"This is ridiculous! Just sleep in the bed!" Gemma hissed. "We shared the bed last night."
"We shared more than just the bed last night." Warrick groaned, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"I jacked you off, big deal!"
"It was a big deal to me." Warrick gritted out between clenched teeth.
"Oh." Gemma whispered. "Now you want sex, right?" We can do that….If you need it…..I don't mind."
"Fuck," Warrick moaned, "It doesn't work that way."
"Of course it does." Gemma shrugged.
"Sweetie…..I don't just want sex. I want things I have no right to want." Warrick tried to find the right words and knew he was saying it all wrong. "You've had a bad experience with sex, and being with me wouldn't be much of an improvement. This situation has forced us together and those relationships never work."
"So, what do we do now?"
"We pretend that nothing happened. We keep playing the happy couple until this is over. When it's over, we go back to our real lives. Pretend that nothing ever happened."
"Is that really how you want it?"
"Yeah." Warrick rasped."
"Okay." Gemma agreed in a tiny, little-girl voice. She turned off the lamp, pitching them into darkness, each to sulk in their own misery. Gemma held out until she heard Warrick snoring before she let the tears loose. Her chest hurt as her heart broke. She'd never been in love before, but she believed she'd fallen in love with Warrick. She'd offered herself to him, and he'd turned her down. He'd all but said that he never wanted to see her again.
The ringing phone drew Gemma's attention. Warrick had taken Jessica down to play in the creek, leaving her in her own miserable company. Things had been strained the last couple of days. She was determined to get over him, but every time he laughed or looked at her, her resolve melted away. She wondered if Warrick was feeling as miserable and distracted as she was. He must be, he never left his phone behind. Nervous, she picked it up and read the Caller I.d. "Poncho?" She read, wondering if that was the guy Warrick had talked with the day at the creek. Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Hello?"
There was an eerie silence, immediately followed by a clearing of a throat. "Excuse me?" The man on the line drawled. Gemma remember Warrick telling her about his friend Nick, who was from Texas.
"Are you Nick?"
"Yeah, You're Gil's girl?"
"Uh…..I guess I am." Gemma chuckled.
"And where is Wa-……"Nick halted, "The really tall guy."
"Toby is out with Jesse." Gemma answered. "They went out to play in the creek."
"Whoa! Toby? Hard to imagine……Toby…..playing in the creek."
"He's great with Jess."
"Yeah, he's got a way with kids." Nick's demeanor seemed to changed instantly, as his voice grew deeper. "Look, I'm calling to tell you to get the hell out of there. We've got word that they've found you and are coming for you. Get out of there as quick as you can."
"How! How did they find us?" Gemma whimpered. Her heartbeat sped up immediately.
"Let's not get into that. Get out of there immediately. Come back to Vegas, we can't protect you unless you get here!"
Gemma hung up and began throwing things into their bags. She carried the bags down to the truck before hurrying to find Warrick. She found the two of them playing at the same spot they'd gone before. She heard Warrick's laughter before she saw them, and it sent an unexplained shiver through her. Coming up the path, she found them splashing in the water.
Warrick had just scooped Jess out of the water, swinging her over his head when he noticed her. He immediately brought Jess down into his arms and grew serious. Gemma could see the tension coiling in him as he took in her appearance.
She held up the phone. "We have to leave."
"What?" Warrick came towards her, studying her face.
"Your friend Nick called. He said to get out of here, go back to Vegas. We're in danger here. They've found us. We don't have time. They're coming for us."
"Damn!" Warrick spat
"Dam!" Jessica agreed.
"Oh, no. Sweetie, don't say that word." Warrick corrected her. "That's not a nice word. You're too cute to say ugly words."
Warrick went to grab their things but shook his head. "We leave everything behind, no sense wasting time."
"I've already put it in the truck." Gemma informed him as he grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the B&B. Without a word to anyone, they jumped into the truck and sped away. Gemma stayed quiet, knowing that Warrick was running things over in his mind. The look of worry on his face frightened her. He headed south, aiming for the Interstate, trying to figure out their next move. They'd just gotten onto 191 when his phone rang.
"Yeah?" Warrick barked into the track phone. "Nick, how close are they? Shit!" He groaned. "Yeah, I'm heading there. Montana. If we drive straight through….14.….15 hours. Nick, do we have any chance? Are the Feds ready to nab them? At least hold them until we can get away again?"
Warrick grew quiet, listening intently to whatever Nick was saying. He glanced at Gemma, nervously. "No, I won't allow them to be used as bait. Oh, Shit, hang on." Glancing in the mirror, he spotted a dark car coming up fast. He dropped the phone onto the seat, devoting both hands to the wheel as he swerved from the fast lane to the off ramp. The dark car did the same, causing curse words to spew out of Warrick's mouth. Gemma looked over her shoulder, seeing the Mercedes plowing towards them.
"They've found us!" Warrick yelled, flying down one street after another, trying to lose their tail. Gemma braced herself against the dashboard as they swung one way to the other. Finally the overheating truck came to a stop inside an underground parking lot. "I know you're against this, but we need to get out of here fast." Yanking Jessica out of the cab, he started heading to the corner of the lot, where he assumed there would be stairs. Gemma picked up the forgotten track phone and the child seat before hurrying to catch up with him.
"We're going to steal a car?"
"Yeah." Warrick answered tersely. "First we'll get to the street level. I want you to stay back until I get us a car."
"You'll get in trouble." Gemma worried. Warrick took her hand, gave it a squeeze and drug her up the stairs. At the ground level, he found a dark secluded corner for Gemma to wait. "I'd rather be in jail then for us to be dead." He told her bluntly. "If they catch up to us, that's what's going to happen."
"Be careful Warrick!" Gemma clutched his hand and wouldn't release it as he scanned the surrounding cars, looking for one that he could hotwire. Seeing the one he wanted, he pulled Gemma too him in a hug.
"I'll be right back. Stay here, take care of Jess." He murmured, brushing his lips across her forehead. When he pulled away, she released him reluctantly.
It wasn't long before Warrick had the car idling before her. "Get in." He ordered. Gemma buckled Jessica into the back seat and threw herself into the passenger seat.
"Damn!" Warrick slammed his hand against the steering wheel as they hit the street. "I left my phone in the truck!"
"I got it." Gemma dug it out of her pocket.
"You're a lifesaver!" Warrick took the phone, punching the number to dial up Nick.
"Warrick? You okay bro?" Nick questioned at the first ring.
"Yeah, we were being followed. It was quite a chase, but we lost them. I stole a car, can you see if you can get it cleared? The last thing I need it to be chased by the police too."
"Yeah, I'll get Brass on it."
"Brass?" Warrick questioned.
"Everyone's in on it now. We're just waiting for you to get here." Nick informed him. "You get back to us, your family is waiting and ready to help you."
"Thanks man." Warrick smiled, suddenly missing his 'family'. He gave Nick the plate number of the car he'd just stolen, hearing Nick repeat it to someone.
"Tell us where you're at? Where ya heading?" Nick insisted.
"Just got back on 191, heading towards….Gemma what town did that sign back there say?" Warrick looked to Gemma who sat up, as if just waking from a daze.
"Bozeman." She told him.
"Thanks Babe." Warrick winked at her, before repeating the name to Nick. Nick relayed the information again, Warrick thought he heard Catherine's voice saying something back.
"Rick, you're still Twelve hours out, from Bozeman. We can't help you until you're in Nevada. I need you to aim for Nevada, not just Vegas." Warrick heard Sara speaking to Nick in the background. "You're 6 hours from the Nevada border. Gris has a contact in the local law enforcement in Jackpot. It's a border town. Gris and Greg are on their way there. You aim for Jackpot, okay Bro?"
"Yeah," Turning to Gemma he asked, "You happen to grab the maps out of the truck?" Gemma shook her head, causing Warrick to sigh. "Can you give me the general direction bro? We're flying blind here."
"Warrick? This is Sara." The phone was handed over and Warrick heard the familiar raspy voice with relief. "From Bozeman, stay on 191 until 20W."
"20 W, got that."
"It'll merge into I-15, then I-86-"
"Okay, whoa, Sara. I'll call you back when I get that far. That's already too much for right now. I'm kinda frazzled right now." Warrick declared.
"It's good to hear your voice, Warrick." Sara admitted. "You stay safe, okay?"
"I'm trying." Warrick clicked off the phone, turning his attention to the woman beside him. "They want us to head to Jackpot, Nevada."
"I've never heard of it." Gemma chewed on her bottom lip, nervously.
"It's a little border town, Gris ran a case there a few years back. He stayed there a couple of days. He knows some people there. He's going to meet us there."
"Do you think we'll make it?" Gemma questioned, her eyes wide. Warrick realized she no longer had the contacts in. Her eyes were back to being blue, the way he liked them.
"I'll do everything I can to make sure we do." He vowed. "You better get some rest. This is going to be a long day."
"What about you? You want me to drive some?"
"No, I think I'll do the driving this time around." Warrick decided. "We may need to do some quick evading again."