He ate alone; and he stewed. If he wasn’t so shy he could be in there with them. They wouldn’t reject him, not even Vince. He didn’t have long to think about it, though, because Ari and Vince came out of the bathroom together, both wrapped in towels and nothing else.
“I’m starved,” Vince exclaimed, and sat down on the bed that held Jordan’s gear. At least he was semi-covered, Jordan thought as he tried not to stare at Vince’s chest.
He grabbed his sandwiches out of the bag and ate heartily, even though it was cold. Ari sat at the table across from Jordan. “You should have showered with us,” she said happily.
“I’ll shower later.” He tried not to pout, or sound upset. He didn’t want to be angry. But Ari frowned when he said it. He didn’t want her to be mad. “I have the Secretary’s home IP address. I should be able to see everything on her computer soon.”
“That’s awesome,” Vince stated. “Maybe we could find the evidence we need against her, and we can go back to DC.”
Arianna’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. She didn’t care how much evidence Vince had on the Secretary, she wasn’t going to stand trial. Even if a District Attorney could get her immunity for her crimes, she wouldn’t last a day in the system. Jordan could see that Ari wasn’t completely happy with him or Vince at the time, but she tried to hide it.
They heard a knock, and all three became quiet. Vince found his gun quickly, and Arianna stood between the door and Jordan. But Jordan didn’t react. “That’s for me, probably.”
“You have a package,” the older man from the front desk, who Vince had later found out was the owner, said when he opened the door. From what Vince could tell the man never went home. Perhaps the motel was his home.
“Thanks,” Vince said with a bright smile. He hid the gun in his other hand, behind the door. “Have a good day,” he said as he closed it. The older man simply waved.
Vince handed the box to Jordan, and he in turn handed it to Arianna. “Open it,” he said. She grinned as she did. At least the surprise erased some of the anger from her face.
“Now someone knows where we are,” Vince frowned.
“Not really, I had it shipped several different places before it came to the motel. I don’t think they’ll be able to track it, even if the purchase is on their radar. I bought it through an anonymous website.” He was upset that Vince had such little faith in him. Pretty soon no one was going to be happy in their little threesome.
Ari had the box open and dumped the contents on the bed beside Vince. She was shocked to find a passport with her picture and an assumed name. She had no idea where Jordan found an image of her with blonde hair, but somehow he did. There were also credit cards and a driver’s license in her assumed name, and a cell phone.
“They can’t trace the phone,” he assured her.
“This is awesome!” Ari ran to him and hugged him. She kissed both his cheeks then planted a big one on his lips. His arms slowly wrapped around her. “Thank you so much,” she sighed as she stared into his brown eyes. She seemed happy enough now.
Anger filled Vince’s mind, but he tried not to let it show. Arianna was happy. She was going to leave him, and she was happy about it. She returned to the bed and searched through the contents again. “There’s only one passport.” It took a few moments to sink in. She glanced from Vince to Jordan. “You’re not coming with me?” She sounded like a child being abandoned on her first day of school.
“I have to go back to my job, Ari. It’s the best way for me to protect you.” She pouted, complete with her bottom lip sticking out and sad eyes.
“But the Secretary knows about you. She wants to kill you. You can’t go back!” She turned to Vince, imploring him to help her. “You have to convince him that he can’t go back. It’s too dangerous.”
“You should come back to DC with us. You shouldn’t be on your own right now.” Vince damn sure didn’t want to lose her. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but prosecuting the Secretary was the only way to keep her safe. And he needed her help. He needed her willing to help him. “I love you, and I swear the easiest way to end all of this is for you to testify.”
“I think she would be better off hiding for a while, until I can get into the Secretary’s computer,” Jordan argued.
“I don’t understand why we can’t all three wait here until…”
“Until what, Arianna? There’s no fucking
until
anything, except until the Secretary dies. Are you going to stay in this motel until then?” Vince restrained himself. He wanted to yell at her, but he didn’t. But she could hear the tension in his voice.
She wanted to cry. And what did she do when she wanted to cry? She ran. She said nothing, but she stood and rummaged through her bags. She found her running clothes, and hurried to the bathroom. The last thing on Earth she wanted was to be naked in front of the two of them. She had opened up to them, trusted them, and they both betrayed her.
She dressed quickly, and before either of them could say anything she hurried out the door. Vince didn’t take long before he followed after her. As soon as she took her clothes in to change he changed too.
She didn’t want to run with anyone. She wanted to run alone. She put her headphones in her ears, and tried to ignore him. But he grabbed her wrist, as he often did, and stopped her.
“You can’t just run off, Ari.” Vince’s anger showed through in his words. He didn’t even try to hide it. “You know they’re after you.”
“They don’t know where we are. I’m perfectly safe,” she argued, and ran away from him. He followed, of course, but at least he didn’t try to talk any more.
She just ran; she didn’t have any idea where she was headed. She ran past the motel office and toward the two-lane road. She stared forward, but soon she was enchanted by the last few orange and red leaves clinging onto the trees surrounding her. Hills stretched toward the sky, creating a feeling of isolation. Why couldn’t she stay here, she wondered as she passed a dilapidated trailer with a chain-link fence that drooped more than it stood. A child played in the front yard, in jeans and a jacket, the mother sat on the porch on the phone. She would never have that, she realized as she turned away from the child’s blonde head and pumped her legs faster.
She had let them in. She let two men into her heart. And they both deceived her. Well Vince more than Jordan; at least Jordan wanted to help her escape. He even insisted he only wanted to go back to DC for her, to help her. Couldn’t he help her on the run? He had all that gear. They could find a house somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and install all his equipment.
She didn’t want to be alone anymore. She had a small taste of how it felt to share her life, to trust someone, to enjoy their bodies and minds. She wasn’t prepared to give it up so soon. But she had to realize, she had to be alone. Vince and Jordan both had jobs to do. Both of them could protect her better back in DC.
She stopped in front of a small gas station, and turned toward Vince. “Do you have cash?”
He was shocked that she spoke to him, as she didn’t face him. But he pulled out his wallet and handed her some money. “Sure, whatever you want Ari.”
“Do you want a drink?” She asked as she headed inside.
“Sure, a sports drink. Grape if they have it.” He stood outside by the door, watching the street. He felt uneasy for some reason, he realized. He wanted to be back in the safety of the motel room, just the three of them. He wanted to stay there forever, just like she did. But he knew they couldn’t.
Chapter Thirteen
Ari made her way to the back of the store where the coolers were. She found a bottle of water and a sports drink, and carried it toward the counter. She saw a TV hanging on the wall, just out of the cashier’s view. The volume was turned all the way down. She wondered why they even had a TV if the employees couldn’t watch it.
That’s when she saw the top news story for the day. An all points bulletin had been released for the three. The closed captioning allowed her to read every word the anchor said, even if she couldn’t hear it. Apparently Vince Argento and Jordan Stewart were wanted for harboring a fugitive: Arianna. Fuck, why did she have to find that out now, while they were away from the motel? Why did she have to throw a fit and start jogging?
She tried to be as calm as possible and handed her money to the young man behind the counter. She smiled, avoided eye contact, and took her change silently. “We have to go,” she insisted to Vince as she passed him.
“Jordan just called me. He’s packing his gear.” They ran back at a faster pace, past the trailer where the child had played outside earlier. He and the mother were both gone. Arianna wondered if she saw the news and recognized them. Was she calling 911 right now?
“Damn it Ari, why couldn’t you just stay at the hotel? Why did you have to run off?” He couldn’t hide his anger this time.
“Now we have to separate,” Ari stated. “They are looking for the three of us.”
“I’m not going back to DC without you.” He insisted as they arrived back at the motel.
Jordan closed the back of the SUV as Ari and Vince arrived. “We’re ready to go,” he stated, and walked toward the passenger side of the car. Ari saw her bags and Vince’s in the back with Jordan’s.
“That was fast,” Ari observed as she climbed into the back seat.
“We were all still packed. All I had to do was carry the bags out to the car. I’ve had plenty of practice.” He had his laptop and phone out again, sitting in his lap.
“I’ll take one more look inside the motel,” Vince said, and walked toward the room.
“We need to leave him here,” Ari said as she grabbed his bag and threw it out the window, and then she crawled into the driver’s seat. Jordan had the keys in his hand, and didn’t think twice. He handed the key to Ari, and she started the car.
Vince heard it, of course, and by the time he was outside she had the car in reverse. Their eyes met; he was upset but not surprised. She made a split second decision and prayed she wouldn’t regret it.
He chased her for a moment, screaming for her to stop. When she didn’t he threw his hands up in the air and yelled out, “Arianna!”
“Why did we leave him,” Jordan wondered as Ari squealed the tires and exited the parking lot.
“He wants me to go back with him. He wasn’t prepared to take no for an answer.” She drove past the trailer, past the gas station. She felt sad for what she could have had, but even more sad that she had to leave Vince. There was no other choice for her. She couldn’t go back.
“Turn right here.” Jordan’s GPS voice was back; another thing to disturb her mood.
Vince cursed loudly as he stared at his bag. He didn’t want to go back inside the motel room where the evidence of Arianna’s lost virginity lingered on the bed. But he fumbled with the key and finally opened the door. Thankfully he carried it with him when he followed Arianna.
He sat on the edge of the bed and thought. He didn’t know whom he could trust at the FBI. His boss had pressed hard to investigate the Secretary, perhaps he would call him. He couldn’t think of a single reason his boss would try to prosecute the Secretary if he was one of her minions.
He regretted pushing Ari, but he needed to make her understand that she would be safer with him. But he couldn’t really guarantee her safety when he doubted his own. So he finally turned on the TV and tried to get as much information as possible. He really wished he had Jordan with him right now, but on the other hand he was glad Arianna had someone to help her.
He lay back on the bed, beside the stain that reminded him: just that morning he thought he would have her forever. He would wait as long as he could, then call his boss. With Jordan he didn’t think she would have a problem evading the police. He closed his eyes and remembered that her hair smelled like coconuts, and her skin smelled like cocoa butter, and she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life.
“Pull in here,” Jordan insisted after she’d driven for nearly an hour. She was curious for several moments, until he pointed at an expensive silver SUV. “Park beside that.”
“Alright,” she shrugged. He stepped out of the shot up car, and walked over to the pretty silver vehicle. He entered a code in the door and it unlocked. She stared for several minutes, until he pulled a key fob from under the driver’s seat and dangled it from his finger.
“Come on, Ari,” he said as he pushed a button and the back lifted automatically. “Why are you just sitting there?” He picked up his computer gear and carried it to the passenger side of the new car, then started pulling his bags from the back.
She was stunned for several minutes, until she realized that nothing in her life had been normal for several days. She carried her bags to the silver car, and when they finished he pushed a button and the door closed again. “Get in,” he said.
There was no key to start the car, just a button. The car had more screens than she’d ever seen before. She was afraid to drive it. “Are we stealing this car,” she wondered aloud.
“Of course not, you own it. Or, at least, Jane Brown owns it.” She thought of the name on her new passport and driver’s license. Not very original, but it wasn’t bad. “Put on a wig.”
She climbed over the back seat and rummaged in her bags until she found one, and adjusted it until it looked like her real hair. “I like you better as a brunette,” Jordan said seriously.
“Thanks,” she said, and gave him a quick kiss. But he held her tight, and kissed her back. She pulled away, though, and started the car. She didn’t want to sit anywhere they could be seen for very long.
She drove the new car more cautiously than normal. Jordan seemed to know how everything worked already, and found a music channel they could both agree on. Plus it was nice to be warm in the car for a change.
“Are you going to tell me how you bought this?” She wondered while they were on the interstate headed west.
“Jane Brown has excellent credit and over three hundred thousand dollars in the bank. I bought it online,” he said lightly, as if he did it every day.
“Where does the money come from?” Her tone was straight forward, no messing around. She wanted to know, and she wouldn’t accept any answer other than the truth.