On The Run

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

This was just great, broken down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. If she hadn’t been so scared of someone seeing her car on the highway, she wouldn’t have taken these back roads, but instead, here she was. She popped the hood and looked around. Having no clue what she was looking at, she left it open and returned to her car. Her car insurance would cover a tow, but that would alert people to where she was, and that was the last thing that could happen.

Sighing, she reached in her bag for her burner phone to look up prices of tow trucks. At least she had a data package, but she wasn’t sure what all Tom had put on this phone. Checking her wallet, she discovered she had $270 and a fake ID to get somewhere to hide, and this wasn’t far enough. Damn. She looked at her new ID again. She was no longer Elizabeth Jones, twenty-seven, and a hostess at one of the most prestigious restaurants in New York. Now she was Liz Smith, twenty-nine, and unemployed, and she needed to remember it.

She sat back in the seat and contemplated the mess she was in now, all because of a guy—a guy who turned out to be an abusive d**g dealer. Funny how you learned these types of things too late. People were never what they seemed, herself included now, fake ID and all. She had fled after he had nearly killed her two days ago. Just the thought made her adjust the scarf on her neck again, covering the dark bruises.

Tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the steering wheel, Liz contemplated the fact that she didn’t even really know where she was going. She just needed to get as far as she could, and then she could figure it out later. She had a high school friend she spoke to occasionally who lived in Texas; she was going to start there, maybe. Would he think to check there? He might. This was harder than anything she’d ever gone through before. Where did one go when they had no one and nothing?

Her only friend she had left was the bodyguard that Mickey had assigned to her. She had never questioned it, just assuming it was because people might kidnap her to get his money once they got engaged, but now she knew better. It was to keep an eye on her just as much to protect her, only not from him. Hopefully, Tom didn’t get found out.

It felt like a lifetime ago, but it was only two days ago. Liz had stopped once for gas and cash and headed out of New York, running for her life. This may have been as far as she’d made it, but she’d left at least. Now she was stuck, again, with no one but herself to rely on and no clue what to do from here.

Her biggest fear at this point was less Mickey finding her and more about what he would do after he did. The images that popped into her head as she considered it were worse with each passing minute. Mickey didn’t like having his things taken away, and right now she was a belonging that had gone missing. She needed to move on before he found her.

“Do you need some help, miss?”

She screamed and jumped so high she smacked her head on the roof. She turned to see a tall, classically handsome man behind her.

“Woah, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, thanks, just about to call a tow.”

He shook his head. “He’s going to be awhile. There’s a wreck over on Mercer Road, and he’s got to pull both of those in before he will be able to help.”

Of course, this was how things would go. “That’s okay, all the same. I’ll just wait here.”

“Let me give you a ride to town, and you can wait at the bakery.”

“Um, no, thanks.” Why was he pushing this? She didn’t want his help. What if Mickey knew where she was? He could be tracking her and wanting her to come willingly. If this man wasn’t working with Mickey though, her options still sucked. Either go with this strange man or stay a sitting duck. Her breathing started to come more quickly and she knew she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. The man must have sensed her rising panic.

“It will be okay. Look, my name is Mason Cole.” He stuck out his hand to shake, which she did, hesitantly. He didn’t try to pull her anywhere, so that was a good sign, right? “My fiancée is in the truck with her son. I promise I’m only trying to help.”

She turned toward the back of her car where a truck was parked, and a woman was getting out waving at them, or maybe just at him. This seemed innocent, but the last few months had taught her that very little was ever as it seemed. She could sit here and wait with her car and her things and let these people go on up the road.

“Mason, is everything okay?” The woman glanced over at her and back to the man.

Liz knew she looked a mess; she’d been driving for thirteen hours to get here so far. She hadn’t looked in the mirror recently, but she had a bruises on her neck that she had tried to cover with a scarf. The couple stood there talking, but she missed every word. Double damn, she wasn’t going to protect herself very well if she couldn’t pay attention to the conversation in front of her.

“What do you say?” the woman asked, facing her now.

“I’m sorry?”

She laughed but smiled kindly at her. “Do you want a ride? It really will be a long wait for the tow. We don’t mean you any harm, but if you say no, we will go now and leave you be.”

“Actually, I think I would like a ride if you don’t mind.”

“Don’t mind at all.” The man smiled at her and headed for the truck, leaving the ladies behind to gather what she could from the car.

“Are you okay? I don’t mean to pry, but if you need anything, please let me know.” Oh, if only she could help.

“I’ll be okay.” She did her best to smile back at the woman.

“All the same, I’ll be here if you need anything.” She picked up one of Elizabeth’s small bags and headed for the truck before abruptly stopping and turning around. “I’m Kelly, by the way. That’s Mason who was out here before, and Hunter is in the truck.”

“Eliz—Liz Smith.”

“Nice to meet you, Liz. Come on, let’s get these in the truck and head out.” She turned again and headed for the truck.

They stored her few bags in the truck bed and walked around to the passenger side. The kid had moved to the front, putting both of the women in the back seat. Liz placed both her hands on her lap and listened to the soft country music coming from the speakers while watching the scenery. Farmland and a few trees now and then was all she saw for the first part of the ride.

Slowly, a small town came into view. The brick building rose up from almost nowhere, and she let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding until then. Glancing at her lap, she realized she had twisted her scarf into a knot, which meant it was probably showing her neck.

Pulling it up higher, she tried to adjust it while not revealing too much. Kelly had seen it though and gave her a sad smile but, thankfully, didn’t ask any questions. Fixing it up high around her, she twisted it into place as they turned between two of the buildings. Glancing around, she caught Kelly’s eye.

Kelly leaned over and put her hand on Liz’s thigh. “We just park around back. His sister is the owner, so we will go in that way.” Liz nodded, but it didn’t make her feel any better. She knew what happened in back rooms at restaurants.

Pushing down all of her nerves, she held her head high and climbed out of the truck and headed to the back to get her bags.

“You can leave them here while we head in, and we can get them when you get your car,” Mason suggested.

“Honey, I don’t think she wants to. Hunter, can you go on in and let Sam know we’re here?” Kelly shooed him off and turned to help with the bags. “Follow me in. We can take these to the table, and I’ll give you Carl’s number for the tow.”

No choice but to follow, Liz headed inside. The smell hit her first; it was sinful. She could pinpoint almost all the fragrances to different flavors of sweets, and her stomach rumbled. Now wasn’t the time to waste money on food that wasn’t a necessity. She tried to swallow back the hunger as she looked at all the cakes and pastries around her.

The sweet smell of the kitchen became less overwhelming as they walked through the swinging door and into the front of the bakery. In that instant, everything went from modern to the past. The walls were white but covered in different decorations of sweets from pictures to a mural of a cake on one wall, and on the other was displays of different styles of cakes and treats. The smell was even better now that they were out of the kitchen, as it was less overwhelming and more comforting.

Tables were scattered throughout with one row of white vinyl booths and white tables with silver trim. It looked like something out of a magazine that screamed nostalgia. Even the displays holding the baked goods looked like something from the 1950s with all the curved glass and the employees behind it wearing the striped pink and white aprons. It was like stepping back in time, which was oddly comforting.

“Here, you can just use my phone. Tell Carl you were on Old State Road between the Thompson’s and the Miller’s. He will find it.”

Just great, she really was in the middle of nowhere.

She walked over to a corner table and sat down to make the call. After arranging the tow, which would indeed be awhile, she hung up and tried to think of what to do next. But came up blank. If Carl couldn’t get to her car for a few more hours, she had nowhere to go and no money to spend on a hotel and fix her car too. She should have taken the risk and pulled out more cash before she left. There was no way she could use her card without anyone knowing.

She walked over to Kelly at the table and handed her the phone back, thanking her for the help.

“Sit. We don’t mind at all, come on.” Kelly urged her to join them. Deciding she didn’t really have any better options, Liz grabbed her bags and brought them to the table and sat down.

A shorter woman came up to the table and said, “Hey! I’m Sam, the owner here at Sweet Treats, and sister to this one.” She pointed at Mason. “What can I get you?” Her hair was cut in a short bob style, which was flattering to her round face and a fuller figure. It bounced as she walked over.

“Nothing but thank you. It smells wonderful in here.”

“Nonsense, it’s on the house. What would you like?”

“I can’t accept that, thank you though.”

“No choice, I’m feeding you.” She sat down in the empty chair next to her. “We have all had rough times, and you look like you are having a time of it. Eat. Decisions are easier on a full belly.”

“Thank you. I’ll have anything, really.”

“Okay, you look like a chocolate kind of girl. I’ll be right back.” With that, Sam stood up and bounced away to the counter, coming back with the most decadent looking piece of chocolate cake. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but this should help you out a little.”

“Thank you, it looks amazing.”

“It’s delightfully sinful,” Kelly said, cutting her eyes to Sam, waiting for a reaction.

“Stop saying that!” Sam fussed at her and headed back to the counter.

“She hates when I tell her that. It is though. Have a bite.”

Liz took a forkful of the chocolate-iced chocolate cake and savored it on her tongue. She moaned a little as the flavors hit her. It was sinful to taste this good. She was pretty sure her eyes went crossed at it as well. She definitely closed them. She might be in a lot of trouble right now, but this cake was making her life a whole lot better.

“That’s the face I make too. It’s so good.”

“I’ve never had a cake this good. How does she do it?”

“Not a clue, and the secret would probably make it less enjoyable. I prefer to wonder at it.”

Liz was contemplating if it was worth the lack of manners to lick the plate when her phone rang. She recognized the number from the tow company and answered expecting to hear bad news. He was just leaving from bringing the last car back from the accident to head to get hers. All in all, not as long as she thought it would be.

“We have to head out. Is there anywhere you would like us to take you?” Mason asked as she hung up the phone.

“Is there a library near here where I could hang out for a bit to wait?” That would be a good place that she couldn’t get in trouble for sitting in all day.

“No, we have to go to the next town to use one, sorry.”

“I am not sure then, honestly. I’ll just walk around until I find out about my car.”

“Here’s his card. If you need anything, you call us.” Kelly wrote her number on the back. Then she reached over and gave her a quick hug before the couple headed out the back door again. She was in some small-town world where everyone actually treated each other well, and it was confusing.

Liz gathered her things and moved to a smaller table to free up the big one. She would sit here a little bit longer if she could, so she didn’t have to drag all her bags through town. At least it was warm in here and smelled terrific. Reaching in her bag, she pulled out a paperback novel she had brought along and settled in to get lost in a better world than hers.