Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the High School Musical world, which is trademarked by Disney. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of High School Musical. The story I tell here about Troy and Gabriella is my own invention, and it is not supported or believed to be part of Disney story canon. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story line.

Gabriella Montez felt like a completely ridiculous.

She hopped no one she knew would ever see her in this outfit. With a pout she looked at herself in the reflection of the dimly lit bathroom mirror. Not only did she have to buy a stupid fake ID when she was just one-month shy of her twenty first birthday, just to get into this place, but she was beginning to have some serious second thoughts about her plan.

A plan that was completely being made up as she went.

Whatever had happened to Gabriel had been serious. So serious that the only clues she had led her to The Red Crystal, a sleazy bar in the bad part of town. As she walked in she felt like a shiny object on display. The men hadn't taken their eyes off her and as soon as she could she made her way to the bathroom for a moment to regroup. If she had to take a guess she was currently starring in about five R rated fantasies.

The thought made her shutter and also made her feel a little violated. Gabriella waved her hand in front of her as she tried not to gag. There was nothing lady like about the smell in the ladies restroom. There was so much smog and smoke she could barely see her own reflection. Not that she'd recognized it. No she couldn't just walk in here with her normal clothes on. She'd never be allowed into the parking lot.

No, a mission of this degree required a uniform. Sharpay had done her makeup and lent her this incredibly skin tight ruby red dress. She looked like all the other women here. Which was good. And it was also scary. Seriously. Why did women do this to themselves?

With all that make up on her face, let alone the fact that she'd managed to stuff all her parts into this dress. There was no practically in dressing like this. None.

Gabriella had always been the kind of girl who stood out of trouble. She never did things like this. She was getting straight A's as a pre-med major at New York University. She called home several times a week to check in. She knew better than to do something this stupid.

And putting on this ridiculous outfit and showing up here at this bar was just asking for all sorts of trouble. The bad kind of trouble. The kind she just knew had gotten to her older brother Gabriel. Something bad happened to him. Three nights ago he'd come to this bar to follow up on a case he'd been working on and then suddenly it was as if he completely disappeared off the face of the earth.

Her brother, unlike her was a thrill seeker. He went straight from high school to the army. Then from the army to the police academy. Her parents adored him. He was the hero in their family. Granted he hadn't gotten this far without a few messes and causing their parents endless heartache. Gabriella was determined to make up for that in any way she could by being a good student, a good daughter, and a good person.

She was also going to have a safe, successful future as a doctor.

She looked down at her outfit one more time and cringed. This would be the one and only time she would ever put on this outfit. She just needed to figure out what happened to Gabriel. He'd always been there for her growing up, always helped her out. So when the officers had told her mother that Gabe had been into some bad things at The Red Crystal she flat out didn't believe it.

She knew her brother. He was one of the good guys.

Something happened to him and she needed to get to the bottom of it.

She stepped back out into the bar area, coughing from all the smoke. This place was a serious health hazard. What was Gabe even doing here?

She had just took a seat at the bar when she heard a familiar voice. She looked up to see him. Troy Bolton. A cold sweat swept through her. She'd known Troy all her life. He'd been her brother's best friend, and she'd alternately been annoyed by him and been in love with him, depending on the day. She hadn't seen him in three years. He was five years older than her, and most of the time he'd treated her no different than Gabe did, like a sister.

But there were other times when Gabe wasn't around and she and Troy would hang out like real friends, laughing together and teasing each other. Those were the times she'd fallen for him the hardest.

When Gabriel came back from the army Troy stayed behind. Not long after that, thanks to her brother spilling the beans, she'd learned what Troy really thought about her.

To Troy Bolton, she was an annoying little kid who tag along for everything. And that had just been the beginning of the things she learned about Troy Bolton. Her cheeks were on absolute fire now. Had she been that obvious? Her father jokingly teased her about following Troy around like puppy. Her mother called it adorable. Gabe looked at her with that sympathetic look.

She just wanted to crawl into a hole. That was the day she'd officially decided to get over him. She hadn't seen him or talked him since. She never sent another letter, never sent another tin of cookies. It was hard, but she'd finally moved on, even had a boyfriend last year.

Just her luck that he would catch her in this stupid outfit.

Troy was wearing a pair of beat-up jeans, an open camp shirt and a plain white t-shirt. And even more dangerous those blue eyes were locked on her. And he looked down right furious. She didn't think she looked that bad.

If she ignored him, maybe he would go away.

She tried to ignore him, but he didn't go away.

"Gabriella," Troy called, louder this time. "I know you heard me. You looked right at me."

Gabriella opened her little purse and looked inside. "Then you should take that as a hint and just leave me alone." She tried to keep her face detached and careless, rather than revealing how much she despised him.

He had also been another one of the main reasons she had to make an extra effort to be good. He was always getting into trouble. Most of the time dragging Gabriel into with him. From stealing cars, to blowing fireworks into street as cars drove by. Troy had been quite the rebel bad ass growing up. After his dad passed away, it had only been his mom and him and they lived on the other side of town. The not so nice part.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he sneered as his eyes reached her black strappy sandals and slid back up. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

Ouch. "I could ask you the same question, I thought you were somewhere in Iraq getting shot at."

Troy narrowed his eyes as he met her look. "I thought you were in school."

"I came home. Now get."

"I don't get."

"Fine, storm off in a righteous indignation, or flounce off in a huff for all I care. The point is to disappear as quickly as possible." She was quite pleased with her clever response. Going to college might have actually made her smarter.

"You're coming with me." He reached for her arm.

"I am not." She pulled away.

"Is there a problem here?" The female bartender approached them.

"Yes."

"No."

Troy and Gabriella spoke in unison and Troy eyes narrowed at her again. "No problem here," Troy said again. "Just catching up with an old friend."

Friend. As if! Troy Bolton could be on fire and she wouldn't use the last bucket of water to put him out.

"We're not friends," Gabriella clarified.

"Well, I think the lady's fine right where she is." The bartender winked in Gabriella direction. "Sweet thing like yourself outta have your pick of the loot in here."

She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or not. Gabriella did her best not to wince or look uncomfortable. She was trying to stay in character, but this entire plan was falling apart before it even started. All because of Troy.

"How much?" Troy said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wad of cash.

The bartender's smile disappeared as she now leaned on the counter and turned her attention to the wad of money.

"How much fun you looking to have tonight?"

"I want her."

What? Gabriella brows shot up as Troy reached for arm again. And this time she didn't pull away. She was too shocked to move.

When the bartender didn't say anything. Troy did. "2 grand."

Where did he get all that money from? What the hell was he paying the bartender for? Suddenly everything seemed to shift and Gabriella watched as the smile on the bartenders face slowly shifted into something else. Something scarier.

"3. She's one of the prettier ones. Make sure you keep her that way. You know the deal?"

Troy nodded and placed the money on the bar top.

Gabriella watched the exchange happen right in front of her and she slowly caught on to what was going on. Troy was buying her. She was for sale? She sucked in an indignant breath and glared at him before she remembered she was supposed to be acting cool and indifferent.

He tugged on her arm and began leading her towards the front entrance.

"What the hell did you just do?"

He lifted his eyebrows in surprise, "I'm getting you out of here."

Gabriella actually gasped at the stab of pain in her chest. She needed to find Gabe and this had been her only lead.

"I can't go, I can't," she pulled away from him. "Gabe's missing and I can't just leave now."

"Hey," he reached for her again and pulled her close. So close she placed her hands on his chest to stop from falling against his chest. "I know about your brother, I'm handling it."

"What do you know?" she whispered.

Troy smiled, "I should of expected to running into you." His tone was teasing, the way he used to talk to her all the time. As if nothing had happened in the last three years that might change the relationship between them.

"Right, and it's just convenient that Gabe's in trouble and suddenly you're not too far behind."

His expression changed as he processed her words. "When was the last time you talked to Gabe?"

Troy was still as good-looking as he'd been before, a fact that annoyed her as much as anything else. It seemed like being an asshole should cast its mark on your appearance. But he still had the same strong features, vivid blue eyes, and lean, fit body. His hair had been plain brown when he was a kid, but it had lighten to a sandy brown now.

"Three weeks ago. He called to ask if I was coming home for my birthday."

Troy nodded, "Now laugh like I said something funny and don't freak out when I kiss your neck."

Gabriella eyes widen as she began to freak out. "What?"

One of his hand snaked down and grabbed her ass. She jumped and he leaned down to place a kiss on the nook of her neck. Her entire body melted at the touch it was out of her control when she griped his shirt a little tighter. All those old feelings came roaring back with a passion.

"Good girl," he whispered as he brought his hand back up to the small of her back. "Now let's get out of here."

Once they were out in the parking lot Troy dropped his hands and released her completely. And she felt the cold even on a June night in Tennessee.

"Go home."

Gabriella frowned. "No."

"Damn it, I had to buy you out of there." He said in hushed whisper. "If that doesn't tell you how much trouble you're in-"

"I didn't ask you too," she realized she was getting upset, she took a step away from him. She didn't need this. He upset her too much.

"Get in your car and go home Gabri-"

He never finished his sentence.

His eyes darted over her shoulder, and, before Gabriella knew what was happening, he had slammed her from the side, pushing her down to the pavement in a move that scratched up her palms and knees. Shocked and winded, she stared up at him as he covered her with his body.

"What ar-"

"Quiet," he hissed.

Recognizing real urgency in his voice, Gabriella did as she was told, her heart pounding and her breath uneven.

Then there was a gunshot. Or what sounded like a gunshot.

When she turned her head, she saw that one on the tires on the car beside them had their tires blown.

After another second, Troy shifted, "Where's your car?"

"What?" Gabriella whispered, "What about your car?"

"That is my car." He hauled her to her feet, grabbed her arm and forced her to hunch over. They ran across the lot and took cover behind a red minivan. After a moment they moved again.

"I'm driving my mom's car," Gabriella whispered as they hid behind a blue Toyota. Troy stood up a little to see what was going on. "What's happening?"

"They're searching the car."

Gabriella eyes widen and without another thought she lifted her purse and wacked him. "What did you do?" she wacked him again.

Troy grabbed the purse from her. "Knock it off."

They waited in silence for a moment and then watched as a man walked towards her mother's sliver Hyundai. "What is he doing?"

She was terrified, then she heard more gunshots and watched as the man shot off her mother's side mirror. Then all four of her tires.

"Shit." Troy hissed.

"Mom's going to kill me."

Troy turned and lifted the door handle to the blue Toyota. It was locked. He slowly made his way over to a red Nissan.

"What are you doing?"

After another second he got the door opened and he reached back for her. "Get in," he ordered.

"This can't be happening," she whispered as he hauled her into the car pushing her over into the passenger side and taking the driver's side himself. Gabriella didn't move from her seat. Not that she had much of a choice. She could never have freed herself from Troy's powerful grip. He let go of her and reach down underneath the steering wheel. What was he doing? Were they about to steal this car? No she couldn't be an accessory to car theft. "Troy this is stealing."

A bullet hit the hood and they both jerked. The car roared to life and he shifted into gear. "Stay down," he said and floored the gas pedal.

Gabriella fumbled to put on her seat belt. "They're shooting at us." she gasped, relieved when she heard her seatbelt click into place.

Troy turned left without warning on the country road, barely missing an oncoming van. "Brilliant observation," he said, although he didn't take his eyes off the road.

"Why are they shooting at us?" Gabriella asked, not at all intimidated by his sarcasm. She peeked out the back and saw that they were being pursued by a black sedan.

"I don't know," Troy replied, making another perilous turn and picking up his speed, unfortunately for Gabriella's safety, doing them both at the same time. "I have to figure out what's going on."

When she heard more gunshots, she shrieked and ducked her head to her lap.

"Shit, the steering on this piece of junk is non-existent."

"You stole it, and you're going to complain about it?" She shouted as she fumbled through her purse he tossed to the passenger side. "I'm calling the police."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Troy shook his head as he check the rearview mirror.

"And why not their shooting at us!"

As if to prove a point a bullet took off her side mirror and she yelped.

"Because I'm pretty sure those are the cops." Troy shook his head, "Here reach into my pocket and my cell."

Gabriella's eye widen as she reached over and pull his phone from his front pocket, accidently brushing against his firm chest has she did.

"Press the last number that came in and hand it to me." He took another sharp turn and at this speed Gabriella was sure the car might flip.

This was it. This was how it would end. Her stuffed inside this dress, Troy Bolton at the wheel and her last act on earth was being a purchased in a bar.

She opened her eyes and seen they were speeding up the on-ramp to the highway. At least not he wouldn't be turning. And he could go faster. Which was a good thing, since the black sedan was right on their tail.

She hit the call back button and passed him the phone. He then proceeded to bark out a series of questions to whomever he was talking to. Gabriella couldn't follow everything that was being said. She only pick up little bits and pieces. Something about his cover being blown and having a possible lead.

When he disconnected Gabriella had managed to catch her breath, the whole thing was so surreal. "Well, you can just leave me at the next exit."

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"You have to stay with me for now," Troy said. Before Gabriella could even drop her jaw, he continued. "At least until I figure out what's going on? If you weren't in danger, I would have left you in the parking lot. But they saw you with me, and they disabled your car too. I can't take the chance that they'll use you to get to me."

"I can't believe you got me into this mess."

"It sure wasn't by choice," he muttered, glancing over at her in obvious frustration. "Do you think I want to be dragging you around with me?" Taking advantage of the fact that she was too furious to respond, he went on, "I hate it as much as you do, but you're safest with me."

Gabriella was about to let loose a long, impassioned tirade, but the scene in front of her distracted her. They had gotten stuck behind a big bus. The bus was in the pass lane trying to get by a semi-truck. Neither moving very fast and so they were caught with no way to pass either vehicle. The sedan was catching up and in a matter of seconds they'd be trapped.

"Troy."

"I see it, I see it," he mumbled as he stepped on the gas and edged between the bus and semi-truck, right in between them where there was clearly no lane to drive.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella screamed as she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable crunch as the Toyota was squished in between the two much larger vehicles.

It never came. The Toyota swerved over onto the shoulder. Both drivers were laying on their horns. Troy had somehow managed to move past them and had a clear road in front of him.

They didn't have time to do a similar maneuver, so after the Truck moved back into its lane, the bad guys were still stuck behind the bus.

Even though she was supposed to be a good girl and not take pleasure in dare devil stunts, Gabriella gave a little squeal of excitement. Troy smiled as he glanced over to meet her eyes. For a moment they were both grinning at each other until she remembered that she hated him.

She frowned as she remembered everything he'd done, everything he'd said.

Do you think I want to be dragging you around with me?

When she glanced back at him he was looking at the road, accelerating until he was going what over the speed limit.

"So why are they chasing us again?"

"They're chasing me. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And now you're stuck." Troy took the next exit without signaling. Someone honked. Gabriella looked back to see that the sedan was nowhere in sight.

"What the hell where you doing in there anyway?" Troy voice was harsh as he checked the rearview mirror.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Do you know how dangerous that was for you, what if I hadn't seen you? What if some random guy got to you before I did? Do think he'd be escorting you to a dinner and movie right now?"

Gabriella was quiet. She hated that he was right. She really hadn't known much about The Red Crystal other than it was on the bad side of town and had lots of nasty looking men. She never expected that just by walking in she'd become some kind of merchandise. Had Gabe known about The Red Crystal? What had he been doing there?

"Honestly, you haven't changed at all. Your still just the same little kid trying act like-"

"They aren't behind us now." Gabriella sighed. "Can't you just drop me off at a gas station or something?"

"No," he said shaking his head. "All they have to do is check the glove box of your mom's car and they'll be able to find you. If these guys are who I think they might be, they're dangerous. I'm not going to leave you to their mercy."

"God," Gabriella mumbled, not quite under her breath. "It's like a damned Jason Statham movie."

"Just stick with me for a little while until I figure this out. Do you despise me so much it's worth risking your life for?"

It wasn't as easy a decision as it sounded. Risking her life was not the good girl option, but neither was spending more time with Troy Bolton. The funny thing was she still trusted him, despite all the reasons she had not too. It was instinctive. He'd been like a part of her family all of her life, and she just didn't believe he'd be lying to her now or putting her danger by any choice of his own.

He'd always watched out for her. Back when she was just twelve years old, a boy in her class had followed her home, teasing her brutally about her glasses. She'd been close to tears and trying desperately not to show it when Troy had appeared out of nowhere.

Troy had always teased her a lot himself back then, but he'd never made her cry.

Troy planted himself between the boy and Gabriella. He did move. Didn't say a word. The other boy had tried to pick a fight, but Troy just stood there staring at him. When the boy got frustrated and swung, Troy just moved and laughed at him.

Eventually the boy just cussed them out and left.

And Troy walked her home. He hadn't been particularly cute at seventeen, certainly not as cute as he was now, but he'd still been her hero. For years he'd been her hero.

She kept the memory and resulting emotion to herself, however and remained quiet for the rest of the drive. She wondered where they were going. When they pulled into a cheap motel.

"What are we doing?"

"I have to get a few things out of my room."

"Won't they look for you here?"

"Yeah, but I need to take care of something. We'll just stay for two minutes." He put the car park. "If you see anyone coming, just drive away."

She was too surprised to say anything when he jumped out of the car and ran up the stairs. She looked at the steering wheel. It was still running. She could make a run for it?

Or she could just wait and be a good girl. She looked up in the direction he went. It was dark outside, and she could barely make out anything on the second balcony. What was he up too? She looked down in her lap at her phone. She should call her mother. Let know she was okay. Let know her care was at The Red Crystal. How was she going to explain that, let alone that the tires had been shot out and her left side mirror was now missing.

Gabriella let out a sigh as she lifted her phone and began scrolling through her contacts.

Just then the door open and Troy rushed back inside the car, "What the fuck are you doing?" he reached for her phone and tossed it outside the car into the darkness.

"What the fuck?" She shouted as she stared with her mouth open in disbelief.

"No phones, no cards, nothing that they can track us on."

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "You and your criminal activities. It's enough to make a girl scream."

Troy raised an eyebrow as he shut the door. "You planning on screaming anytime soon?"

Somehow, he made the comment sound both obnoxious and sexual. Only Troy could accomplish such a feat so easily. Gabriella felt herself blushing, which made her even madder. "When did you get so arrogant?"

"About the same time I spent 3 thousand dollars on you." Troy took his phone out of his pocket and powered it off. "You owe me for that FYI."

"I don't owe you anything, you just tossed my iPhone out into a dark parking lot."

Troy raised a brow as he put his phone away. "Give me your purse."

"No."

Troy let out a sigh as he reached over and took it from her. "I just need to see what we have to work with."

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she leaned back in the passenger's seat. Maybe this was all a dream. She squeezed her eyes shut. She was sure she would wake up at any moment. Real life didn't happen like this. Not when you were trying desperately to stay out of trouble. You weren't chased by bad guys with guns and people didn't randomly throw you iPhones out onto the concrete. Any minute now, she would wake up in her cozy bed. She wouldn't be at this shady motel; she wouldn't have skinned knees. And she wouldn't be anywhere near Troy. She would be in bed.

"What are you doing now?"

"Hush," she said harshly, not opening her eyes. "I'm waiting to wake up, this is all a dream. I'm really back at home in bed. You don't get to be in bed with me."

At that Troy chuckled. "Gabriella, are you all right? Did you hit your head back there?"

She sighed as she shifted in her seat and then looked down at her dress. The stupid dress. "I guess I'm not having a bad dream."

"No dream." He said handing her back her purse. "Why don't you carry cash?"

Gabriella frowned as she looked back at him and pulled her purse closer to her. "Because it's not safe."

"It's actually safer than you think, what happens when your stranded and can't get to a bank?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Well pardon me, this isn't exactly something I do every Friday night."

Troy rolled his eyes and put the car in reverse as he started to leave the lot.

"Where are we going now?"

"I'm going to just drive for a while. Make sure we're not followed, then we can a motel for the night. We can figure out what to do in the morning."

"I'm not sharing a motel room with you."

He slanted her an annoyed look with his vivid blue eyes. "Believe me, that's the last thing on my mind."

She felt so insulted. Again. Biting her lip she watch the world outside the window. She didn't say much of anything else until she was in the motel room. Just off an exit from the road, with nothing but a fast food bag full of food. She ate and took a shower. Then put her stupid dress back on, since she had nothing else to wear, and turned on the television. She tried to pretend none of this had really happened.

She looked at the phone in their room and thought about just calling the cops, but something stopped her from doing so.

Well not something, she knew what it was. It was some sort of annoying lingering loyalty to Troy.

Just then the bathroom door opened and he came out looking a little bit more relaxed for first time all night. "Did you eat?"

Gabriella shook her head. She couldn't determine if she was hungry or not. "What going on?"

Troy took a seat on the other bed across form her. "Why were you at The Red Crystal?"

"I told you. I was looking for Gabe."

When he didn't say anything immediately, she continued. "The police told my parents that he'd gotten involved in something there. That it wasn't good. They were trying to find him but had said that once they did they weren't sure what they could do for him."

"So what? You just went there thinking you'd find him mopping up floors?"

Gabriella frowned. "No. I went there because that was all we had. It was all we knew. What ever happened to him happened there. Someone had to know something?"

Troy lips pulled up in a smirk, "And little old you were gonna make them talk."

She felt a strange little kick in her heart at his tone. Like maybe he was impressed or in awe, but he just leaned back a little and shook his head.

"If I ever go missing do me a favor and stay home," he chuckled.

"Believe me if it were you who'd gone missing I'd be the first person to celebrate." Even after she said it, she knew she didn't mean it. if it were him, her and Gabe would be right where they are now. Because that's what family did for family. They cared.

Troy reached over for the bad of food, seemingly unaffected by her comment. "Anyway, I think your right about The Red Crystal, he was there last. But he's long gone by now." Troy took out a cheese burger and began to unwrap it. "I've been talking to your brother for a while about this case he was on. Something about human trafficking." Troy took a bite. "I didn't believe him, small town like ours. I doubted people around here even knew what that was."

"You brought me." Gabriella said, suddenly the reality of it sunk low enough inside her that she was mortified at the entire idea of just how close she'd come to being sold off to a stranger.

"My sentiment exactly."

He offered her a burger from the bag and she took it. She hadn't even been aware of her hand shaking until she had the burger in her hands.

"As much as I didn't believe it, I kept it in mind. Especially when I got this," he reached into his pocket and pull out a thumb drive.

She frowned as she looked at the thumb drive. "What's that."

"A paper trail," Troy said tucking back into his pocket. "Your brother stumbled on to something he shouldn't have and the moment he knew it he sent me everything he could. Next thing I know he's missing."

Gabriella's eyes widen, "What did find." She was shocked, and her voice showed it.

Troy shook his head. "Dirty cops," he said it with disgust. "They have their hands in a part of everything you can think of. If anyone gets to close they usually end up disappearing. The thing is I don't think your brothers dead. Based on a lot of the vibes, I'm thinking they just might pin it on him instead."

"How? Gabe's never done anything wrong."

Troy made a face, "Your brother's no angel."

Gabriella shook her head. "I don't believe you."

Troy finished his burger and crumbled everything up. "Doesn't matter what you believe. What matter's now is that I turn this thumb drive into my captain."

"Well, good luck with that," she said sweetly. "I'll just be going home."

"Afraid not." He said leaning back onto his bed. "You're coming with me."

Gabriella let out a grunt. "This is ridiculous. Why do I have to come with you?"

"They know who you are. I have a few connections. I made a few calls while you were in the shower and they definitely know who you are. They even know what you were up too night. I made the mistake of underestimating this small town, but I'm discovering that the cops here are more ruthless than people realize. This is huge for them, and this thumb drive is gonna put a lot of people away. Until I can fix things, you're definitely in danger."

Her jaw dropped. Her shoulders dropped. Her heart dropped. "And how exactly are you gonna fix things."

"Texas. My guy has a place up there. We gotta to meet up with him."

"Texas?!"

"Relax it's just a 13 hour drive, you'll be back to life as normal by Monday."

"But-"

"Look this thumb might be the only way we can save Gabe's ass. That's gotta be why he sent it to me. But I can't let you go home and get kidnapped or worse so they can use you for leverage over me."

"But why would they think I'd be leverage. Why can't I just hide somewhere until it's all over."

"Not picking between you and Gabe, not when there's an option to keep you both safe. Bad cops are bad news. A fake name isn't going to keep you safe for very long and I can't trust anyone else to watch over you."

Gabriella gave up and let out a huge sigh. She still trusted him. Even despised him, he felt familiar, like family. Well sort of like family.

"With any luck, in two days this whole thing will be over and just a bad memory, then we'll never have to see each other again."

His tone became a little bitter at the end, but Gabriella ignored it and concentrated on the essentials. Two days, he said. Surely her nice, tidy, good girl life wouldn't be blown out the water in two days.

"So if we can't use our phones, or our cards, how are we going to afford a two-day drive? I mean I pretty sure we can use the Toyota anymore. It has to be reported stolen already."

"Yeah," he shifted a little. "Well, I have two thousand in cash, and tomorrow I'll figure out another car. Right now you should get some sleep."

Gabriella's mouth dropped open. "You just carry two thousand dollars around? It's like you belong in a James Bond movie."

"I had five thousand," he said slanting her a look. "Still would if someone would have just got up and left with me when we had the chance."

She opened her mouth then shut it.

"Besides, I thought this was Jason Statham movie?"

Gabriella lips pulled into a tight line as she looked over at him lying in bed with his eyes closed. She might trust him, but her resentment was still firmly in place.