Jax had no idea what some motorcycle gang wanted with them, but he figured it couldn’t be for anything good. The room seemed to be empty at the moment, and their clothes were still spread out over some chairs by the heater. He listened for someone in the bathroom, but everything was quiet. If he was lucky, he could get them both out of there before anyone came back to check on them. He wondered briefly why the biker dude hadn’t left a guard on them, but didn’t stop to question his good fortune. They had to move and move quickly.
Shaking Mason awake, he held a finger to his lips, cautioning him to be quiet, and eased from the bed. He grabbed his damp clothes from where they were drying, pulling them on quickly as he watched Mason dress too. His boots were still soaked through, but he pulled them on anyway and laced them up. Moving stealthily, Jax eased to the door and looked through the peephole to see if anyone was standing outside.
The motel was one of the older kinds still seen on the side of the road in the south, just onestory rooms strung out along the highway like beads on a string and connected by a long sidewalk in front. Seeing no one right in front of the door, he took a chance and eased open the door, peeking around the corners. Nothing and no one was evident on either side of him. He motioned for Mason to follow him. The rain had slacked up a lot, and there were some breaks in the clouds. Jax thought it might be late afternoon.
A couple of doors down, an older man was putting his suitcase in the trunk and coming around to get in his car. On an impulse, Jax ran over to him, making sure Mason followed.
“Mister, could you help us, please? We were hitchhiking and this guy picked us up and brought us here, but now we’re really scared, and need to leave. He went to the store, but he’ll be back soon. Please?”
The man looked startled and looked around him. “Should I call the police? Are you boys all right?’
“No, no police—he hasn’t hurt us or anything, but we just need to go. Can you give us a ride? Just to the nearest truck stop? Maybe we can get a ride from there. ”
“Well, I-Iguess I could give you a ride into New Orleans, if that will help you out. I’m on my way to a family wedding there, but where are your parents? Are you sure I shouldn’t just call the police?”
“Oh no, that’s fine. I’m over eighteen, really. I’m taking care of my little brother while our parents are out of town. If you could just give us a ride, that would be awesome,” Jax opened the car door, slipped inside and settled himself on the front seat before the guy could change his mind. Mason scrambled to get in the back seat, and the man got in beside him, started the engine and pulled out, way too slowly for Jax’s peace of mind. Just in case someone came out of one of the rooms unexpectedly and spotted him leaving, he bent over, pretending to fiddle with the laces on his boots until they’d cleared the motel parking lot. Sitting up then, he glanced back over his shoulder, terrified he would see Cade or one of the others coming after them. The road stayed empty behind them though, and soon the traffic picked up around them as they made their way into Memphis. He’d made it—he’d left the big, handsome biker behind. So why did he feel like he’d done something wrong?
“How old are you boys, son?” the man asked him, a worried frown creasing his face, and Jax turned around and gave him his most winning smile.
“Oh, I’m twenty-one, sir, just small for my age. My little brother and I are going out to Texas to visit my sister while our folks are out of town. ”
The man nodded. “Texas is a long way. Are you sure your parents know you’re doing this? You’d be better off on the bus. ”
“We don’t have the money for the bus, but …we were thinking maybe you could let us off at one of those big truck stops? Maybe we could find a trucker who would give us a ride. ”
“I can do that, I guess. But you still have to be careful. Are you sure you’re over eighteen? You look mighty young for that. You wouldn’t be running away from home now, would you? The two of you?”
“Oh, no sir. I swear. I’m just going to visit my sister. She’s fixin’ to have a baby, and we’re going to help her out, that’s all. ”
The man gave him a suspicious sidelongglance, but didn’t say anything more about their journey for a long time. Jax chatted inanely about the weather and the scenery and any other damn thing he could think of to keep the man from asking any more questions. They were traveling along old Highway 90, which used to be a beautiful, scenic route to New Orleans from Bay St. Louis, according to their driver. But that was before Hurricane Katrina. Katrina had taken out the bridge in Bay St. Louis, though it had been mostly restored. The highway now ran alongside Interstate 10. The interstate went to Baton Rouge, but U. S. 90 took a more leisurely southern turn, passing through New Iberia, Franklin, Morgan City, and the Houma-Thibodaux area before reaching New Orleans. After almost an hour of driving, Jax spotted a truck stop on the highway ahead, and almost bounced in his seat in excitement. Maybe he could find a trucker there who would take them farther west.
“Right there, sir. We’ll just get off at that big truck stop over there, if it’s okay. ”
Pulling off into the parking lot of the station, the older man stopped the car and let them out. Jax thanked him, but before they could get out, the man reached in his pocket and pulled out a twenty. “Here, son. It’s not much, but maybe it will buy you two a meal. I hate to leave you on the side of the road like this—I just don’t feel right about it. ”
Jax took the money gratefully, his eyes actually growing a little misty. He wasn’t used to people giving much of a damn about them, and it always surprised him when people were randomly nice to him. He sometimes forgot that nice people who didn’t want anything from you still existed in the world.
Except for that biker, of course—he’d seemed to be concerned about them too, and he was actually nice enough—other than that stupid spanking thing. But Jax figured he had something else in mind, though he still couldn’t figure o ut exactly what.
“Thank you, mister. And we’ll be fine, really. This will help us a lot. ” He slipped from the car, held the door open for Mason, and ga
ve the man a little wave before turning back to the station behind them. Jax heard him pull off behind them and was surprised at how alone he felt all of a sudden. Squaring his shoulders, he put an arm around Mason and they turned toward the station.
The parking lot was busy and huge. The side lot was taken up by diesel pumps with a few big trucks parked in front of them, while the front lot functioned like a regular service station for other vehicles.
Jax and Mason went inside, finding a big convenience store, as well as a restaurant. This type of station catered to long-distance truckers and tempted them to not only fill up, but stay for a meal or even a chance to clean up in the big bathrooms.
Still hungry, Jax decided to treat himself and Mason to a small burger and a glass of water each in the restaurant. Steering Mason to an empty booth, they sat down and gave the waitress their order. She gave Mason a few crayons and a placemat to color, so while Mason carefully colored a picture of cartoon characters, Jax sat quietly fiddling with his silverware and tried to figure out their next move.
That big biker dude had kept his wallet, so not only had he lost his money, but now he had no ID and no social security card, damn it. Jax knew they must have discovered him missing by now, and he smiled to think how pissed off the big guy would be. He was surprised to feel a little pang when he thought about him. Clearly, he was the best-looking man Jax had ever seen, but there was something else about him Jax couldn’t quite put his finger on. Even though he knew he should have been scared to wake up in a motel room alone with a tough biker dude, he hadn’t been afraid of him, notreally. Instinctively, he’d known the man wouldn’t harm them.
Still, Cade asked too many questions, and it was weird the intense way he looked at Jax. Almost like he wanted him, but it made him mad and pissed off that he did. Crazy the way he made Jax feel safe too, like he was looking after him. It should have been the exact opposite, with him running Jax and Mason down on the side of the road and practically kidnapping them, but it was true. The man made him feel like he would stand between Jax and Mason and the rest of the world, even if it pissed him off to have to do so.
Jax shook himself. No, he was better off getting them the hell out of that motel room. He could take care of himself and Mason—other people couldn’t be trusted. The waitress brought his burger and he wolfed it down, eating every bite and licking his fingers. He felt someone’s gaze on him and looked up to see the amused gaze of a man in the next booth. He looked to be in his fifties and had gray, slightly greasy hair. He wore casual, dirty looking clothes, but his smile was friendly, and he nodded at Jax when he caught Jax looking at him.
“You boys must have been pretty hungry. ” He looked around the restaurant and back into the adjoining convenience store. “Maybe your daddy will buy y’all another one. Is he one of the truckers?” he asked, glancing toward a group lining up at the cash register.
“No,” Jax said. “We’re on our own—I’m plenty old enough that I don’t need anyone else to buy a burger for us. ”