he didn’t have it in him anymore.
 
That years ago it wasn’t a problem, but when you go out in the world and learn something, anything, besides running shine, you lose your touch.
 
He wanted to say those things, but he couldn’t.
 
He hadn’t lost it. When he was driving, he felt more alive than he had in the last two years.
 
The truth was his mind really wasn’t in the game.
 
When he should’ve been looking for cops, he was thinking of Julie Prescott.
 

He wasn’t sure why she had suddenly come to mind.
 
He had been focused on the road, but then he remembered the way she had spoken to him outside of Traxler’s that afternoon. He had tried to push her out his mind all day, but she just kept popping back up.
 
When he’d stopped Kenny Salo from attacking her, or whatever he’d been doing, Ethan had caught a whiff of her perfume and it had taken hold on him.

“Ethan Dalton, are you going to say hi, or just sit there like a lump all night?”

He looked up and there was a woman standing next to the table.
 
She looked to be about Ethan’s age, and he thought he recognized her.

“Sorry?” he said.

“Jesus, guess we know how much you remember me.”

It took another few seconds but he finally put it together.
 
It was Jess Bowman, his high school girlfriend.
 
They had only dated a year, but she was the only regular girl he saw back then.
 
Jess was older and had a few extra pounds on her, but Ethan thought it did her good, made her fill out in all the right ways.

“Hey Jess, damn, yeah it took me a minute.”

He gestured for her to sit down and she took the seat next to him rather than the one across the table.
 
The waitress came back and Jess asked for a gin and tonic.

“I heard a rumor you was back in town.”

“Yeah, I got back yesterday.”

“You back for good?”

He shook his head and gulped the last of the glass.
 
“I’m just sticking around for Nick’s funeral and then I’m gone again.”

He noticed her hair had changed from a brown to something closer to red.
 
There were little lines on her mouth as she smiled, and her eyes had started showing the first signs of crow’s feet.
 
She was only twenty-five, the same age as Ethan, but she seemed older.
 
He wondered if she was thinking the same thing about him.

“Nick’s not having a funeral,” she said.

“Sure he is.
 
My brother Ged called me back specifically so I could be a pallbearer.”

She shook her head.
 
“His family isn’t allowing it.
 
Trust me, I know.
 
It caused a big stir among the church folks.
 
Daddy wanted to give him a proper Christian burial, but Mr. Prescott wouldn’t go for it.
 
Said a funeral wasn’t bringing his boy back so there weren’t no point.”
 

Ethan remembered that her father was a local pastor there.
 
“Son of a bitch,” said Ethan.
 
“I can’t believe Ged just lied to me like that.
 
Goddamn it.”

“Maybe he just wanted to see you and knew that was the only way to get you back here.”

“Maybe,” he said, quietly.
 
“How have you been?”
 

She smiled at him with her mouth but not her eyes.
 
Those green eyes looked sad not matter what the rest of her face was doing.

“I’m doing good.
 
I was out of work for a little while, but I got a job over at the online distribution center.
 
What about you?
 
Where you been off to?”

He took another drink.
 
“I been all over really.
 
When I first left I headed east, spent some time in New Port, then Bloomington.
 
I made my way up to Chicago and spent a lot of time there, either in the city or in the outlying area.”

They drank and talked more, but not about anything Ethan was really interested in.
 
He found out Susan, Jess’s best friend had moved to Los Angeles to become an actor but had only secured work as a featured background player before marrying a plastic surgeon.
 
She asked about Mike Reynolds, Ethan’s best friend in high school, but Ethan couldn’t tell her where Mike had gotten off to, they’d lost touch years ago.
 
She looked a little sad to hear that.