Drive

Sam shook her head. "I haven't spoken with Delilah in fifteen years. I know she got married, moved to Pittsburgh, and has two kids. My younger brother Jimmy gave me her details a few years back when he came looking for me. Jimmy died in a motorcycle accident that summer."

Hal wondered if Frank had anything to do with that but kept his suspicions to himself.

He had to distance himself from this. He was only Sam's safe passage to Erie. There, they would part ways, and she would take a bus to stay with her sister. He had to stop himself from examining her life path beyond that. While he'd seen her make a few mistakes and heard evidence of ones she'd made in the past, this was her life, and he had his own crisis to unravel.

"Why are you going to LA?"

Her question caught him unprepared, and his muscles locked as he prevented himself from reacting. He took deep, slow breaths in and out through his nose until the tension eased.

Once he could unlock his muscles, he looked over to see her watching him nervously. That made him feel a little ill. He didn't need to add to her fear. "Sorry."

"You don't need to tell me," she blurted timidly.

"No... it's... just personal."

More silent miles rolled by. Hal felt like he'd broken her trust.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Once more, her sudden question cut through him, but this time he was just left stunned. This... victim was concerned about him?

His first response was to laugh, but he held it in. Then remorse struck as he realized what a shit he would have been to laugh at Sam's compassion. Another sign of the monster within him.

He could give her a lie and say everything is fine! But he couldn't. The truth, then.

"I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see. That's why I'm taking a week to get there. I need the time."

He risked another glance and saw some of the lost trust had returned, healed by the openness of his response.

"You know what I do—did. What do you do?"

Geezus, her questions were so innocent; why did they feel like they were cutting him wide open?

He had to go with the safe answer. "Inventory Control Manager for an office equipment manufacturer."

He looked over, and she smiled. It was the first time he'd seen her do that, and those protruding canines of hers widened the smile crazily. He couldn't help but smile in return. Still, he wondered what the smile was for. "What?"

She shook her head, and her smile just got broader and sillier. He felt a tug in his chest.

"Seriously, what?" Hal asked with a grin of his own.

She seemed to come to a decision. "Your job just doesn't seem to suit you."

His eyebrows rose. "Why?"

She shook her head and looked at him more intensely like she was trying to see through him. "I don't know... it's like, you should be doing something bigger—"

"Bigger?" he snorted in amusement.

"I don't know! More important! Less dull!" she exclaimed as she shook her head.

Hal smiled to himself. "Don't knock dull. I like dull."

She giggled, and that sounded delightful with her husky voice. There was just a hint of desperate relief in the sound.

"I don't see it," she said as she continued to peer at him with an evaluating look. "Maybe a fireman or a cop? Or something military... like."

He looked her in the eye. "Military-like?"

She looked away in embarrassment. "I don't really know what kind. I'm not good at describing things."

"I'll repeat myself. Don't knock dull. Not everyone is suited to handle high adrenaline activities. A little calm is appreciated."

She nodded, but he got the impression that she wasn't satisfied with how it was left. He caught her looking at him with a slight frown.

"What now?"

"I see a ring. You're married?"

Once more, her simple question sliced deep. He had to struggle not to let it show. He nodded.

"What does she do?"

He took a breath. Let it out. "Dental Hygienist."

"Ugh! Staring into people's mouths all day," she moaned.

He managed a nod, desperately wishing she'd choose a different subject.

Oblivious to his pain, she continued to dig. "Why isn't she on this trip with you?"

The monster focused its attention on his tormentor, willing and eager to end her quickly. It knew a dozen ways to do it, but Hal maintained his iron-willed control. She would live another day.

"Busy," he managed, once he could breathe once more.

She looked over and saw the muscles jumping in his tightly clenched jaws and the pain in his eyes. Her face dropped. "oh... oh my god, I'm so sorry."

He quickly glanced at her and saw she knew. That was almost worse than her ignorance. "Don't—"

"I didn't mean to pry—"

"DON'T!"

Hal struggled to get his breathing under control. He had to get away from this woman before she discovered her danger.

He spotted a road sign indicating an exit for Erie, PA. He looked at it like a lifeline. Only three more miles, and he'd get off the interstate. He'd drive her to the bus station, then he'd be rid of her and be alone.

That was safer.

As they approached the exit, he glanced over and saw a look of misery on her face. The fear was returning as well.

"You don't have money for a bus ticket, do you."

Glassy doe eyes looked at him. Sam's bottom lip was trembling as she shook her head.

Shit!

"You should call your sister before you show up on her doorstep."

Her look of dread increased, but she nodded.

He pulled off the interstate and followed the GPS route through the city, north towards the lakeshore. The Greyhound bus station was up by the piers.

Hal kept an eye on his passenger and noted her increased agitation the closer they got to the station.

They finally reached the parking lot next to the buses. He shut off the car and looked over at Sam. She was struggling to keep it together, and he appreciated that. He got out, and after a moment, she did as well.

"I'll pay for your ticket, but you need to call your sister first," he brusquely stated as he locked the car.

She looked at him and nodded.

They walked side by side across the lot to the bus station and went inside. Looking around, they saw there were very few people around. They also saw no payphones, but they found a bench across from the ticket booth and sat together. "Do you have a cell..." Another lost look. "So, no. Okay, use mine. I'll check on the bus," he said as he opened up the phone app and handed it to her. She pulled a small red book from the backpack and opened it to the page where she'd written her sister's information.

Hal stood and walked across the hall to speak to the ticket agent.

"Hi, one way to Pittsburgh?"

The man glanced at his screen as he tapped a key. "The bus, the only bus today for Pittsburgh, will be here in thirty minutes. Thirty-six dollars."

Hal paused as he picked up Sam's side of the call.

"Hello? Delilah? It's me, Sam... Samantha. Your sister." There was a long pause. "Don't say that, please don't." Another pause. "I-I was hoping to come see you. Today." Sam began to sniff. "Please-please don't be that way, Deli! OH! I'm not! Please! No! Please! Ohhh..." Sam looked at the cell then slowly curled up on the bench as the tears burst forth. Deep racking sobs tore from her as Hal turned to her and watched in dismay.

He realized there would be no reunion with the sister, the consequence of another bad decision made years before. He walked away from the booth back to the crying woman. He sat on the end of the bench, gently took his cell back, and rubbed her back to calm her—more automatic behavior.

A moment flashed into his mind.

Lisa, sobbing into her pillow. Him, sitting on the edge of their bed, touching his wife's back to give comfort. He couldn't recall the reason for the tears, but a feeling of guilt made him believe they were his fault. He was unsure if he could trust that.

He now wondered if those tears played some part in the events which led to this moment.

His mind was lost, analyzing every seemingly innocent gesture and word, looking for the truth in the details.

Eventually, a bus pulled into the station, and they heard the announcement of the 12:40 to Pittsburgh. Neither moved from the bench.

As the bus left, Hal heard a deep, pained exhale from the woman whose head had moved to his leg during his trip down memory lane. He looked down to see he was stroking her hair. She seemed much calmer now.

What the hell was he going to do now? He was destined to travel to the west coast. She had no place in that mess. He didn't want her to get caught up in it.

He also didn't have it in him to kick her to the curb. It felt like she'd had too many kicks recently. He might be a monster, but he wasn't cruel.

He had to keep moving west. He couldn't decide for her, but he had no choice. He looked down at her and saw her eyes were closed.

"Wha—ahem, what are you going to do now?" he forced out of his tight throat.

She shook her head, pressing it harder against his leg as a shudder ran through her muscles.

He turned his face to the side and looked out the window so he wouldn't see her expression.

He could just walk away. He'd fulfilled his promise to Eve. Safe pass—

Queen's Pork Sausages.

A trailer with this emblem was hooked to an old red Denworthy rig with a big sleeper cab. He'd only caught a glimpse of the potential rapist's truck as they left the lot of Pinkie's, but he was sure he was looking at it now, in the lot just across the street.

So that answered the question of leaving Sam behind. They were likely watching.

"Sam, we have to go. Now."

The woman looked up at him in confusion, then froze when she saw the cold look in his eyes.

"Come on." He helped her to her feet, pushed her backpack into her arms, and got her moving.

"What's going on? Where are we going?" she asked with genuine fear in her voice.

"The creep from Pinkie's followed us. We're going to my car." Hal's senses were on high alert, and he caught motion in the parking lot. Left and right. Converging. So, he brought his friend. The monster within trembled in anticipation.

They were parked in the second row of cars and had to pass through the first. Their assailants would spring the trap as he and Sam stepped out from between the vehicles.

He altered course subtly to have them pass between a parked cube truck and a jeep. As they reached the rear bumper, he gave Sam a gentle push into the narrow space. "Keep going," he said softly. She took three steps forward and looked back over her shoulder. He was gone.

She took three more stumbling steps forward, and a hand grabbed her wrist painfully tight, yanking her forward. Her legs gave out in her fright. She shrieked as she fell sideways against the bumper of the jeep. Terrified, she grabbed onto the heavy tubing to prevent the rapist from taking her.

Behind her, she heard a fast series of thuds, snaps, and breathy squeals. Something clattered to the pavement, followed by heavier, brutal impacts and muted snaps.

She kept her eyes tightly closed as the angry crackle of sparks sounded twice.

Then a calm voice in her ear.

"Sam, it's okay. We have to leave now. Come on."

Gentle hands helped her stand and collect her bag, and she looked down in fright at the two unconscious men, face down on the paving.

"Quickly now."

Sam clung to Hal's arm as he guided her to the passenger side door. When the door closed with her inside, she felt infinitely safer, so she spun in her seat to look back at the two attackers still on their faces. As Hal slipped behind the steering wheel, she stared at him with wide eyes. He was talking to someone on his cell.

"Thanks." He hung up and tossed a black-handled stun gun into the console between the seats. He caught her look. "I took that from the trucker. It's how they were going to get you into their truck."

He quickly got the car started and drove out of the lot at a sedate pace. He tapped the GPS a few times, and then they were on their way.

He didn't speak again until they were back on the interstate. He looked over at Sam and saw she was still watching him. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, but what did you do?"

He looked away with a stiff expression. "I know how to fight." He looked back at her. "So, going to your sister's is out?"

She immediately looked like she might start crying again, but she nodded.

"Do you have a plan B?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"No other sibling, cousins, an aunt?"

Her face fell, and her lip trembled as his chest tightened.

Shit.

"Where are we going?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm going to LA. That's all I know. Do you have someplace you need to be?"

She shook her head with glassy sad eyes locked onto his frustrated ones.

Fuck.

He didn't want her with him in LA. It wasn't going to be safe for her. He wasn't sure what the outcome of this trip would be. That was what he needed the thinking time for, alone time.

Fuck!

She started to cry again.

"Why are you crying now?" he said in exasperation.

"I'm scared! I don't want to burden you, but I have no home, no money, no—" She choked on her words. "...family. My ex-boyfriend wants to beat me to death and cut my tits off, and those rapists tried to abduct me in broad daylight, a second time!" She was shaking badly. "I'm terrified, but I feel safe here with you. But you don't want me here!"

Her tears became sobs, and Hal felt trapped. The monster had been quiet and dormant after he unleashed it on the two men in the parking lot, but the crying was stirring it up again. He had to nip that in the bud.

"You can stay with me until we work something out," he said sternly. "Stop crying."

The tears tapered off as she watched him with hope in her eyes. He didn't want to see that, so he kept his eyes on the road.

The crying stopped, and they rode on through the countryside.

"Where are we going? Tonight, I mean," she asked timidly.

He nodded. "I booked a room in a motel in Columbus, Ohio. I'll get a second room when we get there."

Hal glanced over and saw another worried expression. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to be a burden..."

He sighed. "What is it?"

"I ran with just what I had on me." Another doe-eyed look was aimed at him. "I'm not prepared for a week-long trip."

Hal glanced at her again and took deep breaths to calm himself. He finally nodded. "Okay, we'll stop and pick up some items for you for the trip." At her look of anguish, he continued. "I have a travel expense account."

Her eyes got a little glassy again, but she forced her tears back. "Thank you."

He gave her a nod, and they went back to driving in silence. It would take almost four hours to get to Columbus, so they settled back in the plush seats.

After a while, Hal felt her eyes on him again. He glanced over cautiously, but she just had a look of intense curiosity on her face.

"What?" he asked, wondering if he really wanted to know.

"I didn't see it, but your fight with those two, it didn't sound like any fight I've ever heard. It was so quiet."

He gave her a raised eyebrow in surprise. "You've heard a lot of fights?"

She nodded with a serious expression. "Frank and his boys, the bouncers, they beat people up fairly often. Sometimes people drink too much and touch the girls. They take them outside, and we can hear it in the dressing room. I think they do it outside the window on purpose. Scares the girls." She examined her chipped nail polish as pain crossed her expression. "Sometimes they do it just for fun. Take some poor sap outside and slap him around. Sometimes it's one of us. Me."

She gave herself a shake, then looked at him. "The fights are always noisy with screams of fear, pleading, crying, cursing and yelling, and the slap of skin on skin. Always." She looked at him again. "You were silent, and the fight was over so fast!"

"I don't like fighting—"

"Liar," the monster whispered, but only Hal heard.

He took a deep breath. "Hit hard to disable the opponent. End the fight quickly. Walk away."

He felt the monster's cool contempt at his words. He knew it was only satisfied when the opponent was dead.

"Inventory Control Manager," she wondered aloud, but quietly.

He remained silent. It was safer.

Chapter 2

Hal joined the rush hour traffic in the loop highway around the western edge of Columbus, Ohio. They'd made good time, even with a few potty breaks for Sam.

The first time they stopped, he'd waited in the car, and Sam had been a nervous wreck by the time she'd done her business and got back to the car. For subsequent stops, he went into the buildings with her and waited. This seemed to ease her fears of being left behind.

On one of their stops, he called ahead to the next motel he'd booked and managed to get the room next to his, too.

Sam finally managed to fall asleep, and he was struck by how innocent she looked when asleep.

He saw his turn off and exited the highway to enter the suburban outskirts. He spotted the motel, but they had some errands to run first. But before that, dinner.

"Sam? Time to wake up."

Eyelids fluttered, and big brown eyes looked at him. "We're at the motel?"

"I thought we'd have dinner first," he suggested, and her eyes lit up. He gestured to the GPS screen. "There are a lot of restaurants in this neighborhood. Pick one."

From how wide her eyes went, Hal thought this might have been the first time she'd been asked to choose. He nodded, so she scoured the screen with her eyes.

"They've got an Olive Garden!" she exclaimed excitedly.

He glanced at her then the map where she was pointing. "That's what you want?"

Her smile became a worried expression. "You don't like it?"

"It's fine! I like it," he insisted. "Olive Garden, it is." Her smile returned twice as bright. He had a little trouble looking away from her smile.

He got them to the parking lot and found a spot close to the door.

Getting out, they stretched and chuckled at their mutual groans.

He locked the car, and they made their way inside. The hostess behind the desk took one look at Sam's outfit, and her lip went up. The tall blonde moved a little closer to Hal's back.

He moved up and held the young woman's eyes with his. She seemed about to dismiss him due to his not terribly flattering clothes, but the manager arrived and saw the annoyed look on Hal's face. The man leaned closer so Hal could whisper something in his ear. The man's brows shot upward, then he pushed the young woman aside as he selected a table for them. He personally led Hal and Sam to a lovely table for four off to the side and seated them. Hal put the wall to his back and had Sam sit to his left, not to block his view. "Your waitress will be right over," the man said with a smile he shared with Hal.

When they were alone, Sam leaned in a little closer. "What did you tell him?" she whispered.

He shrugged. "The snotty little brat was going to give us a hard time getting a table, so I told him I was a federal marshal, you were in witness protection, and we didn't need any delays."

She began to giggle then looked at him with wide eyes. "It's true! You could be a marshal!" She suddenly froze. "Are you a marshal?" she whispered hoarsely in surprise.

He grinned and shook his head. They looked at the menu and made their orders when the harried waitress rushed over.

When the food arrived, Hal found it to be adequate, but he got more satisfaction just from watching Sam's enjoyment. When she finally sat back and rested her hands across the tiny bulge in her otherwise flat stomach, she looked truly relaxed.

"Full?" he asked, and she nodded with a sleepy smile.

"Don't fall asleep now! We have to do some shopping!" he insisted.

She pouted, then her eyes flicked up to see two men approaching their table. A look of dread washed over her features, and she gripped Hal's hand, making him look to see who she was afraid of.