SANDOR

"I'll take a shower first!" Her voice traveled through the door.

Sandor placed his pillow over his head and attempted to catch some extra sleep as he heard the shower sound a short while later. He had booked a two bedroom suite for him and the little bird to sleep in for the night before resuming the journey to her brother's.

It would have been simpler to buy her another ticket for the train and see her safely back on the Amtrak, but the thought of her traveling cross country on her own rubbed him the wrong way. Sure, kids traveled on their own all the time, but they weren't her.

He dozed off again, startling awake when he heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Go and shower!" she ordered him.

Sandor glanced at the time, surprised that twenty minutes had already flown by. He grabbed a towel, a change of clothes, plus a few others items, before heading to the bathroom.

"We're leaving as soon as I'm done!" he alerted her. "Make sure that your luggage is waiting by the door. We will stop for breakfast on the way."

He hopped into the shower, quickly scrubbing and rinsing himself, aiming to get back on the road as soon as possible. His limits were being tested sharing a hotel suite with the little bird even though they had their own bedrooms.

His shower complete, Sandor dried himself and hurriedly dressed before stepping out of the bathroom. "Sansa?" He called, "let's go!" He waited for a reply and when he received none, he stalked through the suite, his mood growing darker as empty rooms greeted him. Her luggage was by the front door so he knew she hadn't gone off on her own to try to find her brother.

Sandor exited the suite, still allowing her the benefit of the doubt as he went down to the front desk and inquired if they had seen a young girl with auburn hair leave the premises. To his fury, they confirmed that indeed they had.

Sandor stormed back up to the suite, his blood boiling. He grabbed up her luggage and his own before slamming out the suite and locking the door. He then returned to the front desk to check out before making his way to his truck. He threw the luggage into the vehicle before entering. The empty seat on the passenger side glared up at him as he yanked on his seat belt and cursed the little bird to hell, wondering if it wouldn't be easier to just leave the girl to her fate and drive off.

Still in a foul mood, he roamed around in his truck, his eyes honing in on the pedestrians walking about, trying to see if he would catch a glimpse of the little bird's captivating red hair.

The longer he drove around without spotting her, the darker his mood grew. He temporarily went back to the hotel to check if she'd returned but the front desk told him that there hadn't been any sight of her since she'd left. Furious, Sandor stormed back to his truck, slamming down on the gas, the roar in his ears competing with the throbbing that had kicked off in his head.

"I will wring her pretty little neck," he swore, then swore again when he heard a siren pick up behind him. He stopped the truck, the pain in his head magnifying as two officers stepped out of their car and headed towards his vehicle.

"Mind stepping out of your truck?" One of the agents ordered.

"Can I know why?" Sandor returned.

"We're looking for a missing kid that you have been previously associated with. This license plate was provided to us. If the girl is not with you, then you're free to go."

"She's not," Sandor replied, thanking the heavens for that small miracle.

"It shouldn't be a problem if we search your truck then," one of the officers stated.

Sandor was fuming as he stepped out and allowed the officers to search his truck. The irony made him want to laugh and he would have if he wasn't wary of further raising the agents' suspicions. The little bird's stubbornness had saved his ass. Maybe now he wouldn't be so inclined to wring her pretty little neck when he found her.

The first thing that Sandor did once the two police officers drove off was to find a parking garage to store his truck for a few weeks. Once he dropped the little bird at her brother's place, he would return for his truck. Next he found a place where he could borrow a new truck with minimum information.

When he finally spotted the little bird as he headed back to the hotel, he pressed down on the horn so angrily that several people jumped, before glaring incensed in his direction. A few flipped him off.

Sandor barely held back his rage as he watched her climb cautiously into the rented vehicle.

"What happened to your truck?" she asked, before noting his expression and shutting her mouth.

"You're just a stupid little bird aren't you?!" his anger exploded out of him. "Thinking that it's okay to flutter off when someone is trying to keep you safe!" She didn't reply and her silence infuriated him more. "I have a good mind to drop you off at the nearest police station. You're proving to be more trouble than you're worth!"

She drew her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them.

"Your rich uncle is having my license plate tracked. I even had to ditch my truck because of you! So the least that you can do is stop arguing with me every few seconds and STOP RUNNING OFF!"

The sound of her whimper almost made him feel guilty. Almost.