Chapter 39

Luke was sipping his coffee next to me on the couch. Whenever he caught my eyes, it was hard to keep a straight face. You couldn't blame me with the building excitement in my system. Any time now, Jackson was going wake up and appear from around the hallway. Don't even ask how we were awake before him because I had no clue.

"How great would it be if he screams?" I asked under my breath. The last person we needed to know about this was Bill. He was sitting in the chair adjacent to the couch, sipping at his own cup and doing a crossword.

Despite how nervous Luke was of Jackson's reaction at the present we left him, he was excited. "That would be the best possible outcome... as long as I don't die," he whispered with a scoff.

Jackson didn't scream. Instead a few minutes later, his heavy footsteps rang definite. His tense and ridged body stiffly marched around the corner in view. The man's eyes were wide in fury, instantly shooting disgusted glares between me and Luke. This was a new level of frustration. I couldn't do it.

The moment I took him in, I fought the instinctual need to crack up, but it was too hard. Failing to hide the smiles and begging laughter wanting to escape, I let it out. Unlike Luke who kept a straight face, my snickering revealed me. It drew Jackson's eyes to single me out, more anger growing through him.

Once he saw Bill was in the room too, who's eyes turned to me in confusion at what I was laughing at, Jackson instantly attempted to tone down his demeanor. It wasn't enough when Bill noticed him. "Someone's not a morning person," he said in amusement to where Jackson's eyes locked on the ground.

"You could say that," Jackson mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked. Dipping eyebrows moving between me and Jackson, he successfully pulled off confusion.

Jackson shot me a glare. "Nothing," he muttered. Then he glanced between Luke and Bill. "Where's Carter? We were going to town and I want to go right now," he said. It triggered another shameful smirk out of me. This was awesome; he was so pissed and refused to show the reason around his friend. So he was ready to get away for a little bit.

Fetching Carter, they wrote down Melinda's instructions to a convenient store and headed out. By the time they returned, Jackson was back to his normal self and ready to get to work. He knew we had to tackle a lot today and there was no room to get worked up over a dildo. The supplies they returned with proved it too. Carter bought his brown hair dye and they also realized contact lenses would help to. Three brothers and three different eye colors? Not as believable as it could be.

However, the most important objective of the day was something none of us looked forward to thanks to yesterday's difficulty with each other. At least we were progressing more today.

We were all bunched around Bill's computer in his messy office. Cords, stacks of documents, and computer parts laid around the bland square office. Sure enough, there was no room for the big sex toy box.

Luke was sitting in the desk chair in the middle of our huddled figures around the desk and computer. Our eyes pinned on the screen, he let out a sigh of relief. "It's actually the best we found so far." He minimized away from the real estate sites we were on and back to the digital map of the area we pulled up.

"It's two and a half hours away from where we will be looking," Jackson snapped.

Luke swung his head up to the left where Jackson was hunched close to the screen. "The further we are, the safer. Sorry we'll lose some gas money," he snapped back.

A big issue we faced this whole time was not knowing where in Washington we should settle. Carter explained that he knew the general area where Reid's main headquarters was. However, this 'general area' spanned many miles between Lake Macklen and a city called Quincy. It was a lot of land to cover in what would be mostly wilderness. That didn't mean any of us were keen on settling near where we would be looking. We agreed that we would find places to rent no closer than an hour away from that area.

The best option left us renting a house and a trailer two and half hours south from where we would be searching. It was just east of the Cascadia Range in a small town called Virron. Not a convenient drive, but as Luke said, safer. From all the perks that came with it, I was on board.

"Come on, the trailer and the house are fully furnished. I think it's the perfect choice," I said, looking over the map of the area. "Plus, we could all go fishing like the big happy family we are." The trailer park where Jackson and Carter would stay in were a few doors down from the house we would be renting. Behind both the house and the trailer park was a small river and canal. And the best part: there were a few small restaurants in walking range.

After a few more hours of carefully considering everything, we decided to go forward with the places we found. The actual process of renting though... that would be a whole other obstacle.

The other day, we decided (after much conflict) what needed to be done and how to go about renting what would be our temporary homes. It included receiving some help from back home in Ohio. One of the individuals helping was someone I wouldn't expect to be reliable though.

I was sitting on the third step of the front porch. Despite the lowering sun trying to blind me, I watched Bill and Jackson a few yards away in the make-shift parking area. They were consumed in their own girly conversation while they waited for Luke's confirmation.

When it came to this plan, I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I suppose this was better than Francis directly doing what we needed. Then again, I would heavily prefer none of Luke's family to get involved in any way.

After several minutes of waiting, Luke walked into view from around the side of the house and headed towards Bill and Jackson. He shot me a reassuring smile before his eyes lined back up in the direction his feet were moving. Hearing the gravel pop under Luke's shoes, the men noticed him and quickly shut up.

"Ramper confirmed that Francis gave him the money," Luke said just before he reached them. He tucked the phone he used to call Ramper into his nylon sweatpants. "I explained it was under Herman Pelton, gave him all the information, the bank name, which one, the reason, their relation...."

My eyes were angled to the left where the men stood just a few yards away. I was close enough to hear the firmness in Bill's voice. It was the closest I think he could come to sounding nervous. "Did you make him write down this information? He will have forms to fill out – extensive ones. Just as many as us probably. This is a lot of money being wired."

Once Luke nodded in response, Jackson picked up his duffle bag and tossed it in the back of Bill's greying blue pick-up truck. It was an unnerving reminder of how long the two of them would be gone for. Then again, they had a lot to accomplish.

Departing with dust kicking up behind Bill's truck, the vehicle faded away in the brown haze a few moments later. Eyes not leaving the dirty cloud, I picked up the can of coke from the step below me and took a sip. Four to five days was a long ass time. A lot of time for something to go wrong.

Luke came to sit beside me on the step. Breaking away from the settling dirt, I caught his sweet green eyes. It was accompanied by a reassuring smile. At least I had that as a distraction.

"I'm not worried," he said.

"I don't believe you." I chuckled.

He denied it again, claiming there was no reason to be concerned. Mainly because this wasn't Bill's first rodeo. Which was a good point because Bill did do this several times with other people he's helped.

"We just don't need that getting back to Francis," I said. Clasping my chilled hands together from where I was holding the cold can of pop a moment ago, I gave him a raised brow. "You're not worried about that?"

Luke shook his head. "Trust me, Francis was smart about getting my money to Ramper. Remember, it's going from to one of Jackson's IDs. My family looks clean."

In order to pay for renting out a trailer and a house with other expenses, Francis managed to sneak Ramper a chunk of money. Ramper's job was to have it wired to his 'friend' Herman Pelton. That name was from one of Jackson's IDs he had on hand. Jackson's used established different personas already. Like for buying his truck and each motel we stayed in.

Bill gave 'Herman' an account at a bank an hour away from here. That was their first destination. They would fill out the proper information in order to receive the money Ramper is sending.

After they have the money... they are to make the seven hour drive to Washington. No longer with Jackson being 'Herman' but rather Fred Doyle. That alone made the shit bubble in my bowels. He was going to make a presence in our new home town under his new identity and buy our property.

"The only thing I'm worried about is Jackson running off with all my money and never returning," Luke joked.

"That is something to worry about," I teased, feeling slightly better about the situation. "It's also time to start worrying about how we are going to pass the time. Four days here with Carter and Melinda..." I sighed. Maybe we could find a field rat and make friends with it.

"I know something we could do," he said, a challenging glint in his eyes. "Since... someone got out of explaining their backstory to me last night. Which was bullshit."

Yes, it was bullshit, especially because he was the one who came up with the idea of sharing our backgrounds. It was still his fault though that I was unable to share with him the history I created. "You're the one that urged us to go to bed."

"It was close to five in the morning! Plus, you had a hard time keeping your head up by the time I was finished telling you about mine," he defended with wide eyes.

I waved his remarks off with a dismissive hand. "Bitch, did I stop you from dumping cold water on me? Did I stop you from pushing me off the bed? Did I stop you from keeping me awake in any way?"

Chuckling under his breath, he dipped his head. "I didn't know I was supposed to keep you awake regardless of cruel measures."

"Now you know. Fucking man up next time," I teased.

The surprise on his face made it difficult to keep a blank face. "Man up?" he asked, jaw slack as he searched my eyes. His parted lips wanted to tilt up into a smile. "Sorry for being such a fucking gentlemen and letting you sleep. Next time I'll be an asshole and dump ice on you," he said, eyebrows raised. Then, he quickly stood up and swiped my can of coke. He downed the rest of it.

"What the hell?"

"I'm manning up," he said in an overly deep voice. "Now get up. We're going for a walk and you're telling me what your tired ass couldn't last night."

Applauding him, I stood up and moved to the base of the porch where he was now smirking. "Fine then," I mumbled, giving him attitude that only made his smile grow.

By the time we were actually walking through the tall grassy fields, leaving the house behind us, stars appeared with the arrival of a darkening sky. There was still enough light to illuminate the gorgeous jade specs in Luke's eyes. It made it impossible not to constantly glance up to him as we walked side by side towards the mountainous land in the distance.

"What made you pick those jobs?" Luke asked.

I just began to dive into my backstory and what my parents did for a living. "Well my mother was very smothering. She always needed to protect me, to the point where it was over the top. The woman would need to know where I was, when, with who.... She always needed to be in my business and it was a mess when I tried living my own life. So if she worked at a daycare center, it would explain why she had those tendencies."

"And your dad?"

"I wanted him to be the kind of guy who was entirely dedicated to proving for his family. He was like my mother, constantly concerned about me. Always up my ass like her, but his priority was making money and providing. A factory job was the first thing I thought of."

He didn't say anything to that for a long moment. It allowed the increasing buzz of crickets to reach our ears along with the occasional hoot from an owl. It was soothing beyond belief. Even the crunching long grass under our feet made me temporarily shut my eyes and get carried away in the sounds.

"What else?" he asked.

My eyelids rose and I looked up to him and the limitless field we continued in. "Well, they didn't slow down with needing to be in my business, needing to always make sure I was safe, doing the right thing. It eventually led me to move out when I was 18 because I couldn't handle it," I smiled. "I lived in an apartment with a roommate for a few years before I moved in with you. That's another thing. I met you only months after I moved out of my parent's place. When I introduced you to my parents, they approved, thought highly of you. But they wouldn't stop asking about you, paranoid about me having my first boyfriend."

"That's very interesting," he said after a long second.

"What's interesting? That you were my first dick?"

He chuckled, eyes catching mine. "Well... that's not too surprising. I mean obviously you were waiting for mister perfect," he said, squaring his shoulders and slicking his hair back dramatically.

"Maybe I just gave up and settled," I suggested.

"Doubtful." Smiling, he shook his head. "No, what I meant was they sound like interesting parents," he said, watching me.

I nodded, smiling. "They're perfect."

I went on to explain all the other specifics of my life. The memories, the details of my school life, my past jobs, hobbies, funny moments, everything in between. He listened and soaked it all in. It was nice... getting lost in the fake world I created. There were some similarities between Albany and Peggy I pointed out. Like my love of nature.

"Kyle might have to take Peggy on more walks like this," I scoffed. My head tilted up and took in the cluttered clusters of stars spread across the now black sky. "Washington is supposed to be beautiful, right?"

"Very," he said. Glancing over to him, his eyes were already on me. He came to a stop. "It's very beautiful, but it rarely will have this," he said, gesturing to the sky.

"I think it'll have the sky," I said, stopping too and waiting for him to elaborate.

"Clear skies," he clarified, tilting back to stare up at the stars. I did the same. "Washington is gorgeous. It has beautiful sights, forests, mountains... but it's often cloudy and rainy."

I was gay for nature. Seeing some of those things would be badass. These stars though... they will be missed. Even in Ohio and Connecticut, the stars were never this visible. That's why I took pleasure in them the other night. And that's why I was gazing at them now.

We stared up at them for several moments, my eyes searching the sky. Apparently, I got swallowed too far into the sight though. It made me dizzy and I lost my balance, falling back on my ass.

"Oh man," I snorted, readjusting my eyes. Sitting up steadily and slowly, surrounded in the long stands, I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm stupid."

Luke stared down to me on the ground, laughing too. "Or you just lost your balance?"

I ran my hands across the grass, intrigued by how nice and silky the strands felt. It was compelling. Shrugging, I leaned back the rest of the way until my back folded down more blades. Resting fully against the ground, it was worth the feeling – and gave me a better view of the sky. "Or I did it on purpose," I said, catching his amused eyes. "This feels nice. You need to lay down. The sky looks so much bigger."

"I'm good just standing," he said, turning to look back up at the stars. "Remember, I'm a manly man. You can't tell me what to do."

"Fine, I'll trip you." With that, I swiped my leg towards his ankles. Obviously, he didn't fall, even as I continuously knocked my feet and legs against his.

He defeated me by taking a step out of range, chuckling at my sad attempt. "If I lay down, will you not kick me?"

"Guess you will find out," I said.

He chuckled and flopped down to the ground next to me, laying back and folding his arms behind his head. Exhaling deeply, his body relaxed back against the grass. As much as I didn't need to think about his attractiveness, I couldn't look away. What a shame.

There were no lines of worry on his face, just smoothness. His bright emeralds searched the stars while the moonlight searched him in return. The prickly hairs along his cheeks, jawline, chin gave his face texture. His wavy hair cascaded against his arms that propped his head. And his dark eyebrows were flat along with his gentle lips. It made me want to move closer to him, lay against him. Oh yeah, talk about pathetic.

I forced myself to stare up at the sky. There was nothing wrong with being content with this. With being able to unwind with each other with no drama. It was honestly the biggest relief we could have received. My heart could go fuck itself right now.

"Do you expect this to be anything like when you went into witness protection?" he asked after several minutes.

Squinting up to the stars, glossing over the limitless patterns, my answer was instant. "Not at all," I scoffed. "This feels much different." The only thing that was really similar was receiving disappointing names. As for everything else... becoming Peggy was orgasmic compared to the limp disappointment of witness protection.

"How?"

My eyes stopped their active search and became aimless as my mind got lost. "Everything is different. This time around, it's much better, much easier."

"I wouldn't have thought so. This is more dangerous than witness protection," he chuckled. "Then again, this isn't about just hiding. It's about going after the problem."

"Yeah, exactly, it's about solving the issue, not hiding. There is so much more too.... I get to pick my background, who I am. I have more people around me that can help. The sense of becoming a better person is there. Most importantly, I don't have the pain, the guilt I did for leaving and becoming Morgan. It's nothing like before. I'm actually excited for this, even though it will be more dangerous."

My gaze was stuck on the stars, scared to see what Luke's expression showed. After a long moment, he spoke up again. "It doesn't sound logical but I'm excited for it too. I hate that I had to leave my family in the dark. I hate it but... it's like a vacation. We'll be searching for these fucked up people but we will be living new lives. It's a nice break from... well, myself."

"Exactly," I nodded. There was more I could say to that, but we already crossed familiar waters. I understood where he was coming from; Luke was a man that had a lot of grief and guilt in his past. What he said reminded me of what Shannon told me. How he traveled homeless. "That's how I feel. It might be stupid but I have this lame hope that being a new person with a past I created will allow me to get over all the crazy shit that happened."

I could hear the smile in his soft voice from beside me. "I think that is a realistic hope. If you can believe it, that's something I have a lot of faith in for myself with this. For how strong you are, I believe this will help you."

His words finally made me shift, turning onto my side. Resting my elbow against the cool ground, I propped my head with my hand. It drew his eyes to where I faced him. "What's making you have that faith in yourself?" Apparently, he had a similar hope. As we agreed, this was exciting and a vacation in some form from everything. However, the tone in his voice suggested something very specific.

His eyes found mine. When I didn't think he was going to answer, he took a deep breath. "Obviously, there is a lot I need to come to terms with. We both have seen a lot of scarring stuff. I don't know why but... this is different. I have hope that getting a new identity will restore my confidence as a police officer. There is a lot to deal with, but... that is something that has bothered me for a long time."

Licking my lips, I began to mindless pet a blade of grass. His eyes in mine showed the conflict he didn't like to show in himself. This wasn't exactly a surprise though. Luke had issues with his conduct in this past, conduct he believe was inexcusable for an officer. It went back long before I disappeared on him too. From everything that's happened, and for how moral of a person he is... I didn't blame his questioning.

"I know it has," I sighed, wishing there was a way I could help. As he said though, he had faith there was a way. "You don't have to get into this shit with me if you don't want to. But I'm curious of what exactly you have done wrong. I know the things you aren't proud of, but I don't think any of it is unjustified."

His eyes turned sad as they searched mine. "Please explain to me how I should be a police officer when I married a crazy bitch. One I allowed to get away with everything when it was under my nose. When not only the clues were there, but you were there, telling me to open my eyes and I never did," he whispered. "That alone... should not make me worthy of any position in the police force."

That was the biggest wrong he committed as an officer. He would never forgive himself for it. Hell, in the past I even told him I would never forgive him for it. That didn't mean he deserved to be stripped of his badge. "You were blind. You were in denial. Sure, an officer should go about a situation in an unbiased manner, but this was too personal. That doesn't make you a bad cop."

When he leaned up on his side too, much closer now than before, his eyes pierced mine. "If that doesn't make me a bad cop, what about the constant danger you were in. From Clare, that gang, these men who showed up last minute. You got hurt too many times for me to forgive myself for that. If I was a good cop, I would have found a way to eliminate any danger. You wouldn't have faced all the—"

"You didn't have that option. Luke," I scoffed. "Do you remember how many times you wanted to hide me, to get me as far from there as possible? It would have only complicated things."

"It's no excuse," he said, leaning closer until his eyes were all I could search. "Albany, regardless, it shouldn't have happened."

"The way I see it, you did everything perfectly. You kept me alive."

"And I let you get away," he said. He swallowed, eyebrows hanging low. "I searched for years, didn't find you. I failed no matter how hard of a search it was. That's... That's not even considering every law I broke after we found each other."

"Seriously?" I shook my head. "It was to save our asses. It's not like you happily went along with kidnapping a guy, stealing plates...."

He gave me a soft but sad smile. "I understand. What I'm getting at is none of those things should be done by a police officer, regardless of reason. Breaking those laws? I don't regret it; we need to do this. But to still call myself a loyal officer... I don't know if I can do it."

There was nothing else I could say to that because I knew him. Justified or not... this was Luke. I loved him for how good of a person he was, but this was in the package. With the things he's done, he doesn't feel like he is worthy to be an officer anymore. It made me wonder how in the world this 'vacation' was going to help him.

"Well, you sound pretty set. How is having a fake identity going to help you? No offense, but isn't that adding to the list?"

He chuckled and nodded. "It is. I have faith that taking a step back from everything will make things clear. Whether I should continue in the police or not. I also have hope that if we pull this off, it will help me... morally redeem myself. I might be ashamed of all the things I did, but if they can lead to the outcome we are after... I don't know, I hope it will help me."

I searched his eyes for a long moment. Eyes that held the soul and maturity of a man that had the sense, the moral values, the control of a police officer. "Well, if you enjoy the work you do, I hope you find your confidence again as a cop. Because honestly... you are good," I chuckled. "You have all the qualities of a professional police officer. I've never seen a man with so much control and outside perspective."

He gave me a gentle smile, a sweet white one. "Well thank you. I appreciate your vote," he said on a lighter note.

Thanks to the mosquitos permitting, we stayed laying there for a long time, watching the stars like a couple girly losers. It was amazing, just talking about whatever came to us.

By the time we went inside, we were tired and it was very late. I went into my temporary bedroom and got dressed and ready for bed. I'll give you folks one guess what I found when I pulled back my covers.

***

It took 4 days for them to get back. And the minute they walked through the door, I nearly skipped my ass past them to the car. I was ready to go. Spending four days with nothing to do was rough. There was nothing around here, nothing in town. It's not like they had anything fun around here (excluding the box of dirty in the shed). I actually volunteered to help Melinda clean her windows – volunteered everybody. Yeah, it was time to go.

With Bill's company and assistance, Jackson successfully managed to rent out the house and the trailer. It was the last thing we needed to do in this long process. So a few hours after they got back (with my persistence) we hit the road.

However, if I knew what was about to happen when we entered Idaho, just two hours into the drive... I would have happily stayed. In fact, I would have taken a step beyond windows and cleaned their whole fucking house if I knew what was coming.

We just chowed down our classy dinner of McDonalds. It was surprisingly hard to find. The road we were on reminded me of the desolate country we traveled through before. Hardly any signs of civilization. Massive pines and some maples lined the side of the road. Every few miles there would be a gas station, a house, other intersecting roads. Mostly it was all nature under the sunny sky.

Carter was sitting on the opposite side of me in the backseat. The new brown in his hair shined from the beating sun hitting his window. He repeated out loud what I've been wondering. "All these people who live in these houses... I want to know where they work. There is nothing around here."

"I'm betting they all work at that one McDonalds," Luke said from the driver's seat. Sitting diagonal to him in the back, I could just make out the corner of his lips tilting up in amusement.

A theory popped into Jackson's head. "I bet they are all related and this is incest country," he muttered from the passenger seat in front of me.

The soft sound of a siren made its way to our hearing. It gradually got louder from behind us. Turning around in my seat, flashing red and blue lights hit my eyes from the ant-sized car behind us.

"I don't think they appreciate you mocking their practices," I smirked.

Jackson scoffed under his breath as the sound slowly got louder. "Or the copper is responding to a call," he stated obviously.

However, that wasn't the case. Luke began glancing in the mirror more as the seconds passed, his face turning slightly pale. He slowed the car down and moved to the shoulder in order to let the cop pass. Then he spoke. "This is a problem," he said in the most serious voice I've heard from him in a while.

"What do you mean?" Heart jumping, I sat up and turned around again to look out the back window. And sure enough... this was a problem. Even though the flashing lights were still a ways back, the police car appeared to be slowing.

"Holy shit no," I whispered, spinning back around in my seat. Why did it look like we were being pulled over? My eyes snapped forward to the tense driver. "Please fucking tell me you were speeding." There was a good chance, right? Doesn't 'Kyle' tend to do that? Oh god....

To my left, Carter turned around and saw the same thing. It only made him chuckle. There wasn't a freaking pep out of the two men in front though. As Luke brought the car to a stop, he finally answered. "I wasn't speeding. Hopefully, there is something wrong with the car that's not being indicated."

Oh my god, please let this be something normal. I was about to lose it. The siren was overbearing and loud now. I didn't need to turn around again to see; Jackson's seat in front of me as well as the rest of the car interior flashed red and blue. Clearly, it pulled to a stop behind us. Jesus, any minute the man would be knocking against Luke's window.

Jackson must have been able to sense my radiating fear. "Nobody freak out. Nothing is wrong. It's just three brother's and darling Peggy." With how bland and bored his voice was, it helped calm me. He was probably right and I was just being paranoid.

The siren shut off, leaving only the flashing lights to invade our car. Then a moment later, my eyes darted to the left as the policeman walked up. He stopped at Luke's window, which he already rolled down.

Clad in a proud blue uniform, the balding gentleman had a presence that demanded attention. His stocky build was intimidating, especially when he casually rested his large hands against his belt. Thanks to his gut spilling over, it blocked much of his equipment, which would have put me more on edge if I saw it. Luckily, when his eyes flicked to me and Jackson also in his clear sight, I managed a calm and cool façade.

"Is there an issue, officer?" Luke asked in the most respectful voice, drawing the man's beady eyes back to him.

In contrast, he responded in a blank tone. "Probably not." The man started to look between all of us, making me more nervous. If only I was in Carter's seat; he was obscured the most from the man's observant eyes thanks to the blocking car frame and being behind Luke's seat. "This vehicle matches the description of what has turned into a region wide search. It's forced police across four states to pull over any car that matches the description and model."

Oh lord. I had no clue what this guy was talking about, but my throat becoming thick was justified. We weren't exactly traveling under innocent circumstances and I knew a massive search wasn't an everyday occurrence. Fuck, just please let it be irrelevant to us. He did say there probably wasn't an issue, right? Not to mention this car in question was only stolen, nothing worthy of a massive search. The man didn't look suspicious either. And though there was enough experience packed behind his gaze set on the driver, luckily for us, he was staring at a fellow trailed official.

Though I could only see the back of Luke's head, his convincing act already made me feel better. In his perfected craft of control, Luke cocked his head in confusion and asked in an astonished tone. "No kidding? I'm sorry that was thrown on your plate. Mind if I ask what happened? As you probably saw, we're not from around here. This is the first time hearing about this."

Even though I kept anything significant from my face, his words triggered a small sense of relief. Once we get to Washington, the plan was to ditch this car and get new vehicles for each other. The red car we were currently sitting in was the same one Luke and Carter stole while we were in Mississippi. Though we've been switching plates the whole time, for the sake of our identities, Bill put an Indiana plate on before we left.

His bushy eyebrows arching down to Luke gave nothing away. "Yes, Indiana. What brings you Hoosiers all this way west?" Ugh, why didn't he answer Luke's question?! I was dying to know what this search was about.

"Visiting family," Luke answered lightly. "Actually late to a reunion."

"Well, I apologize for having to stop you," he said in sympathy. "I have a big family myself and know how anxious you must be. But please, if you folks don't mind, would you all please step out and allow me to search this vehicle?"

What did he say? Carter's eyes grew along with mine and a sickening sensation filled me. This was not normal! I wanted to know more and I was happy Luke felt the same. "May I ask what this is all about?"

For whatever reason he was looking for a car that matched this description, he didn't look suspicious. He looked apologetic for bothering us. Then again, cops could deceive. And regardless, hell the fuck no he could not search the car! Hello Mr. Law, do you like our guns and weapons?

The officer finally explained. "Well, we've had quite the ruckus on our hands," he sighed. Then he slipped his fingers into the uniform shirt pocket that his badge was pinned next to. Pulling out a folded piece of paper, he handed it to Luke who unfolded it.

From the back and diagonal to him, I could see it well enough. I nearly threw up.

The clear picture... was of this very car. This fucking car. It was in a parking lot of the shopping center Carter and Jackson went to for supplies and hair dye. The still image from what appeared to be a surveillance video showed Carter getting out of the driver's side with Jackson still inside.

"A couple days ago, a surveillance camera from a shopping center a few hours away in Montana caught this. We have been looking for the man who was driving the car," he explained, gesturing to the picture and the blonde haired man. "We've been unable to identify the other man."

Jesus fucking Christ! What was this?! Why? Why were they looking for Carter? And if that wasn't enough to make the air eerily silent and still, the cop unfolded another paper and handed it to Luke. It was a picture of a blonde man, the man I was sitting two feet away from.

Eyes still on Luke, the officer continued explaining. "This is the man. Carter Forbes," he said. Immediately, the man who owned that name jumped slightly. His eyes grew with his body as tense as I've ever seen it. Those sharp blue eyes shot to me then to where the officer's voice was coming from. "He's dangerous. If you see him, call the police immediately. I'm sorry to waste your time but this will only take a moment. I would like everyone to step out so I can search the car," he said.

I doubted he only wanted to search the car. The officer probably wanted us out of the car so he could see us better. More specifically, the one man he could barely see. The one man he ironically was fucking looking for! Jesus fucking Christ, how are we going to get out of this?!

There was a long silence between us all. Staring at the side of Luke and the back of his head, I knew his mind was racing a million miles per second. He kept his calm state evident to the officer. "Sir, is that necessary?" he sighed. "I don't mean to complicate matters, but we were already late for our reunion."

Though Luke's words and tone displayed anything but guilt, the man didn't appreciate what he said. In fact, with a raised eyebrow, the officer's thick lips pursed. Wrinkles formed along his high forehead. "Please cooperate and step out of the vehicle," he said in a stern voice that made my nerves tighten.

I don't know what Luke was thinking, but I suddenly wished I had been the one driving. Because unlike Luke, at that point, I would have put the car in drive and floored it away. I wouldn't have actually done what was requested since we had Carter Forbes in the back along with numerous weapons. I could only hope now Luke had a plan as he stepped out of the car.

My heart was about to explode! I watched in horror as Luke stepped further away. He turned towards the officer and the car, leaving my eyes to at least see him casually tuck his hands in his pockets. The driver door open, the officer announced with a strong voice to us, "Everyone else."

My wide eyes couldn't leave Carter. Jackson and I could get out, not him though! It didn't matter that his hair was now brown. The dude's face was distinct enough. Even if it wasn't, his expression gave off anything but calm and normal. His eyes zipped around absently in thought, scrambling of now knowing what to do! Of what was going to happen! Jesus, I just hoped with how nonchalant Luke was that he had some way to get out of this.

We would never know what would have happened.

As I complied along with Jackson, stepping out of the right side of the car, I stared over the car to Luke. He caught my eyes and there was nothing but blankness on his face. The same went for Jackson when I glanced up to him. Like always, he gave nothing away and it helped me in composing myself too.

We made our way around the back of the car towards the road where Luke and the officer stood facing us. With the bright sunlight on us, the officer eyed us with more of a chance to take us in. Neither of us though forgot about the back door between us that had yet to be opened.

The tension in the officer spiked, but it was nothing compared to us. Though Jackson and Luke didn't give away anything, I knew they were panicking like me. How couldn't they?! We were dead, we were so dead! Jesus, if only we took another route, if only the man just let us continue on our way!

"One of you, please convince your shy friend to step out," he said loudly with irritation and tension, looking first between Jackson and I, then Luke standing next to him.

We didn't move, didn't say anything, or I just didn't hear or notice anything. Because within the next few moments, everything turned into a rush.

The car door flung open, separating Jackson and I from where the policeman and Luke stood even more. It didn't block my view from the officer though, who stared in our direction where the door opened. In the next second, Carter quickly stepped out. Even though his black cargo pants blended in with what he was holding against his side, it was the only thing I saw.

Spinning in the direction of the officer from behind his open door, Carter swiftly raised his gun over the door frame. Aiming it towards the officer, he fired several shots, over and over.

Facing Carter's back and seeing the officer full on, my heart sank into an acid pit. I wanted to crumble with the man the blaring gunshots made victim. He took each shot to the chest, stumbling back.  Within one second, his face went from stunned to being drained of life.  The dark liquid spread over his uniform before he even hit the sunny cemented road. When he did, there was nothing... and he was dead.

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Hey guys, crazy stuff, right? Why is there a search out for Carter? And what do you think will happen since Carter killed a police officer? This was exciting to write and a HUGE chapter I've been waiting to write. Things are about to really hit the fan now. Please let me know what you think! I hope the first parts weren't too much information regarding all the steps they were taking to get settled in Washington.  Anyway, I hope you liked it! :D