Survivor (The Soul Mates Series Book 1) Read Free Page A

Christ, what in the world...” Sam started, “Here, it looks like you need this rather than a coffee,” he said, slamming a bottle of Jack Daniels on the table.
    I took a huge swig straight from the bottle, coughed a lot and then sat still until my body began to function correctly.  “OK, sorry about that, what about if I just took a vacation whilst you’re tending to your business elsewhere?”
    “I’d agree, if I actually thought you’d fuckin’ go somewhere.”
    “I meant a vacation from the book keeping.  When you come back I’ll carry on.”
    Sam eyed me slowly, “I’d feel better if you carried on because I’d know you weren’t becoming a goddamn hermit whilst I was away.”
    I looked at him pleadingly, he’d never asked me where I’d come from or why I was here and I’d come to treasure his support, but immersing myself more into the town would only lead to my discovery.  “I promise I’ll be fine, do a bit decorating, or sprucing up at the cabin, maybe plant some veggies.”
    “Hmmm, OK.  I’ll leave some contact details in an envelope in your desk drawer.  Take my keys too just in case of emergency,” he told me.
    “Sure Sam. When are you leaving?”  I tried to sound like I was on board with being left alone again, but in reality I was anything but.
    “Tomorrow, so finish those books up and I’ll head back into town with ‘em, I’ll let the others know you’re on vacation too.”
    “Will do, thank you.”  I gave him back his bottle of JD, relieved he’d not pressured me for details when he’d seen my distress at hearing the letters I, R and S. 
    Sam made his way to the door as I was pulling out my chair to finish Dusty’s books when he stopped suddenly.   “Oh and one other thing, you need to start the car in the lot once in a while Cara, you can’t make a quick getaway in a car with a dead battery.”
    “W...w...what?”
    “You heard me girl, it don’t matter which run you do it on, mornin’ or night, but you need to do it because I ain’t gonna be here to do it for you.”  Sam didn’t hang around after he made his point.
    I slumped into the chair feeling like the stupidest ass hole on the planet.  All that planning and the training, the counting and questioning my super brain, run after run during the early morning and scaring myself silly after dark had been for nothing. 
    I’d fucked up.
    Huge.
    In all of my meticulous safe getaway scenario’s I’d overlooked one simple thing.  I could escape down the hillside and through the forest path but be left dead and buried because I was stupid enough to think that an old junker, which had been sitting idle for close to a year, would start on the first turn of the key.  In all my preparations I’d overlooked something a wiley old guy had figured out, more importantly, I didn’t even realize he’d been paying that much attention.

Chapter Four
    *****
    Jake
    My old man and I rarely spoke, that was just the way it was.  His history was now the life I embraced.  It was amazing how things had changed, especially since he’d left the service and gone back to what he knew best and I was running headlong into it at a shocking speed, enough to make my fucking head spin.  We didn’t purposely avoid speaking, it was just too easy to get caught up in other shit.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the cantankerous old bastard, but when he finally retired I didn’t expect him to become a hillbilly overnight.  There was stuff behind his eyes that scared even me and in the end I just let him get on with it, whatever helped him sleep at night was fine with me. 
    He’d been alone without my mom for years, but that’s what happens, life passes you by when you choose this stuff over the apparent love of your life.  The only thing he was left with was a pile of big fucking regrets and he’ll never really recover from that.  In his case, hindsight comes with the realization that you can’t cuddle a fucking case file or