First she was traveling alone along stretches of deserted roads, and now he saw the shape of her truck and was so tempted to lecture her but he held it in, barely. Something fishy was going on with this woman.
“What’s not wrong with it?” Blake muttered under his breath and told Victor to open the hood of the truck. While they were peeking under it, he noticed her looking around her surroundings and taking in every detail. He wondered if she was some kind of thief but what could she steal here in his shop besides tools and broken cars? Maybe she was in trouble and on the run. That only led to more questions. Blake did not like unanswered questions.
“Looks like the radiator is shot,” Victor said, smelling the antifreeze that was leaking out.
Blake nodded in agreement. “A few of the hoses are so old they look like they are disintegrating slowly. How she made it one mile in this piece of crap is a mystery.”
Blake made a mental list of what he would need and how long it would take to fix. He looked around for his mysterious customer and found her sitting under the shade of a tree in the grass, eating a granola bar. Her legs were straight out in front of her and crossed at the ankles. He was surprised she was willing to get her clothes dirty. They had looked expensive and he would have thought she’d be too prissy to sit on the ground. This woman was a puzzle for sure.
“What do you think her story is?” Victor asked quietly. “She really was worried about taking a ride from me. Even when she got in the car she looked ready to bolt at any moment. I tried joking with her and keeping both hands on the steering wheel but I could tell how scared she really was.”
“She must be running from someone. She says her name is Anna and she tried to convince me she was just on a fun summer road trip but I know she is lying,” Blake answered. “She is dressed too fancy for taking a road trip.”
Victor snorted. “The plates are from Colorado.”
Blake walked over to where she was sitting. She put her half-eaten granola bar back in her backpack when she saw Blake approaching. He towered over her and cast a shadow. “You need a new radiator and a few new hoses. Should take maybe two days.”
Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Two days? I was hoping to be out of here tonight or in the morning.”
Blake looked down at her. She looked tired and he couldn’t help but be curious about her. Sure, she was attractive but so were a lot of women. There was something in her eyes that made his protective instincts rise up. She looked so wary and full of fear for someone so young. He wasn’t looking to get romantically involved with anyone but he wanted to help her. He intended to do a little extra stuff so she would be safe on her journey. She was in trouble, he knew that for sure. The sooner he got her on the road again the better for his peace of mind. “It’s mid-afternoon already, and I have this car I need to finish today. I can start on yours tomorrow, order whatever parts I need, and hopefully I won’t run into extra problems.”
She sighed and stood up, dusting off the dirt on the back of her skirt. “Okay. How much?”
He named a price and she agreed. She had obviously been expecting more. “Is there a motel in this town?”
He nodded and handed her one of his business cards. “I can have Victor drop you off at the Shady Grove Motel. It’s the only one in town. There is a restaurant next door to it. Call me tomorrow and I’ll let you know how it is going.”
Victor agreed to drop her off at the motel so she grabbed her duffel bag with her clothes from the back of her pickup truck. Just the name and look of the old-fashioned motel sounded like something out of a horror movie but she had no choice but to spend the night here. She got herself into this mess she was facing and, like always, she stood alone and had only herself to depend on.
Chapter 2
Anna sat inside her motel room eating her burgers and fries. The room was stuck in the seventies along with purple carpeting and an older television, but at least the air conditioner worked so she was happy. It had to be at least a hundred degrees outside if not more. If luck finally ran her way, she wouldn’t be here long anyway.
It had been so long since she ate a burger and fries and she was savoring every single bite. Santiago, her ex-boyfriend, was constantly telling her she needed to lose weight so she had lived off salads and yogurt. After Victor had dropped her off at the motel, she had checked in and taken a long nap. She woke up just in time for dinner and headed over to the café next door. Wonderful smells were coming out of there and her stomach reminded her that she needed food. She had walked into the small diner and sat at the long counter since all the tables were full. She usually liked a window seat so she could see who was coming and going.
She placed her order with the young waitress behind the counter. She noticed she was getting a lot of curious looks from people at the tables. Most people wore shorts or jeans and she had on a short black dress, heels, and a gold chain around her neck. She felt self-conscious about her appearance but she didn’t have the extra money to shop for more casual clothes. She had planned to do that in whatever city she decided to stay in. Only now she was stuck here for two days.
“Is that order for here or to go, miss?” the waitress asked. She had short brown hair and barely looked eighteen. She was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt that said Molly’s Diner in big black letters.
“To go,” Anna answered. She had planned on eating here but now she just wanted to escape the stares of the other customers. She knew that people were probably just curious because she was unfamiliar but it made her feel nervous. She couldn’t let her guard down for one second. Santiago was rich and had people on his payroll everywhere. She had learned that in the three years she had been dating him. It might seem ridiculous for her to think someone in Shady Grove knew who Santiago Martinez was, but
stranger things had happened. She was taking no chances. Her one and only friend, Ben, had died helping her escape the clutches of her psycho ex-boyfriend.
Thinking of Ben made her lose her appetite. She threw the food away and wiped away the tears she hadn’t realized were rolling down her cheeks. She had spent enough time crying over her mistakes and the loss of her friend. Getting involved with Santiago had been a huge, colossal mistake but she couldn’t rewind time. She had to move on and try to survive. Some days she wondered if surviving was even worth it. She was lonely and so tired of the constant moving, a weariness that had invaded deep in her soul. It would be so easy to just give up and let Santiago find her. She knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with just beating her this time. He’d kill her but at least it would finally be over. Then she thought of sweet, gentle Ben. He had believed she was strong and was a survivor. Hadn’t she survived having a drug addict mother who had eventually died of a drug overdose? Ben would tell her to be strong and live. She could even hear his voice in her head and it sent a piercing pain through her chest.
She missed her pre-Santiago days. Life had been a struggle back then but she made it through high school with good grades and supported herself by working as a waitress. Life hadn’t been perfect but it had been okay.
She had shared an apartment with Ben. They had known each other since second grade and he had been like a brother to her, always her protector.
When she was twenty-one she had gotten a better paying job as a waitress in a bar and had moved up to being a bartender within two years. Life had finally seemed to be going really good for a while. Then she had met Santiago Martinez, a lying snake in the grass. He had fed her a bunch of pretty little lies all wrapped up in a bow and in her naivety she had fallen for every one of them. He had been an older, wiser, well-dressed man with dark movie star looks. He owned two successful casinos and drove an expensive fancy car. She had been fascinated with all the things money could buy. She had grown up poor and worked hard for every little item she had until Santiago came into her life and changed everything.
He told her he loved her and it was his pleasure to take care of her and she had thought it sounded so romantic and she was so lucky he had noticed her out of all the pretty girls in Reno.
Despite Ben’s worry she had quit her job and moved into Santiago’s penthouse over the casino. Before she could remove her rose-colored glasses, Santiago was telling her what to wear, what to eat, and who she could talk to.
“Your body is sexy, darling, but I want you to go to my gym. My trainer Andrew is going to help you tone up and get rid of that baby fat,” he told her one night after they had made love, and she had been so embarrassed. She had always been curvy but she didn’t think she was fat until that moment.
She hadn’t even realized he was having her followed until one day she had snuck away to have an innocent dinner with Ben. Santiago didn’t believe she should need other friends beside him but she missed Ben. When she got home, Santiago had been waiting for her and that was the first time he had hit her. She had tried to leave him but he had assigned his guards to watch her every move.