Page 73 of River Ride

“He’s talking to customers,” she mumbled to herself.

Tammy circled around behind him and using a pillow out of the truck as a silencer, she shot him in the back of the head.

The ganger slumped forward but didn’t fall off the bench. Tammy grabbed the paper bag, slipped her hand into the pocket of his jeans and snatched his wallet.

She ran back to the truck, tossed the pillow into the back and drove north out of Mobile.

Dry Run Roadhouse. Montana.

Travis dropped into the roadhouse for a beer on the way home from the station. After dinner with the boys, he’d driven down to the shop to do extra paperwork. Feeling a little guilty because he’d been dumping so much on Billy since Olivia’s death and having Annie and the kids staying at the ranch. He definitely hadn’t been doing his share.

He sat at the bar talking to Jack and catching up, then Marilyn Pellegrino came in. She walked past the bar and sat alone in a booth.

“There’s a beautiful lady sitting all alone, Travis. You should say hello to her and buy her a drink.”

“Not a good idea, Jacky-boy. I’m batting zero on the opposite sex right now.”

“You need practice. That’s all it takes. Get in there and boost up your batting average.” Jack laughed.

Travis figured Jack had every right to laugh at him. The way his life was going was a fucking joke. He picked up his pitcher and his half-full glass and wandered down the row of booths to the one where Marilyn sat.

“I thought you might be here,” she said.

“You were looking for me?”

“Texting didn’t do much good.”

“Truth is, I’ve got three murders on my desk and there is no time for texting or for fun of any kind.”

“How about dinner? Do you take time to eat?” A lot of sarcasm in her voice.

“I guess I could do dinner. Could you meet me at the Inn tomorrow night?”

Marilyn smiled as soon as she had what she wanted. “That would be lovely, Travis. Thanks for asking.”

How could I not ask you? You tricked me into it.

After asking her, Travis wished he could take back the invitation. He finished his beer, said goodbye to Marilyn, and on his way out he had to pass by Savanna who was sitting at end of the bar watching him.

He hauled a load of guilt around about the breakup with her too. There was no fucking end to it. He wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

I need to get out of this fucking town.

Route 85 Truck Stop. Alabama.

After killing the drug dealer in the city park, Tammy got the hell out of Mobile. She hammered the gas on the Freightliner and drove north on route eighty-five. She didn’t slow down until she was twenty or thirty miles out of the city.

The sign for the truck stop caught her attention and she flicked on her turn signal. She pulled in and parked her truck at the end of a long line of rigs.

Tammy shut the engine off and crawled into the sleeper. She swallowed two of the pills she’d stolen and crashed.

Shadow Mountain. West Virginia.

Bobby had driven hundreds of miles and was too exhausted to make it all the way to the cabin. His brain told him to get a motel and finish the trip in the morning, but he hated to give in and do that when he was so close.

After a quick stop for coffee and a sandwich, he felt a little better and was sure he could make it all the way after all.

Late, and pitch dark in the mountain forest when he finally arrived at his hideaway, he parked the Wrangler out front and sighed with relief.

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