Page 18 of Sweet Union
As if on cue, the sirens go off.
“Shit,” I mutter. “Keep driving, Nat.”
“What do I do?”
“Just stay calm and keep driving. We’ll pull off at the next exit and find a way to ditch the car.”
“If the police catch us, can’t we just call my dad? He can help get us out of trouble.”
“We’re not in the city anymore. He doesn’t have as much sway out here. And besides, I don’t really want to be a sitting duck in jail, waiting for Romeo to come kill me. And I don’t want you going back to jail again.”
“Ok,” she whispers.
The cop car pulls up right behind us. “Pull over,” a man’s voice sounds through a speaker. “Pull over now.”
“Luca?”
“Take that exit,” I say.
Nat swerves at the last minute to make the exit, almost hitting another car in the process. The cop car swerves as well, trying to catch up.
“Now, drive as fast as you can. We need to find a place that will allow us to lose him.”
Nat picks up speed, moving around cars, as we go through the town. The cop car is a little way behind us, but it’s picking up speed.
“How about there?” Nat asks, pointing at a mall that’s coming up on our left. “There’s lots of cars and we can go inside and hopefully lose the officer.”
“Good idea.”
Nat makes a hard left to pull into the parking lot. She finds a spot right away. I instruct her to start wiping down the steering wheel and door handles to help get rid of any fingerprints. Then we get out and hurry into the mall. The officer pulls into the parking lot as we enter the building.
“Oof.” Nat bumps into a young man walking out of the mall.
“Watch where you’re going,” he grumbles.
“Sorry.”
“What the fuck did you say to my wife?” I ask. The man backs away fast.
“Luca, not now. We need to keep moving.”
Nat’s right. I leave the little punk alone and move deeper into the mall. Nat and I keep a steady pace to avoid drawing suspicion.
“We need a change of clothes,” I tell her.
“Right.”
“And we should split up. The good doctor probably called the police on us, and they know we’re together. They won’t notice us as much if we’re alone.”
“Luca, I can’t do this. I can’t run from the police.”
I grip her shoulders. God, all I want to do is protect her. “You can do this, Nat. Just go into a store and get a change of clothes. I’ll find us another car to use. Meet me at the other end of the parking lot. Got it?”
“Ok,” she whispers.
“You go this.”
“I love you.”
