Fat Louise(28)

Jane belatedly realized her mistake. She should never have tried to save her ungrateful sister. She was with the sick son of a bitch she wanted. They deserved each other.

Jane crawled into the confined space. Peering over the rocks, she saw the soldiers looking for them; however, Cade was nowhere to be seen.

Jane heard a sound to her left, tensing, and then gave a sigh of relief.

“Cade.” He had blood dripping from a cut above his eye. “Are you all right?” she asked, afraid the soldiers would see her movements.

“No,” he replied, grimacing as he hunkered down. His face was becoming a bloody mess.

“I’m sorry,” Jane apologized.

“It’s not your fault they found us,” Cade reassured her. “You managed to save our asses.”

“What are they going to do?”

“Search for us until they find us again,” he answered truthfully, which Jane respected.

Bailey began wailing.

“Jesus, don’t you ever shut up?” he snapped. “They’ll kill me right away, but they’re going to try to blackmail your father for money, so it will be awhile before they kill you two. Maybe he can secure your release. I don’t know. It depends on if he can get the money to them.”

“Maybe he won’t have to,” Jane uttered, scooting her body closer to his.

“What do you mean?” Cade asked her.

“We can walk out of Mexico. It’s done all the time.”

“I’m not walking.” Bailey stuck her feet out, showing her shoes. The flat sandals would be no barrier to rocks and dirt.

Jane pulled off her tennis shoes, placing them next to Bailey. “Give me your sandals. I’ll wear them.” Bailey took off the sandals, putting on Jane’s tennis shoes. Cade had hoped they wouldn’t fit, but they did. Used to giving up her things to her spoiled sister, Jane had known they would.

“What now?” Bailey asked, tying the shoes.

“We’ll wait and give the guards time to give up and search another area. Thank fuck it’s so hot they won’t search long.”

“Come on.” Cade told them as soon as the last of the Raul’s men drove away and it became dark.

Jane and Bailey stood, beginning the long trek toward the border. Following Cade, they moved silently through the inky darkness. While they ran from the town through a wooded area, all Jane could hear was Bailey’s complaining.

It didn’t take long before Bailey bent over, crying out from a pain in her side.

“I can’t run anymore!”

“If you don’t be quiet, I’m going to strangle you,” Cade threatened.

Bending over, he tossed her over his shoulder and kept running. Jane ignored her own exhaustion, trying to keep up as best she could.

She didn’t know how long they ran before they stopped to rest. Jane was relieved, uncertain how much farther she could have gone.

“We’ll rest here for a few minutes then leave. We need to get as far as we can while it’s dark.

Jane took a drink from the bottled water she had in her backpack. Thank God she had been smart enough to pick it up before running away from the soldier she had stabbed. She then passed it to Bailey who took deep gulps of the precious liquid.

“Don’t drink it all,” Cade said, taking the water away.

“I’m still thirsty,” she complained.

“This water may have to last us awhile.” He took a small sip for himself before closing it.

“That’s not enough,” Jane protested.

“It’s enough for now.” He got back to his feet. “Let’s get going.”

This time, Bailey walked. She was slower, but at least she was carrying her own weight.

It was still dark when they found an abandoned RV riddled with bullet holes next to a small pond.

“Am I dreaming?” Jane asked as Cade cautiously scouted out the deserted area.

“No. It must have belonged to someone transporting illegals or drugs. They used it because of the water”—he pointed to the pond—“and it’s secluded. We should be able to hide out here for the day. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for a while.”

Jane investigated the RV. It had been ransacked, with nothing left behind. There was a thin mattress lying on the floor. Jane was forgetting what it was like to sleep in a normal bed.

She turned the mattress over, seeing it looked somewhat cleaner on that side.

“Go ahead and lie down, Bailey.”

Her sister lay down without offering her thanks. She didn’t even move over so Jane could lie down, even though there was room. Jane’s shoulders sank as she turned away, laying down her backpack on the floor and using it as a pillow.