when he spoke. “You’re having my baby.”
I’d forgotten. I’d forgotten that she—this baby—might not be his.
Chapter 16
“Where are we going?” I inquired after eight hours of driving. We’d turned onto a dirt road several miles before. I assumed he was navigating on back roads to keep a low profile. Even though it appeared he knew where he was going, I wondered what his ultimate plan was.
His jaw muscle tightened a little with my question. Stress and exhaustion marked his expression as he answered. “I don’t know…yet.”
An image of the cave popped into my mind. Sedona. Somehow I knew we had to go there. “We should go home…my home.”
“No.” His answer was swift and final. “That’s the first place they’ll look for us.”
Annoyance writhed inside me with his response. “My people can protect us.” I voiced with a cold tone. “They know the land better than any agent.”
Sighing, he nodded in agreement, but added. “I know Cassia, but these men…they’re unlike any you’ve ever known. They have…ways of breaking people. Of making them talk. Your people would only get hurt if we involved them.”
Exhaling and bumping the back of my head against the headrest, I was frustrated and irritated.
Where were we going to go then? I realized then that he had no real plan; we were just drifting along a lonely highway, avoiding the inevitable. I knew he was just trying to get us as far away from the Majestic 12 as he could but we desperately needed a destination.
What was I going to do, have this baby in the backseat and we’d just keep driving? Live in the car?
And what was going to happen if—when—I told Keanu that this baby might be Agent Meyers’? Was he going to leave us by the side of the road?
Keanu was an awesome guy but I was pretty sure that a blow like that was going to send him running in the opposite direction whether he loved me or not.
Staring up at the blue fabric ceiling of the sedan, I decided I needed a diversion from my thoughts. Leaning over, I switched on the radio. A familiar medley immediately filled the car and soothed me.
Humming along to the tune, I looked out at the world drifting passed my window. The snow had disappeared several hours before. I could tell we were moving into warmer climates the further we drove, but I had no idea what state we were in now.
The sun was setting, filling the sky with shades of orange and coral. I really wanted to sleep in a bed tonight. I wanted a fluffy pillow under my head and mattress cradling me while I slept. With Keanu’s determination to keep driving, I didn’t know if he would even consider the idea.
Oddly enough, like he’d been reading my mind, he suggested it first.
“We should find a room for the night.” His voice was thick with fatigue.
Nodding enthusiastically, I smiled as I thought of indulging in a hot bath and a good night’s rest.
“Cassia, I really think you should do something with your hair.” He glanced over at me with an apologetic expression.
“My hair? What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure if I should be offended or not. Did I look that rough?
“Considering how recognizable you are with long black hair, maybe we should…cut it.” He looked as crushed about it as I felt. Then he added quietly. “And color it.”
His suggestion made perfect sense. Seeing my face plastered on the national news, labeled a fugitive, I knew that Keanu was right. Altering my appearance was logical, but I didn’t know if I even cared anymore.
Sure, I could change my hair, but hiding my growing belly, however, was not going to be as easy. She had grown dramatically over the last week or so. By my calculations, I was finishing my fifth month soon.
I wished I could give her the attention she deserved.
Instead of being trapped in a car with little food or water, we should have been eating healthy or going to doctor visits and listening to her little heartbeat. The poor little creature inside me was just an unwilling passenger being dragged along in a nightmare.
Her mother should be an upstanding citizen, not a fugitive and freak of nature. Well, in all fairness, the fugitive part wasn’t my fault.
Then it dawned on me.
Keanu waited until it was dark before we pulled into a motel. I was too tired to notice what town we were in and really, it didn’t matter anymore. All the road signs had become a blur; I didn’t even know what state we were in.
The passenger door groaned as I opened it as though mocking my weariness. Dragging myself into the motel room, I flopped down on the queen sized bed and nearly fell asleep upon impact. My twenty year old body was drained of all energy. Pregnancy, coupled with being on the run, had worn me down to a mere shadow of myself.
I faintly heard Keanu walk across the room and flick on the television. The mattress sank near my feet as he sat at the end of the bed. Flicking the channels, I could hear the minor blips and noises of each channel as he passed by them. It didn’t occur to me that he was looking for anything in specific, but I knew the moment he’d found the channel he was looking for.
“The fugitives are thought to be travelling west. Last spotted in Davisville, Ohio, they were driving a 1998 black sedan.”
I sat straight up after I heard the first sentence.
A large picture of Keanu looking dark and angry flashed onto the screen. “The male accomplice is 6 foot 2, approximately 230 pounds, black hair, brown eyes and light brown skin. He is skilled in martial arts and is considered armed and dangerous.”
Staring into Keanu’s dark brown eyes looking out from the television screen, the moment turned surreal. Up until now, the whole thing felt unreal.
My face was up next.
A less than flattering picture of me was displayed. My long hair hung like black string around my sullen face. Ashen semi-circles settled under my eyes making me look insane and malnourished. The vacant stare behind my lifeless amber eyes gave me an aura of unintelligence. I had no idea when this picture was taken. It didn’t even look like me.
The news anchor continued with a grave tone. “The female fugitive is 5 foot 6, approximately 125 pounds, long black hair, hazel eyes and about five months pregnant. She is also considered armed and dangerous. If you see these people, do not approach them. Contact the local authorities immediately.”
“This is ridiculous.” My voice sounded hollow as I watched a real life nightmare unfold in front of me. “That doesn’t even look like us.”
“They doctored the photos,” Keanu explained, his shoulders hunched and his head hung in his hands as he listened.
“Again, the FBI is asking for your assistance in this matter. Anyone with information pertaining to the fugitives or the murder, please contact your local police immediately.”
“Murder?! What murder?!” Tears welled up in my eyes and I moved to the end of the bed with Keanu. His head sprang up with the word murder. “They’re blaming us for a murder?!”
“Shhh!” Keanu shushed me as the news anchorman continued.
“Yesterday, the body of a Stanley University student was discovered stabbed to death in Cassia Tiponi’s dorm room…”
The anchorman’s words faded away as I stared at the picture now on the television screen. Bile rose to the back of my throat as the room began to spin.
Right before I fainted, I heard myself whisper, “Amy.”
