Page 64 of Jessica, Not Her Real Name

“Four?”

“I’m not leaving Tequila behind.”

She nodded. He got up and started pacing the small space. She could feel the nervous energy radiating off him. It was radiating off her, too.

“Go back home, pack everything you need. But not too much. We don’t got a lot of trunk space.”

She pushed the sheets away. “We’ll need more money. We’re going to have to start again, right? All of us, from scratch.” She looked up at him. “I have my credit cards, money in my accounts.”

He shook his head. “You won’t be able to use any of that when we get to where we’re going. They’ll be the first things the feds will try to trace.”

The feds. The word struck her like cold water. Of course she’d known, somewhere in the back of her mind, that what they were doing was illegal. Dangerous. But hearing it out loud made it real. This wasn’t just sneaking off into the night. It was going on the run. From the government.

Her breath caught for a second. But then she looked at Daniel pacing like a caged animal, carrying too much weigh on his shoulders for someone so young, and she realized that he’d been living with this fear for most of his life.

At least now, he wouldn’t have to do it alone.

“What are you going to tell your family?” he asked.

She swallowed a dry lump. “Nothing.”

He closed his mouth, then ran a hand over his head. “You’re not gonna tell them you’re leaving?”

She pressed her hand to her forehead and looked up at him. “It’ll be safer if I don’t. For everyone.”

He didn’t seem happy with her answer, even though she could tell he knew it was probably the truth. She added softly, “Maybe I’ll send them a postcard from Texas. When we’re settled and everyone’s calmed down.”

Daniel shook his head immediately. “No postcards. Too easy to trace.”

Her throat tightened, but she nodded. Even that small comfort was too dangerous.

He heaved a sigh. “From here on out, baby, it’s us against the world. No credit cards. No contacting anyone. I’ll swap out the ‘Cuda’s plates on the way. When we get closer to Texas, I’ll offload it somewhere out of state. Too hot to sell nearby.”

Her head snapped up. “What? No.”

“She’s worth at least forty grand. We might need that in case I can’t find work right away.”

“But she’s your ride or die.”

He looked down at her, his moss-colored eyes bright even in the semi-darkness. “Baby, you’re my ride or die.”

A tremor of emotion moved through her. It was love, a great quake of it, enough to shake her to her bones. She’d go with him anywhere, live however they had to, so long as she was with him.

She said, “I have some jewelry we could sell. Some diamond earrings, a Cartier watch. And a Piaget ring. Eighteen karat gold and diamond. Must be worth a bit.”

“I’ll replace it,” he blurted.

She made a face, annoyed that he even had to think about that. “No, Daniel. God, I don’t even wear it.”

But he’d already turned around and opened his wardrobe. He began searching the upper shelf, shoving things aside and swearing in Spanish.

When he found what he was looking for, he turned back around and sat next to her on the bed.

“You’ll wear this though, right? If I asked you to?”

She looked down at what he was holding. It was a gold ring. In the center was a blood red ruby, surrounded by tiny chips of diamonds. Not a Piaget, but easily as beautiful.

“Daniel,” she breathed, suddenly feeling lightheaded. “What exactly are you asking me?”