Joe's eyes wouldn't leave Liette's face. He was attempting to study her but for the first time he had no idea what was going through her mind. What had caused the sudden change? She had been so determined to work against him and now they were driving down the interstate as if nothing had happened. Liette even had the radio on, music blaring as she sped down the road. Joe watched her, confused and enthralled by all that must be going on in her head. His followers thought that he was a genius but Joe knew that the real brilliant mind belonged to Liette.

Then suddenly her one hand left the wheel and took his.

Joe swallowed hard, he could hear his beating heart now. It was the biggest adrenaline rush to have her touch him. She was the one to reach out as opposed to the other way. Her delicate fingers squeezed around his hand and he felt his heart skip a beat. A love that had not been forgotten coursed through his veins in that instant. He had her with him; no bars, no restraints. Just the two of them.

The host on the radio announced a new song and then the introduction stuck a chord in Liette's heart. She took the tune in and let it bring a small smile to her face. This same smile was brought to Joe's attention as Liette cast her gaze over to him. His smile doubled as he took in her expression. There was no more hatred or fear in her eyes and that was revolutionizing Joe's world. The book would be so much greater now. What a story. In this one the classic villain would get a romance. Ryan could have Claire. Joe had many plans to see that entire relationship tortured and tried but now he had his own to focus on.

She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart,

While I'm drinking jack all alone in my local bar,

And we don't know how,

How we got into this mad situation,

Only doing things out of frustration

It was complicated, and messy. Liette's was struggling with her decision. This was what they meant when they talked about cognitive dissonance in her level one hundred psychology course back in school. Cognitive Dissonance was the feeling that you get all the time when faced with contradictory options and issues. In this case she knew what she was doing would get Robert Finn out of the picture but it would also take her out of the FBI. It meant she would get closer to Joe and the Cult but further away from her team. She had had to choose one. She told herself that the FBI were getting nowhere with Joe inside so perhaps with with him here she'd get further. She would make progress. That was what mattered. Joe cared for her and she could use that. It was in everybody's best interest even if they didn't realize it now.

"I need to thank you...but I just can't find the right words."

But we're gonna start by

Drinking old cheap bottles of wine,

Sit talking up all night,

Saying things we haven't for a while

Liette continued to drive but she gave slight glances over to him every little while. They had been in the car for over an hour now. The radio had continued to broadcast an alert for her and Joe but the only details were their physical appearances. They were calling it an abduction. That meant that Robert Finn was either dead or he had been smart and fed them the story that Liette had given him. Either way it meant that Parker would be freaking out and that the team would now have another kidnapped individual to search for. Liette knew Joe would be a priority but that wouldn't halt the search for Joey Matthews.

"You should change," Liette said, pulling the car into a service station. The store was closed but the bathrooms were open. Liette put the car in park and then reached into the back to grabbed the clothes she had bought and stashed in the car before she had sent Finn to drive it out to the accident site.

Joe got out of the car slowly, Liette was at his door before he was fully standing. Her hands thrust the clothing forward to him. He took it from her and smiled a sweet thank you to her. Carefully he leaned forward, slowly testing the waters. Liette shied away, turning her face so his lips touched her cheek instead of her own lips. That was enough for Joe for now. It could progress slowly. He could not hate her for not jumping into his arms. What she had done for him up to this moment was more than enough. It was definitely more than he had ever expected from her. He had had some ideas about how he was going to get out of prison but none of them had involved Liette. He was happy that she had decided to go off book.

While Joe changed Liette waited outside, taking in the chill spring air. It was now about ten o'clock at night. She had continued to drive west. She didn't know exactly where they were going yet but eventually she figured Joe would ask to go see someone. That would lead them to Paul, Jacob and Emma or maybe Maggie. Liette didn't care; she just wanted to see progress.

But then he came out changed and freshened up.

Suddenly helping Joe escape wasn't the only issue of cognitive dissonance that she had to deal with. This time it was Liette's heart that skipped a beat. She hadn't been thinking when she bought him those black dress pants and the pristine white dress shirt. He looked absolutely wonderful. It was much easier to hate him when he was in the orange jumpsuit with cuffs on his wrists but now he looked absolutely human. He looked like her Joe. He looked like the Joe she had spent time with every week; not the serial killer he had become.

We just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time

"Thank you for this." Joe said, straightening his shirt as he walked out to Liette. The two of them headed back towards the car, knowing that they couldn't linger long. They had to get on the road. There would be a country worth of law enforcement after them and that meant they needed somewhere to stay low. Everyone knew who Joe was and soon enough they would all recognize Liette's face as well. This wasn't going to easy but they would have to make it work.

And she'd be leaving breadcrumbs all the way.

"After what you said...I had to." she said.

"I meant it...it was all for you."

"No, not that." her face hardened slightly. She didn't want Joe thinking that his killings had somehow wooed her into falling back in love with him. She wouldn't stoop that low. In no way would she become one of them when it came to killing people as art. She wasn't capable of that.

She was capable of summoning up her old feelings. She could be honest about it all. She wasn't even really lying to Joe. Her heart did still feel for him and therefore she could use their past to stay connected to him. She distanced herself from the actual case and brought her mind back to their times together and the feelings between them.

"You said that you had loved me."

"I do love you."