No Reason to Run Read Free Page B

hell that she’d
shoot someone, let alone kill them.
    Those thoughts
floated around her mind the whole time she’d waited. Sitting in the backseat
with Chloe safely strapped in the seatbelt had made her re-evaluate her
options. She’d been seconds away from getting out and thinking of another plan.
Another way of maintaining her invisibility and staying off Brian’s radar.
    Shops faded and gave
way to tree lined streets. The sight roused her. “Hey, where are you taking
us?”
    “It’s not a good
idea for a woman to travel alone at night.”
    Her head jerked
around at his comment. “I suppose it’s okay for a man?”
    He grunted and
Olivia raised the weapon. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to
think. “Where are you taking me?” Fear nibbled on the edges of her conscious.
She forced an element of what she hoped sounded like control to her voice.
    “My house or the
sheriff’s.”
    Sheriff? She
couldn’t afford to have law enforcement involved.  Olivia studies his profile
to gauge his intent. His strong face focused on the dark winding road.
    Staring out the
passenger side window, the houses grew further and further apart. They weren’t
heading toward a development or sub-division. These homes had ample land and
space giving the owners a semblance of privacy. Each house they passed boasted
old fashion brick work, arched windows and long driveways. They were really
going to his home because she was pretty certain the police station wasn’t in
the middle of suburbia.
    The moon did little
to light the pitch black night. The car slowed and a beautiful two-story
colonial came into view with its two car garage. A wrought iron streetlight
cast an eerie glow on the flower-lined walkway. The black fencing on the front
lawn matched the black shutters and black garage doors. The car turned into the
driveway and the door to the garage automatically began to lift. A mailbox
sported the numbers six-six-two-four.
    Olivia’s hold on the
gun tightened and she pointed it between the huge stranger and the side door to
the house. Maybe she could ask about local transportation. A bus or cab could
take her somewhere far from Brian. “Do you live alone?” The thought of
involving anyone else in her problems rattled her nerves.
    Her question caused
him to frown and her heart pounded in her chest. His craggy features were scary
enough. The frown elevated him to downright terrifying. It was a good thing
Chloe still slept. This man would have her shy daughter shivering where she
stood. Like Olivia now did. Damp palms from her nerves didn’t help. She
surreptitiously wiped her free hand on her denim clad thigh.
    Olivia jumped at the
mechanical whirl of the garage door lowering behind them. A small dim light in
the ceiling cast shadows around the cavernous space. This close she could see
his eyes were light colored but they could be anywhere from blue to green.
“Yes.”
    Another jump. His
answer startled her.
    “G-good.” Again, she
waved the gun at the connecting door to the house. “Get out.” The answer made
perfect sense. She’d borrow his car and find a way to get it back to him. “I
need your car.”
    He laughed
derisively. “Seriously? You sure you wanna do this?”
    Oh, God. Oh, God .
She didn’t want to do this but she didn’t have a choice. There was no way she
could sleep outside with Chloe. Olivia didn’t even know where they were other
than the state of Virginia as the sign crossing the state read. A wet trickle
slid down her cheek. She wiped frantically at the tell-tale sign but a sniffle escaped
anyway. She heard him curse then his hand made some fancy move she barely
registered.
    Her wrist burned a
second later and the gun disappeared in the waist of his jeans. She watched in
stunned amazement as he opened his car door and climbed out. “Come on. We’re
here. Might as well come in.”
    He then turned his
back on her as if she was no threat at all and headed for the door she’d
pointed out.