Page 42 of Tastes Like Misery

I did, but I was also right in my assessment, as he soon found out. Once I came out, Dane looked at me and laughed, “Damn, Vivian. I never thought I’d be able to fuck a Dolly Parton lookalike.” He growled and snapped his teeth before sucking on my neck. “I think this is my favorite now.”

Grabbing the front of his pants, I squeezed his hardened dick, “I can tell. As much as I want to make that fantasy come true now, you’ll have to wait. It won’t do if we get caught.”

“We should meet where we plan on dumping the truck. There are too many eyes here,” Finn suggested.

All in agreement, Ollie studied the map, and I memorized the route to where I’d meet up with them. Taking a wad of cash, I sauntered out the door, walking to the dealership. It was hot as hell and I hoped my makeup didn’t melt too bad. My tank clung to both my front and my back, but at least it would give the salesman something to stare at besides my face.

The younger man looked aged beyond his years, deep wrinkles from too much time in the sun and an unkempt beard. I didn’t want to imagine what lurked in it. I kept it short and sweet, telling him I needed a car to get me home to my mama, my southern twang matching that of the local area.

“I haven’t seen you around these parts before. Where’d you come from?” he questioned, raising a brow.

“I hitched a ride with an old friend. He’s a trucker headed to Texas. This was the closest town to where we could split up without putting him behind schedule,” I lied smoothly. “I stayed the night at the motel down the street, but now I need to be on my way. Thank God for such a generous friend. With what I could steal from my no-good husband and what my friend had, I’ve got about six hundred dollars to spend on a car. I just need it to get me just past Bradley. That’s where my mama lives.”

If anything came to light of my being there, telling him my family lived the opposite way of where we were actually headed would give us the time we needed to evade those coming after us. For good measure, I told him about my “husband” and how I’d packed everything I could in the hour I had to get out of there, throwing in some sniffles.

“You know what? I’ve got the perfect car for you. It’s big and old, but she runs well. She’ll get you out there, no doubt.” He led me to an old station wagon I hadn’t seen since I was a child. “This Squire has all the room you need and runs like a dream. I fixed it myself,” he puffed out his chest as he spoke.

“C-can I afford it? It looks so nice and I only have that six hundred. I need gas and everything to get to my mama.”

His expression softened, “I’m selling it for double, but I reckon you got the short end of the stick with that husband of yours. I’ll give it to you for five hundred. I reckon that’ll give you enough for gas and a meal.”

“Thank you, sir,” I gushed, giving the man an excited hug. “Someday, I’ll repay your kindness.”

He blushed and waved me away, muttering something about emotional women as he fished the keys from his belt and handed it to me. Internally, I rolled my eyes and my body hummed with irritation as he went over all the different controls with me. Outwardly, I remained the polite southern woman down on her luck.

Finally, I waved at him before pulling the barge onto the main street and driving back toward the motel. Passing, I saw the truck gone and knew they’d be waiting for me. The whole deal took less time than I expected, but we all knew the truck needed to be hidden before the staff at the motel put it together.

Thank God the roach infested building couldn’t be seen by the car salesman and I could drive on by, making sure I stayed within the speed limit despite wanting to floor it. I didn’t like being separated from all of them, especially now with my identity being known. I wondered how Sheriff Hinton put it together.

I slowed as I approached the dirt road, almost hidden by the trees surrounding it. It wasn’t even a road, just ruts in the grass for hunters to get to their grounds when deer season started. I ignored the private property signs as the station wagon bounced in the rutted path, thankful when I found the truck not too far down. Not seeing them, I got out and called, “It’s just me.”

“That is the ugliest car I’ve ever seen,” Ollie appeared from the brush and kissed me on the cheek.

“At least it doesn’t scream criminals,” I harrumphed as the others joined us, bags in their hands.

“You did good, Vivian,” Dane complimented me as he started heaving a black duffle in the rear.

“Thank you. At least one of you appreciates my talent.”

I squeaked when Finn slapped my ass, not expecting it at all. His quiet laugh was infectious, and it was nice to see him recovered from all that plagued him when he almost killed Ollie. “I think I speak for us all when I say we appreciate your talents,” he spoke seductively, leaving me with heat between my legs.

Pulling my eyes away from his burning brown pools, I watched the others pack up the station wagon, realizing there were a few bags missing, “Where’s the loot bags?”

The three shared a look, Dane and Finn pointing to Ollie, who sighed heavily, “With them knowing us, we can’t take it all with. If we get caught, this would all be for nothing. The max sentence is twenty years for bank robbery, the only thing they might have on us right now.”

I blinked at him as the words registered. It was just like him to plan for every scenario, even the worst case one. As I thought about the bodies, I had to question, “What about murder? We have the death sentence in Texas.”

“While you were out, we decided only one of us would go down for it,” he said before looking away, unable to meet my eyes.

“Who?” I demanded, following him as he trudged back into the brush and picked up another bag.

“Me,” Finn admitted. I whipped my head to glare at him and he explained, “I did it. There is no reason for anyone else to take the blame for my crime.”

Panic rose in me, and I practically screamed, “I shot the guy! You can’t take his death on you. We’re supposed to be in this together.”

He stopped what he was doing and grasped my shoulders. His eyes pleaded with me to understand his sacrifice, “No. You won’t take the fall for what I did. I killed that bitch and shot him. He would have died a slow, painful death, but you’re so thoughtful you put him out of his misery. It’s my own demons that made me want to kill them both. It’s not on you, vixen.”

I stomped my foot and threw my hands up in the air, “For fuck’s sake, Finn. I enjoyed killing him. Using your logic, I’m just as guilty.”

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