Evan saw Rachel go by and thought about stopping her but didn’t. He simply activated the tracking on her phone and let her go.
Once Rachel got by the security office, she increased her pace until she was almost sprinting. If she slowed down, she’d lose her nerve, and she didn’t want to stop and answer any questions. Walking out the back door, she let out a sigh of relief. So far, so good. She went to her old beater of a car and hoped it started. She hadn’t started it for several days, and it wasn’t the most reliable. When it did, she let out another sound of relief. Now where to go? She didn’t want to go to any of her friends or family, not wanting to put anyone else in danger. Maybe a cheap motel for now until she had some time to think and make other plans. She had to find some place to hide, not only from Hawkins, but someplace where Craig and the guys couldn’t find her.
If Craig found her, there would be hell to pay. Actually, not if, but when. She had no doubt he would find her, but hopefully not until this all blew over and everyone would be safe. She hoped she didn’t have to hide too long. She was really going to miss Craig. Just thinking about him made her cry. If anything happened to him, her life would be over.
Rachel decided to head down I-70 to the state line and find a place in Kansas to stay. No one would think of looking for her there. She hoped her car would make it. What she didn’t know was that Craig had been making sure the routine maintenance was done on her car and had some minor repairs done before she had started driving it back to work. He made sure it was started every other day by him or someone in the club. He didn’t want her driving something that wasn’t safe.
Driving along, it was all Rachel could do to keep from crying. She didn’t want to have to do this. When her phone rang, she jumped. Grabbing it, she looked at the caller ID and saw it was Craig. Shit!
“Hello?” she answered tentatively.
“Where the fuck are you?” She could tell he was mad, and she tried not to let that faze her.
“You aren’t safe with me there. I’m going to hide until this is all over. I don’t want to take the chance of you or anyone else getting hurt.” She was sobbing.
Taking a deep breath, Craig said a quick prayer and counted to ten. “Baby, you need to come home. We’ll keep you safe here,” he told her in what he hoped was a calm voice. He didn’t want to upset her any further, but he needed to get through to her.
Sobbing, Rachel said quickly, “I can’t do that,” and disconnected the call. Pressing the button to mute the ringer and put the phone on vibrate, she put the phone on the seat next to her and grabbed the wheel with both hands. It was starting to rain, and she needed to pay attention to her driving.
“Shit!” Craig cursed at his phone as the line went dead. He called back five times before he got the message she wasn’t going to answer. He headed to the security office, hoping Evan was still there.
As he walked into the office, Evan saw him and pointed at a chair next to him. “Sit,” he said. “I know, I activated the tracking device on her phone the minute I saw her walk out of here.”
“Thank God, but why the hell didn’t you stop her?” Craig was glad Evan had thought to activate the tracking but couldn’t understand why Evan hadn’t stopped her. They could have avoided this if he had.
“Tell me what’s up first,” Evan answered him.
That’s when Craig realized that Evan had no idea that Rachel had left without telling him and had no way of knowing that she was on the run.
Craig quickly brought him up to speed, and Evan looked at him. “What the fuck are we doing sitting here? She has to have at least a forty-five minute lead on us.” Grabbing a laptop, he prodded Craig towards the door.
‘You drive, I’ll direct,” he said as they jumped in the truck. He no more than had his belt fastened, telling Craig, “Head for I-70 East, I’m going to call some of the crew in case we need back up.”
The rain was really coming down, and Rachel had to slow way down because she could hardly see. She didn’t dare pull over. She needed to keep going. Craig was probably trying to find her.
Slowing to a crawl, she cursed the rain.
Mike Hawkins could hardly believe his luck. After meeting the bitch in the restaurant, he had waited for days for an opportunity like this. Killing the slut who had taken the bitch’s wallet was mess
y and unfortunate, but necessary. That slut was his only tie to the wallet, and he didn’t need her getting mouthy. Now the bitch was finally alone, but where the fuck was she going? This rain sucked, and he was afraid he was going to lose her in the mess.
Rachel saw headlights coming fast in her rear window and was scared the car was going to ram her. Gripping the wheel tightly and bracing for the impact, she prayed. At the last minute, the car veered around her. Just another car on the highway who didn’t see her until the last minute because of the rain. The other car sped on, and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. The rain was finally letting up, so she gradually increased her speed and relaxed a little. Her phone had finally stopped buzzing. She had several missed calls, probably all from Craig. She’d have to look when she stopped. That wasn’t going to be until she found someplace to stay. She had decided to only stay at a place for one night, then move. If she drove during the day and slept at night, she should be able to hide for several days and no one would find her. She never thought that someone could be following her or about the possibility that Evan could track her with her phone.
After driving for several hours, she found a place that looked good for the night. It was small, but the outside looked kept up and she hoped it was clean. She drove to a truck stop. She could get gas and food there. As she walked in, she felt someone watching her, but looking around, she didn’t see anyone.
She went into the diner they had there and ordered a meal. She still couldn’t get over the feeling of being watched and ate quickly, wanting to get out of there.
Mike Hawkins watched the bitch and waited. He had all night to make his move.
Rachel filled her car with gas and got some snacks and other things from the small store there. She didn’t need to worry about breakfast. The motel boasted a buffet breakfast, so she would eat before she left in the morning, providing the breakfast was edible.
She checked into the motel, happy it was the kind where all the rooms were on the inside and only accessible from the lobby. For anyone to get to her, they would have to go by the front desk. That made her feel a little safer.
She settled in for the night and let herself have the crying fit she needed. Pulling herself together, she stripped her clothes off and got ready for a shower.
Chapter Seventeen
“She won’t be sitting for a month of Sundays when I get done with her,” Craig told Evan as he drove. The rain and hail had made them slow down, and he was so pissed he was seeing red. He knew he needed to calm down, but the more he thought about what a stupid, moronic, idiotic fool Rachel was being, it just ramped him up higher.