Looking in her rear view mirror, she saw a large pickup right on her tail. Maybe if she moved over, he’d go by. There wasn’t much of a shoulder, but she gave him all the room she could. CRASH! He did it again! For just a second she met the eyes of the man behind her – and she saw maniacal glee. The man was smiling. Fear clutched her heart. Savannah pressed down on the gas and sped up. But that did no good. The pick-up whipped out and came along-side her and turned the wheel to the right. SCRAPE! He was forcing her off the road!
Savannah fought for her and her baby. But she failed. Her car hit the ditch and the uneven ground made her car flop and lurch. Valiantly she sought to control it – to slow it down. “Patrick!” She prayed. She begged. But there was no way she could avoid the tree.
*****
Patrick drove hard. He needed to get back home before Savannah left for work. What an idiot he was! Every second he had spent in her bed came back to haunt him. She had told him she loved him. Savannah had shown him that she loved him. And how had he repayed her? With jealousy and suspicion – with doubt and an unwillingness to listen. Patrick was ashamed. He tried to call her, but there was still no answer. Ciara was still with him; she had sat on Revel’s porch and patiently waited. “You must think I’ve lost my mind, don’t you, Girl? Why didn’t you stop me this morning?” His dog just looked at him with wise, sad eyes.
Arriving at Savannah’s he realized she was already gone. Great. He couldn’t believe he had done her this way. She ought to just tell him where to get off – he deserved it. But she wouldn’t do it, she loved him.
Patrick didn’t do anything but turn around and head for town. He’d go to where she worked. This was too important to put off. At his hip, his cell phone buzzed. It was Commander Edge. “Yes sir?”
“O’Rourke, we have a problem.”
“Sir What’s up?”
“Lucas has gone rogue. I have no doubt that he is the traitor you claim him to be. Unfortunately, before we could take him into custody, he disappeared.”
“He’ll come here,” Patrick’s blood ran cold. It was happening – dread slid through his veins like poison.
“He’s already there,” the Commander’s voice dropped. “We just received a phone call from him. We have a hostage situation. He’s demanding that we give him passage out of the country or he’ll kill the hostage.”
Fear, pure fear took Patrick’s breath away. He didn’t have to ask – but he did. “Who’s the hostage?”
“Your Savannah. He’s holed up at the Cajun Inn just off the interstate south of Lafayette. We have a team on the way.”
“I’ll be there first. You know what I do, Commander. Do I have permission to take this guy out?”
“All I ask is that you coordinate your efforts with my team. We don’t want any civilian casualties.”
“There will only be one casualty. Lucas is already dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
*****
Savannah was tied to a chair. Her arms hurt. She kept her eyes closed and tried to assess her situation. Was she all right? Was her baby all right? What had happened? Opening her eyes a crack, she tried to look around without alerting her captor. Lucas – it has to be. Patrick had known he was coming.
POP! Savannah’s head jerked back and light exploded behind her eyes. The slap stung like hell, but in a way it gave Savannah a bit of courage. “What could you possibly want with me? The evidence has already been turned in. I don’t have it anymore.”
“Shut up, Bitch! You’re my ticket out of this shittin’ country. I’m moving somewhere that will appreciate me.”
“Hell?”
Another resounding slap almost knocked both Savannah and the chair completely over. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth. For the first time she looked her attacker in the face. He was a big man – not as big as Patrick, but the sneer on his thin, mustached face was chilling. A big pistol was pointing right at her. She had never looked down the barrel of a gun before. It made her look at her world with a whole new perspective.
Was this going to be it? Will she pass away before she gets to tell Patrick she loves him and the baby is his? Will her poor baby never see the life she fought so hard to give him?
The moments felt so long. Years went by as her eyes acclimated to the sight of the pistol in front of her, although it was probably just seconds. The reality began to sink down upon her and all the old familiar thoughts of despair and loneliness made their way back to the front of her mind. Even if she conquered the air of Carville and felt the warmth of a man’s love, she had not escaped Leprosy; she had lost Patrick, again; and she failed her baby.
It’s ok. She can die, now. She would probably be doing everyone a favor.
The sound of engines traveling down the interstate reminded Savannah of the day she met Patrick. She had driven her Camaro so fast. She was excited and nervous. Patrick reached
