The Chase by Amber Riel (best novels for students .TXT) 📕

          “What?” she asked, kind of grumpily.

          “You’re not a morning person, are you?”

          “No I’m not.”

          “Okay well after we leave we’ll stop and get some coffee…. We should eat something because it’s going to be a long drive.”

          I pulled out of the little restaurant we had spent the last half hour at for breakfast.  All three of us had our drinks though so on the road we could have something for our thirst before we stopped again.  I already planned on it being another long day on the road.

          “Can we listen to music, Uncle Louis?” Lainie’s little voice asked from the backseat.

          “Yea,” I answered as I used my free hand to play with the radio until I found the children’s station while I kept the other hand on the steering wheel.

          I felt Sam glaring at me.

          I looked at her and noticed how she had an eyebrow raised with anger.  “I have a soft spot for kids.”

          “I can tell,” she replied as she moved her attention outside of the car.

          We were leaving the town now which I wasn’t planning on returning to on the way back home.

          It was pretty much silent as far as any conversation between Sam and I went.  The only one who was really having any fun was Lainie as she sang along to the song which played on the radio.

          “Having fun, Lainie?”  Sam asked.

          I could only assume that Lainie had nodded because I kept my eyes on the road and wanted to keep on track.  We didn’t need to get into any accidents, especially out on the interstate where the accidents were a thousand times worse.

          Hours had went by and Lainie was in the backseat sleeping.  I turned off the radio so it did bother her.  The only sound was from her breathing.

          “What do you do?  I mean working wise?” Sam finally asked, breaking the silence.

          “None of your business,” I responded.

          I knew she was shooting a dirty look at me.

          “I didn’t mean it like that,” I told her.  “It’s just the job I have is top secret…. Nothing that you need to know about.”

          “Top secret?  Like FBI or something?”

          “Something along that line,” I answered.  I glanced back at Lainie for a moment.  She was so peaceful.  “There’s a reason Ron chose me to come to protect you and Lainie…. Although your sister is probably hoping for something to happen between us which I don’t understand why…. I’m happier alone.  I don’t need a woman right.  That would just give me someone else to worry about…. I don’t need that not with the job I have.”

          I had a feeling that Sam was interested in what I told her.  I didn’t know if it was what I was saying or how I was saying them but I knew somehow she was interested.

          “What about you?  What do you do as far as work goes?” I asked, kind of repeating her words.

          “I’m a writer,” she replied.

          “Of course you are,” I kind of laughed as I spoke.

          “What’s so funny about that?”

          “Nothing…. Nothing,” I replied.  It was kind of interesting learning about Sam.  I mean she was a writer…. I wondered what kind of writer but didn’t want to ask.

          I continued to drive as the day slowly began changing.  I was determined to get Sam and Lainie to Ron’s safe house in time that I had made sure to fill the gas tank up at the last gas station we had stopped at and I gave the girls’ time to go to the restroom and do what they needed to do before we left.  Now that we were on the road, I didn’t want to stop again.

          It hadn’t taken Lainie long to fall asleep again once we had loaded back up to drive before leaving the gas station.  Sam, on the other hand, had tried to offer to drive but I still hadn’t felt like she should.  I wasn’t trying to be a jerk about it; it was just after everything that had happened I felt that she was a nervous wreck and it would take her a little while before she would get the security she needed.

          Sam kept her attention out of the window as I drive.

          I couldn’t help but notice the cloudy grey sky as I drove.  It was obvious a rain cloud.  Luckily, we weren’t heading for a park.

          Sam sighed as she laid her head back on the chair.  “Do these seats recline?” she asked.

          “Yea the nob for the seat is on the bottom left kind of under the chair,” I replied as I kept my eyes glued to the road ahead.

          I had a feeling that she was going to fall asleep which in a way was a good thing but at the same time kind of depressing.

         I pulled into an inn and parked into an open space in front of the main office.  I unbuckled and turned my attention to Sam who looked peaceful and beautiful as she slept.  I didn’t want to bother her but I had to.  “Sam, wake up,” I said, softly in a sweet tone.

          I watched as her eyes slowly opened.  She began to unbuckle as I was already out of the car and helping Lainie.

          “We’re going to go ahead and get the rooms so we can put our stuff up and then go get something to eat…. But dress up nicely, I want to go somewhere nice not a little dinner like last night,” I told Sam.

          “Okay.”

          “Oh and you can wear red if you have any skirts or dresses just not any other colors.”

          “I don’t have any skirts or dresses with me,” Sam replied as she watched Lainie run to the sidewalk.  “Why?”

          “Because my wife never liked red so she never wore it,” the words slid out of my mouth before I realized it.

          I watched as her expressions changed from confused to frustrated a few times.  “You’re married?” she asked, in confusion.

          “Not anymore,” I answered.

          “What happened?  Did you leave her?  Did she leave you?  I would so understand if she left you.”

          Her questions infuriated me.  She had no clue what she was talking about.  I looked at her with anger and confusion.  She jumped to conclusions without getting the whole story.  “No one left anyone…. At least, not the way you would believe.”

          “That’s none of your damn business.”  I left Sam and walked over to Lainie.  I grabbed the child’s hand as I opened the glass door.  If you only knew, Sam.  If you only knew.

          Sam rushed over to us and made sure that I didn’t leave her.  I knew what she was thinking or so I could figure out what she was thinking but she didn’t know me.  She didn’t know what I was going through.

          An overweight balding middle age man stood at the front desk as we walked over toward him.  He had to be in his forties from what I could tell and seem to be a nice fellow.  “How may I help you?” the man asked.  His tone was welcoming and I obviously didn’t have to worry about Sam flirting with this man like she had the night before.  The other younger guy bugged me but this man had seemed better than that.

          “Two rooms please…. One for the lady and the child and one for me….” I knew how to talk to people without ticking them off unless of course it was Sam but that was for an entirely different reason.

          “You two aren’t together?” the man asked with confusion.  I figured that he either thought we were married or unmarried but together and enjoyed sharing a room like most unmarried couples of our age.

          “No,” I answered, “we’re not together.  Just kind of here to keep the woman and the child out of danger for a couple of friends.”

          “Oh,” the man responded with a slight nod.  “Got trouble with an ex-boyfriend or husband or something?” he asked as he turned his attention toward Sam.

          “No,” she answered, obviously not quite sure how to respond.

          The man nodded.  “Okay.  Do you want the rooms closer together so just in case something happens?”

          “Yes please,” I replied.

          “Okay then.  Let me see what I can find here….” The man turned his attention to the wall of small silver hooks where a few key chains hung.  He grabbed two keys from the wall which sat next to one another.  He looked at them to make sure they were close together.  He walked back over to us and gave both sets of keys to me.  “Rooms A 2 and A 3…. Oh and don’t tell the other guest because I don’t want them to freak out but all of the doorknobs are the same kind so pretty much all of the keys can unlock any of the doors…. Just in case for some reason the two girls need to go to your room or you need to go into their room for any reason.”

          I exchanged a worry look with Sam.  I took the keys but knowing that it wasn’t safe probably wasn’t a good idea.  “How much is that?”

          “Forty-five pounds each.”

          I nodded as I pulled my wallet out of my pocket.  I counted the money then handed it to the clerk.  The man took the money and recounted it and handed me back some change and I watched as he wrote some information down then he looked at me and smiled.

          “The rooms are just around the corner to the left.  Hope you enjoy your stay.”

          “Yea I’ll enjoy it,” I muttered, kind of regretting the decision.

          I had the girls follow me back to the car and we climbed in.  Sam let Lainie sit in her lap because I was only driving a short distance anyway.  “We’ve got to be careful tonight,” I explained to Sam.

          She nodded in agreement.

          “If anything happens tonight, I want you and Lainie to come to my room.  I don’t care if a car alarm goes off.  I need to know that you two are safe.  Got it?”

          She nodded again.

          “Now remember we’re going somewhere nice to eat so dress nicely and clean up a little,” I reminded both girls as I placed the car in park.

          “Can I wear my butterfly dress?” Lainie’s little sweet voice asked.

          I couldn’t resist a smile as I looked at her.  “Did you pack it?”

          “Yea,” she replied with a smile and a hint of excitement.

          I nodded.  “Then you can wear it.”

          “Yay.”

          We climbed out of the car and started for the rooms.  I handed Sam the