Page 21 of Driven by Desire

Riley stood and handed her mother the phone, a passport, a stack of cash and a credit card. “Your name is Lilith Abernathy. You're fifty-two years old and you were born in Fresno, California. Take the Eclipse and leave it at the airport. Put it in short-term parking, I’ll have one of my mechanics pick it up tomorrow afternoon.”

Cilia stood and accepted the proffered goods from her daughter. Shoving them in her purse, she handed over her legitimate identification for safe-keeping and picked up the keys for her new vehicle.

“You don't think Mr. Hart will find me, do you?” she asked anxiously.

“No, mother,” Riley said softly, holding the car door open while Cilia slid into the driver’s seat. “He’s not after you. I think he was just using you to get what he really wants. Once you're safely away, he’ll forget all about you.”

“Oh,” Cilia said, looking at Riley speculatively. Riley wondered what was going on behind those crystal clear blue eyes. Sometimes Cilia saw so much more than everyone else, but then other times she couldn’t see the things that were directly in front of her. “Riley, do you think sea turtles migrate to Alaska? I just don't know about this. I think I'm having second thoughts.”

Riley almost laughed out loud, but she managed to suppress it. She knew her mother wasn’t really worried about sea turtles. Well, not exactly. “No, Cilia, I think it’s probably too cold for them up there.”

“Okay…” she sighed. “Well, I can do more research when I arrive in Seattle. If they were really so smart they would have conquered the North. That’s where the resources are. All the fresh water is up there, you know?”

“Sure,” Riley agreed. “Stay away from the gaming tables. I don't want to have to bail you off a cruise ship.”

“Uh huh,” Cilia said, still deep in thought over sea turtles conquering Alaska. She turned the ignition on while Riley opened the garage door. Finally, she turned and focused on her daughter. “Hey, can you go back to my place and release Scuttles? I’m done with him now and it would be a shame for him to just die.”

She rolled up the window and pulled out of the garage, leaving Riley with the ethical dilemma of whether or not she should go save Scuttles’ life or just let him die and never find out who or what he was. Shit! What if Scuttles was a human and Riley became complicit in kidnapping and murder? This is why Riley had followed in her father’s shady footsteps instead of her mother’s.

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