By the time nine o'clock rolled around, our burner phones were almost dead and our bloodshot eyes nearly matched the shade of red on the Ram 1500 Joey was "borrowing."

While we were hunkered down in the bushes, we'd overheard the truck's owner on the phone. She was telling someone that her husband was out of town on business as she got into her car to leave for work. This was perfect. We didn't have to worry about the husband coming outside and finding his truck missing. Unless a neighbor notice something unusual, there was a good chance that no one would report the vehicle stolen until the wife got home from work and saw that it wasn't in the driveway.

Joey made fast work of hotwiring the truck. We scrambled in so no one would see us, and left the neighborhood as fast as we could without looking suspicious. Once we were a couple miles away, I plugged in our phones to charge.

"How are you feeling?" Joey spoke up, but didn't look at me.

He kept his eyes on the road with the infamous thousand-mile-stare. His jaw was clenched tightly and he was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Was there anything in the car we left at the motel? Did you get everything out of it?" I asked, worried that we might've left something important behind.

"Nah. We were going to ditch it anyway, remember? I took everything out the night before."

Joey suggested I lean the seat back and try to nap on the way to Boston, but I couldn't shut my brain off. I was exhausted, but my mind was wired. Sleep wouldn't be happening for a while. I couldn't stop thinking about how much I didn't want to go to protective custody and lose Joey. Something was going to have to give, or I just wouldn't cooperate.

"What do you say we grab some breakfast – not burritos – and coffee on the way?" he offered. "Anything in particular you want?"

I managed a giggle at the mention of burritos. We didn't want to relive that incident.

"Honestly..."

My stomach gave a loud grumble at the thought of food. I hadn't realized I was hungry. The excitement had kept my mind on everything going on around me and it hadn't even occurred to me that I needed to eat. Breakfast sounded amazing!

"Yes. Yeah. I'm hungry." I stumbled over my words. "Anything. I don't care. I'm starving. Just get something."

"Yes ma'am," Joey chuckled.

I watched the way he weaved through traffic, changing lanes, constantly surveying our surroundings. He watched every vehicle around us like a hawk. He was ready to hop out, guns blazing, at a moment's notice. God, he was sexy. And I couldn't quite get over how nice facial hair looked on him. My fingertips itched to touch his face again.

I kept checking my side mirror. I wouldn't have been a bit surprised if the Cadillac had shown up again. It was only a matter of time until our next encounter with them.

"How 'bout this?" Joey pulled into an Arby's parking lot.

"Fine with me, but can we eat inside? The drive thru is packed," I said, eyeing the long line of cars wrapped around the building.

He shrugged. "I don't see anyone snooping around, so sure."

Joey lead me to the door with his hand on my lower back, bringing back my thoughts from earlier. I wasn't ready for us to be separated. He held the door for me and my heart did a little dance at the sweet gesture. Whoever said chivalry was dead hadn't met Joey Cavannaugh.

"What can I get you?" he asked, his hand claiming its rightful spot on my lower back again.

I wanted to sigh dreamily and curl up against his chest, but my stomach was starting to sound like I'd captured a marching band inside it with all the noise it was making. The smell of food was intoxicating and I could feel my mouth watering as I scanned over the menu.

"I think I could eat everything on the menu right now, to be honest," I groaned. "You pick something. I'll go find us a table."

"Okay," he smiled – genuinely smiled.

Oh, Joey, what are you doing to me? I haven't swooned like this since... him. The unfriendly memories that had plagued me several days ago came rushing back to the surface. I'd been lucky enough to forget about him for a few days. I should've known it wouldn't last very long. It never did.

Joey sauntered over with a tray carrying two sandwiches, tearing my focus away from him. I appreciated the distraction. I had enough to worry about without dwelling on the past, too.

"You alright, Jess?" He looked at me with concern. "I thought you were hungry."

"Oh." I shook my head, trying to focus. "Yeah. Sorry. I was thinking."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Nope," I said too quickly. "I mean... uh... maybe another time."

He eyed me warily. "Uh huh."

Before he could pry again, I dove into my sandwich like I hadn't eaten in weeks. Bacon had never tasted so fucking good!

After I finished my sandwich, I inhaled my coffee and a Dr. Pepper, but I was still thirsty. Joey got up to fetch me a refill and I found myself admiring his fantastic ass as he walked away. He looked so good. I started to get lost in a daydream about dragging those jeans down his legs when I noticed him freeze on his way back from the soda fountain. Something had caught his attention.

I started looking everywhere, expecting to find Cadillac Man sitting at a booth nearby, watching us. But I didn't see anything. What was he looking at?

I followed his gaze to the small TV in the corner of the room. The local news was on and they were showing a surveillance tape from-

"The shooting happened at the Westfield Shooting Range. Police have released this security footage in hopes of identifying the suspects," said the anchorwoman. "You can clearly see a man and woman – both appear to be in their twenties – talking with the victim just before the video blacks out. Police believe the man you see here was the shooter. Fifty-three-year-old Ronald Coffman was pronounced dead at the scene. He leaves behind a wife of thirty-one years and two children."

My jaw was practically on the floor. Ron was dead and they had us on video as prime suspects!

"Joey, did you see-"

"We need to hurry up and get out of here before somebody recognizes us," he cut me off, handing me my drink.

"Joey-"

"I'm going to hit the bathroom. Do you need to go?" he asked.

I was too stunned to think. "I-I don't know... I guess I... may as well..."

How was he always so fucking calm in the midst of a crisis?

Joey insisted on us going to the bathroom together in case anyone happened to show up. We earned a bewildered look from a woman waiting at the door when Joey and I left the women's restroom together.

We hustled out to the truck and Joey floored it back onto the main road. I nearly spilled my Dr. Pepper all over myself when he turned the corner around the building too fast.

"Joey, they think we killed Ron!" I shouted frantically. "What are we going to do?"

"They must've been waiting on us long before they rammed us at the church," he said in a monotone voice, chewing at his bottom lip. "The video is blacked out at some point while I was talking to him, holding a pistol. They must've gotten ahold of the footage before the police and erased any footage of themselves to make it look like I did it. They probably shot the camera, too, to give the idea that I shot the camera and then shot him. Those bastards!"

"Joey, relax." I tried to calm him down, but the shakiness of my voice wouldn't dissipate either. "We'll get through this. You're a cop. They're not going to arrest you, right? You'll find a way to fix this."

Was I really trying to calm him down, or calm myself down? I didn't know. I'd never been good under pressure.

He looked at me like I was an idiot. "Jess, just because I'm a cop doesn't mean I'm exempt from punishment in the eyes of the law. That's not how it works."

"Yeah, but can't you-"

"Just stop," he snapped, holding a hand up to me. "I need to think. This complicates things more."

They couldn't just assume he'd done it! There had to be a way to prove otherwise! Joey was a good man – an amazing man. He would never do such a horrible thing. Surely, his coworkers at the police department had been around him long enough to know he wouldn't do that.

"Joey..." I breathed, resting a gentle hand on his forearm. "I'm so sorry about Ron. You guys seemed close..."

He swallowed hard and his jaw tightened again. He was trying to hold back his emotions. He blinked rapidly, probably ridding his eyes of any tears that threatened to appear.

"We were," he said almost inaudibly, then cleared his throat. "Ron was an old friend of my grandpa's. My grandpa had a vacation home near Cape Cod and sometimes he let me stay with him for a few weeks in the summer. That's how I met Ron. Between Ron and my grandpa, I got all the firearm training I could ever want. The academy hardly taught me anything."

"He seemed like a really nice guy," I said softly.

"He was like another father to me," Joey swallowed again. "He listened, ya know? I could talk to him about anything and he always gave the best advice – with a side of inappropriate jokes, of course. God, he could make a mime laugh and a Sister blush. He was just a great man."

I smiled, listening to him talk about Ron. But thinking of Ron brought back thoughts of Lydia. Once more, I thought, it was all my fault. A second innocent person was dead because of me. Sure, it wasn't directly because of me, but my fucked up life had certainly played a part in their demise. How was I ever going to cope with that?

"I'm so sorry, Joey."

I finally broke down. I sobbed into his shirt. I'd made too many bad decisions in my life and now it was all coming back to bite me. Ever since I'd met him, it had been downhill from there. I should've known I could never keep up the quiet, safe life I'd been trying to build for myself in Boston. Trouble would find me eventually. It always did.

It had.

Joey pulled over in a strip mall parking lot and turned his attention to me. I was bawling uncontrollably all over his shirt. This was not how I wanted to remember our last day together.

"Jess..."

"This is all my fault, Joey!" I cried, starting to feel like my breakfast was going to come back up.

"What?" he frowned. "Baby, no. What are you talking about? Nothing is your fault."

"But it is! Just like Lydia! It's all because of me!" I fisted his shirt, pleading with him to listen to me.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're safe. You're okay, Love," Joey tried to soothe me, pulling me onto his lap and rubbing my back.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his sweet scent, trying to memorize it forever.

"Joey," I mumbled against his shirt collar.

"Hmm? What is it, Love?"

His voice was soft, gentle. I could feel how much he cared about me. And it hurt. It hurt so much. I'd never met a man who cared so deeply for anyone, that he was willing to risk his life over and over to keep them safe. He wasn't just doing his job. We both knew that. It was so much more than that. But I was beginning to wonder if he'd ever admit to it.

I would.

"Joey." I pulled back to look at him, searching his crystal blue eyes. "I don't want to go to protective custody. I don't want to lose you."

"Jess, I-"

"I want to stay with you, damnit!" I shouted at him, sobbing again. "Please just... just let me stay with you."

His eyes were watery and his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed hard. I wondered if there had ever been another woman who had shown him this much of her heart. He appeared at a loss for words and finally looked away, like he couldn't bear to look at me crying beside him any longer.

I understood. He didn't have any say in the matter. He'd already broken so many rules and laws. He was never supposed to be involved in this case in the first place. He'd disobeyed orders. He'd stolen several vehicles. Who knew how many crimes we'd both committed in attempts to protect ourselves. But it seemed almost certain now that Joey would lose his badge over all this. I was stupid to think his superiors would understand and cut him some slack. There was just too much that they couldn't overlook. And here I was complicating everything more, making the situation harder on him, all because I was so selfish, I didn't want to lose him. It was inevitable. He'd never been mine to begin with, and he wasn't mine to keep now.