Davis, Keyonna - Nowhere to Hide [Pine Valley] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

Pine Valley

KEYONNA DAVIS

Copyright © 2011

Prologue

Cane Parker l
ay
in bed pretending to be asleep. She had been lying there for four hours watching the clock trying to get her nerves up to do what she had to do. She knew if she didn’t make her move soon she would die. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she heard the soft snoring and deep
,
even breaths coming from the other side of the bed. Just stick with the plan, she told herself repeatedly, trying to will herself into motion.

As slow as she could
, Cane eased the blankets back and slid from the bed. She had been planning this for six months just waiting until the time was right. Tonight was as good a time as any because he was starting to get suspicious of the money that was missing from their bank account. She had no choice but to take a little at a time so that he wouldn’t notice. She wasn’t allowed to remove money without Sam’s permission. She wasn’t allowed to do anything without his permission, or she would be punished. That
was
why Cane was up at three in the morning trying to sneak out of the bedroom. Slowly, she made her way to the door. As she reached for the knob, she noticed her hands were shaking, and then she realized her whole body was trembling and she was covered in sweat just from the short walk from the bed to the door
.

T
aking
a deep breath, Cane whispered to herself, “Get a grip
.
Y
ou
have been planning this for six months. Everything is in place. All you have to do is stick with the plan and you are free.”

After a few more quick breaths she slowly turned the knob and eased the door open only to freeze when it made a loud creaking noise. Cane stood there with her heart beating like it was about to jump out of her chest
,
her breath coming in short, fast pants. She was afraid to turn around and find him standing behind her, so she stood frozen in place like a statue and listened. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat and the blood thundering in her ears.

“It’s now or never,” she told herself and turned her head. Sam was still in the same position, so she let out a deep sigh of relief and slipped out the door, closing it
as quietly as possible
behind her.

Having a little more courage now that she wasn’t in the same room with him, Cane quickly ran down the stairs and opened the front coat closet. Everything was just as she left it
.
S
he had already packed a bag with her clothes, and she had an extra set folded neatly on top. She got dressed as fast as she could and put her shoes on. Once finished, she grabbed her duffle bag and a small backpack that had the cash that she had been slowly stashing for six months, a few bottles of water, snack bars, and her ID. Finally, she grabbed an old ball cap and slipped it on. She made sure she had all of her hair tucked under the cap pulling the brim low over her eyes.
T
his was the most important part of her plan because her unusual hair and eye color could be easily spotted. Having never met her parents, Cane didn’t know which she got her features from, but doctors told her at a young age that they were genetic. She was born with one eye that was a rich amber color that at times was so bright it looked like it was glowing, and the other eye so light gray that at times it looked like
it
had no color at all, only a pupil. To top off the unusual eyes, her hair had no color at all
.
I
t was pure white and straight as an arrow. Cane liked to think she was unique and actually loved her features. Add those to her caramel-colored skin and slim, curvy body and
five-foot-five-inch
height, at twenty-six years old, she wasn’t bad to look at. At least that was one thing Sam had never had a problem with, her looks. He loved to show her off to his friends and make them jealous.

Without looking back, Cane walked out the front door. She turned left and headed toward town. Every sound and shadow had her jumping, but she didn’t turn back. She walked about five miles and tried to pace herself, but couldn’t help picking up speed when she saw the bus station in the distance. By the time she got there, she was out of breath and sweating. She walked up to the ticket counter where a small woman who looked like she was bored out of her mind sat.

“What time does the next bus leave?” Cane asked.

“We have one about to leave just as soon as the driver comes out of the restroom,” said the woman whose name tag said Claire.

“Oh
,
please, I need to be on that bus!” Cane shouted a little too loud.

Claire frowned at her
.
“Don’t you even want to know where it is going?” Taking deep breaths to fight off the panic that was slowly rising and trying not
to
the let the tears flow that suddenly filled her eyes, Cane just shook her head. After what seemed like forever, the clerk finally narrowed her eyes, gave her a look of understanding, and started to process her ticket. When time came to pay, Cane had to dig awkwardly in her backpack without opening it all the way to get the cash out. She didn’t want anyone to see that she was carrying over $25,000 dollars in cash. She only had $100 bills, so she just slid one out without looking and handed it to the woman. Just as she was getting her change and ticket, the driver came out of the bathroom. Claire yelled to him that he had one more and then turned to Cane, whispered, “Be safe,” and winked. Giving Claire what she knew was a weak smile, Cane grabbed her belongings and boarded the bus. She released a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding once the bus slowly pulled out of the terminal. After glancing at the watch of the woman sitting across from her, she realized that it was only 4:45 a.m. What felt like a lifetime since she eased out of bed and left Sam for good had only taken an hour and forty-five minutes. The first part of her plan went off smoothly, but Cane knew she wasn’t out of danger yet. She couldn’t let her guard down.

The second part of the plan was to just keep traveling and get as far away from Raleigh,
North Carolina
as possible. Whenever the bus pulled into a terminal, Cane quickly got off and went to the ticket counter to purchase a ticket on the bus leaving the terminal the fastest. She never asked where the bus was headed because she figured that if she didn’t know where she was going, then there was no way Sam would know, which meant he could never find her. She had been traveling for three days now and only once did she get on a bus that was headed back in the direction she came. After a tense couple of hours, and the loss of all her fingernails from nervous biting, the bus arrived at a terminal and she was able to get on another one. Now the bus was pulling into a small town that looked like it wouldn’t even be listed on a map. The bus came to a stop on the curb next to what looked like a small grocery store. Having been the only person on the bus for the last hour, the driver stood and looked at her.

He gave her a smile and said, “Ma’am, this is the last stop. I am sorry, but you have to get off here.”

Feeling her heart in her throat and butterflies in her stomach, Cane quickly gathered her belongings and headed toward the front of the bus. After stepping off, she asked the driver when the next bus would leave. Again the driver smiled at her and told her that the bus only came to this town once a week on Thursdays and
because
this was the last stop on the route, if she wanted to go somewhere else she had to go back to the terminal they left four hours ago and get on another bus.

Cane knew that she could never go back the way she came, so she smiled, thanked the driver, and walked away. Looking around the town, she realized that her plan had worked out better than she had ever hoped. She decided that she would stay here for the night and use the time to decide what she wanted to do. She desperately wanted food and a shower, and it didn’t have to be in that order.

She went into the small grocery store, since it was the closest, so she could ask where the nearest hotel and place to eat were. After giving Cane a dirty look when she asked what city she was in, the clerk told her that she was in the small town of Pine Valley, Oregon. Cane checked into the only hotel in town, which was a bed
-
and
-
breakfast. Once in her room, she sat on the side of the bed and tried to come up with a new plan. She couldn’t help but to smile when she realized that she was finally free. She felt like a ton of weight had been lifted off her body and she was floating on air. It had been almost eight years since she had felt like this, and it was enough to bring tears to her eyes. There was no way that Sam would ever find her here in the middle of nowhere, but she decided that she would not unpack her few belongings just in case she had to leave quickly. She paid for the room for the entire week and figured if she didn’t like the town, she could just hop on the bus when it came and head out again. Listening to her stomach growl from only having water and energy bars for the last few days, Cane decided to eat at the diner, which was the only restaurant in town, and then have a look around.