Page 19 of Sweet Union
I kiss her head. “I love you, too, baby. Now, go.”
She hurries into a nearby store. Everything inside me just wants to make sure she’s ok. This is me doing that. Right now, I need to focus on getting a new change of clothes.
I walk into a store that sells both women and men’s clothing and quickly grab a black hoodie. It’s non-descript, and a lot of men wear it, which will make it harder to be identified. I also grab a black baseball cap. I don’t bother paying for the items. I wait until a man is walking out of the store to follow behind. I just walk confidently out of the store, even after the store’s alarm starts going off. The other man stops and looks around, confused.
I keep walking.
No one stops me.
I slip the hoodie and cap on in the bathroom before making my way to another entrance of the mall. When I get there, I see a police officer talking to people. He’s questioning them—about Nat and me. The one good thing is that Dr. Ryder didn’t have a picture of us. The downside, the clinic had a security camera out front. The police might have our faces, or they might not. Only one way to tell, and that’s by walking past the officer.
I keep my head straight forward and walk calmly. No need to spur suspicion. The officer is busy talking to a couple, and he doesn’t even look at me.
I make my way outside. The parking lot is surprisingly busy for such a small town. I guess it’s the only form of entertainment these people have. I approach the first white car I see and break into it using my credit card. I casually look around every now and again to make sure no one is looking at me.
I can see my car parked a way down and the multitude of officers looking into it. So, they’ve found my car. Great. I’ll have to get a new, non-stolen one.
I finally get into the car and hotwire it. Once I’ve got it started, I pull out of the spot and drive toward the entrance I left from. Nat should surely be on her way. Assuming she isn’t stopped by the police.
I drive around, acting like I’m looking for a spot.
Finally, I see her approaching the doors, wearing a new yellow dress. I start to drive the car closer when I see the officer stop her. I’m about ready to get out and save her when she smiles at the officer and exits the mall. He lets her go with a smile. Nat is beautiful and charming. I can’t blame the officer for looking smitten after talking to her.
She looks around as she steps outside.
I roll my window down. “Nat, get in.”
She looks relieved when she sees me and hurries into the car. I immediately pull out of the parking lot.
“Thank god,” she murmurs. “I was so scared.”
“I know. You did good.”
“I paid for the dress. I had to use my card. They’ll trace me back there.”
“It’s ok. We’ll get this figured out. But right now, we need to find a new car. We can’t be driving a stolen one. Someone will call it in soon.”
She leans over and kisses my cheek. “I’m just glad we made it out.”
I take us the nearest car dealership and park the car a couple blocks over. We rush to get to the dealership, but once we’re there, we remain calm.
“You’re just going to pay for a car?” she asks.
“You know I have the money. And we need this to be legit.” I find a car I like—a sleek, black sports car.
“That car is so you.”
“I know.”
The car salesman doesn’t even have to give me a pitch. I just walk into the dealership and pay for it without delay. When you spend that kind of money, people don’t tend to argue with you. They’re just happy to make a sale.
Nat and I get into the new car and take off.
After thirty minutes, we reach the new safe house, a modern contemporary version of a cabin, and fortunately, no cops stopped us.
We turn to face each other once the car is in Park.
“That was wild,” she says as a smile slowly spreads across her face.
