CHAPTER FIVE
TRAVIS COULDNT BELIEVE shed gotten hold of his phone. Not once but twice! She must be a magician or a witch or something.
He hated it that he had to find a new safe house. That Bellaire McMansion had been perfect.
Travis sifted through various other possible locations, rejecting each one. Most of his recent job sites were occupied. Hed have to take to the country, find a place to camp. He had little food except the few cans and whatnot hed grabbed from the kitchen and chucked into his backpack before putting Elena in the truck and heading out. He always carried a sleeping bag and a few essentials with him, but it was going to be rough. Although the climate in south Texas was almost always mild, it would get down into the fifties tonightcool enough to be uncomfortable without a jacket.
He hadnt allowed Elena to retrieve her jacket, he realized. Shed taken it off and draped it over the side of the tub at some point.
Several camping spots came to mind, isolated places where you didnt have to register or reserve a space. A friend of Erics had a hunting lease theyd used once, a few years ago. If they were lucky, they wouldnt run into anyone else. Elena wasnt likely to try to run away, not in her bare feet. The heels shed been carrying when hed kidnapped her were probably still in the truck, but she couldnt get far in those, either.
That was good. He hadnt wanted to tie her up. When he went to trial for this crimeand he wouldhe wanted Elena to testify that hed shown some concern for her welfare. Photos of bruises and rope burns would make for damning evidence in court.
It took him more than an hour and a half to get to the hunting lease, north of Lake Conroe. Hed left the freeway long ago, following a series of increasingly smaller roads. At one point hed pulled over and waited, scanning the horizon behind him for the telltale plume of dust rising from the road signaling the passage of a vehicle. But he wasnt being followed. For the time being, he was safe.
He hoped he remembered the turnoff. The sun was going down; in the dark, hed never find it.
Wait, there was the dead tree, a black skeleton against sky the color of faded blue ink. Another five minutes and hed have missed it in the dark.
He swung the truck onto the narrow dirt road. Though hed slowed to five miles an hour, the bumps and ruts challenged the old vehicles suspension. He shuddered to think of how uncomfortable Elena must be. What if one of his tools rolled into her and injured her?
If he had stopped to consider the consequences of his actions, he wouldnt be in this mess right now and neither would Elena. Hed thought he had mastered his troublesome impulsive streak years ago, but apparently hed only temporarily stifled it.
It seemed he bumped along the dirt road for hours, but it was only a few minutes before the road widened to a turnaround spot. He was now on the hunting lease, and all appeared quietno signs of a campfire or recent tire tracks. He opened the window and stuck his head out to look up. The tree canopy was still pretty thick even though it was full-on autumn. No one would spot his truck from a helicopter. He couldnt smell any campfire smoke in the air.
He parked just off the road. Later he could camouflage the truck with some brush, but he doubted anyone would come along. Right now he needed to rescue Elena.
With the wrench-missile still firmly in his memory, he stood to the side as he opened the cargo cover and peeked in. She lay there placidly, staring up at him.
Its about time. I was almost asphyxiated in there from the exhaust fumes.
Oh, hell, he hadnt even thought about that. As slow as hed been driving, the exhaust fumes wouldnt dissipate in the wind as they did at normal speeds.
Lucky for you I didnt, she continued as she sat up. Or you could share a cell with your brother. She looked around. Where are we?
Where we wont be found. Please, please dont try to run. Were miles from civilization, and Id catch you anyway. So save us both the aggravation.
He opened the tailgate, and she swung her legs out and stood. Shed found her shoes and put them on, he noticed, wondering if shed been readying herself to sprint for freedom. If she tried to run out here in those heels, shed break an ankle.
Are we camping out?
Yup.
She sighed. I really screwed myself over by stealing your phone. I could have spent the night in that nice bathroom, where at least I had a flush toilet. Now instead I get to relive scenes from Friday the 13th.
Sorry about that, princess. He grabbed his flashlight from the glove box and rummaged around in his truck for anything that might be useful in the woods. He loaded up his backpack with a few additional food items hed found, a small tarp, matches, a hatchet
Whats that for? she asked with some alarm. She stood quite close to him, watching his every move, apparently.
Firewood.
Oh. Isnt it risky, building a fire? What if someone sees it?
Its gonna be a small fire. And if I hear any helicopters, Ill douse it before they see it. It was a risk; she was right. But very slight. Even if an air search was mounted, they couldnt investigate every campfire they saw.
He just couldnt see camping without the small comfort of a fire. It was un-American.
He grabbed his sleeping bag and gave it to Elena to carry. Lets go.
I cant hike through the woods in heels. Its ridiculous.
She was right again, damn it. He set down the backpack. Let me see your shoes.
Why? she asked suspiciously. You arent going to throw them away, are you? Because these are my favorite shoes. Do you know how hard it is to find a comfortable pair of heels? But she took off one shoe and handed it to him.
He snapped off the heel and handed it back. There. Flats.
Fortunately, he couldnt see the expression on her face. It had grown too dark. But he could feel the anger radiating from her.
You are going to pay for that.
Ill probably be in prison for twenty years. What can you do thats worse?
Castrate you. But she gave him the other shoe, and he made his alterations and handed it back. She put them back on without further comment.
Travis led the way into the woods, walking slowly, beating aside the brush with his work boots so Elenas legs wouldnt get scratched. At least the weather wasnt horrible. Camping in August in south Texas could be brutalyou spent the whole night sweating and swatting mosquitos. But autumn was downright pleasant.
How far do we have to go?
Til I find the right spot.
Every few steps Travis paused and scanned around him with the flashlight. About the tenth time, he spotted the platform, a rudimentary wooden structure you could at least spread your sleeping bag on, keeping it off the damp ground. And the ground was damp. It had rained quite a bit in the last couple of weeks.
Thank God, Elena groused when he announced they were stopping. How did you even know this was here?
My brother and I camped here before, on a hunting trip.
What did you hunt?
Deer. Supposedly.
She gasped softly. You killed deer?
He laughed. We never even saw a deer. That hunting trip was just an excuse for a bunch of men to hang out without their wives, exercise bad hygiene, drink gallons of beer in the evenings and do the male-bonding thing. I was relieved I didnt have to kill Bambis mother.
What did you hunt?
Deer. Supposedly.
She gasped softly. You killed deer?
He laughed. We never even saw a deer. That hunting trip was just an excuse for a bunch of men to hang out without their wives, exercise bad hygiene, drink gallons of beer in the evenings and do the male-bonding thing. I was relieved I didnt have to kill Bambis mother.
Travis set the flashlight down and pulled the tarp out of the backpack, spreading it on the platform. Elena had already sat down on a corner of the platform. He took the sleeping bag from her and opened it, shook it out and spread it over the tarp.
Your bed, princess.
My bed?
Well, yeah. You didnt expect me to take the only sleeping bag for myself, did you?
Where are you going to sleep?
Ill manage. Truth was, he wouldnt sleep. He hadnt been sleeping well lately in general as he worried about how to help Eric. Hed like to blame the lack of sleep for his lapse in judgment, but that really wasnt much of an excuse.
Is there going to be dinner?
Well, lets see... He opened the backpack again and extracted the canned goods one by one. Baked beans, chili con carne, carrots and...pumpkin pie filling.
You set the bar pretty high with that lasagna, you know.
Yeah. He sighed. Thatd be good.
Baked beans. I can eat those cold.
But you dont have to. Ill build a fire and we can heat this stuff right in the can. Werent you ever a Girl Scout?
No. The places I grew up didnt have Girl Scouts.
Her voice had taken on an edge, and he decided not to pursue that line of conversation for now, though he was curious about her background. Shed said she was Cuban. Had she actually come from Cuba? Or was she of Cuban heritage but born here? Did people come here from Cuba anymore? He knew that at one time many Cubans had fled their homeland and entered the U.S. illegally and then were given asylum.
He made quick work of building a fire. Despite recent rain, there was plenty of dry wood to be found. He couldnt find any stones the right size to place around the fire, but he cleared enough space so nothing close by would catch. He used his pocketknife to slit the can labels and remove them, and the knifes can opener to open the chili and the beans.
The beans were ready first, steaming and burbling. He set the beans on a large, flat rock in front of Elena. Ladies first. Be carefulthe can is really hot. He pulled his pocketknife out and extracted the spoon, but he hesitated before handing it to Elena. Please dont get ideas about stabbing me. It would make me grumpy.
Duly noted. What else does that knife do? Does it have a parachute? Maybe a bicycle?
It has all kinds of thingsa screwdriver, a saw, a nail file
Well, thats useful.
Scissors, tweezers, toothpick, corkscrew
If only we had a bottle of wine.
I could go for a six-pack myself. Of course she was a wine drinker. Judith had tried to get him to drink wine, but after hours of instruction, he still couldnt tell a fine Bordeaux from a cheap Merlot.
Elena held out her hand.
Reluctantly, he handed her the knife. If she went for the blade, he could get to her before she could fold it out, but he really didnt want to go there.
She gave him a knowing look. Youre never going to let go of that wrench episode, are you?
Not until the scar heals.
He enjoyed the playful conversation way more than he should have. It was almost as if they were on a first date...flirting. With each snippet she revealed about herself, his admiration for her grew. How many women in her position would have the smarts and the gumption to fight back the way she had?
He suddenly fervently wished he had met her at some other point in his life, instead of this desperate moment. When was the last time hed flirted with a woman? Had to be Judith. That women had soured him on the entire fair sex. Before her, he had loved women. Couldnt get enough of them. After his spectacularly short and bad marriage, he had only interacted with women long enough to get them into bed, satisfying an occasional urge to feel human again.
Had he ever even known what it felt like to simply enjoy the company of a woman, to appreciate her beauty, her wit and those feminine ways that were so different from his own, so yin to his yang? Hed spent his youth staying alive, keeping his brother on track. Then there was the army, prison, his business...and Judith. Nothing about his ex-wife had been simple. Every encounter with her had been fraught with the stress of trying to meet her expectations.
His heart ached unexpectedly with what could never benot with Elena and probably not with anyone. By the time he got out of prison, hed be an old man, and Elena would be married to someone else with a houseful of children, even grandchildren.
Do you ever want to get married? he asked impulsively.
She looked at him curiously, her face a work of art in the flickering light of the fire. But she answered. I hope I will someday. I have memories of when I was little, having these big family get-togethers with my older brothers and my parents, grandparents, ten or twenty cousins. Here, we have very close friends that we treat as family. So family is very important to me. My parents would be so happy if I gave them a dozen grandbabies. But I wouldnt get married just to have babies.
Youre holding out for love, huh?
It makes sense, right? She spooned up some of the beans and blew on them. Who wants to spend fifty or sixty years with someone they dont love?
The problem with marrying for love is feelings change.
You sound as if you speak from experience. She took a bite of the beans, chewed, swallowed and nodded toward the can. These arent too bad.
He supposed he had let a note of bitterness creep into his voice. Hed thought he was over being angry about the Judith thing, but maybe this reminder about all he didnt havewould never havehad stirred up some old, buried feelings. Ridiculous, really.
I married for love. Felt like love, anyway, at first. But she thought I was someone elseor that she could make me into someone different, someone better. I guess I was a pretty hard case, because she gave up, moved on to greener pastures. I kept trying to make her happy, and, meanwhile, she was lining up her next project.
Im sorry. I guess it must be hard to believe in love after an experience like that. But Ive seen real love, lasting love, so I know its out there. My parents have been married more than forty years, and my mothers eyes still light up whenever my father walks into the room. He still gives her flowers for no reason, just because.
Travis must have looked skeptical, because she added, What about your brother? I know it ended tragically, but didnt he love his wife?
He did, and I used to think she loved him, until I realized she was cheating.
Oh. Right. You mentioned that. She returned her attention to the baked beans.
It wasnt that he didnt believe in true love and happy endings; it was just that such perfect pairings were exceedingly rare. Certainly didnt happen for his mother. His father hadnt even stuck around long enough to see Eric born.
The temperature was dropping. The chili was steaming now, so he used a folded T-shirt from his car as a pot holder, took the can off the fire and set it on the flat rock.