Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I didn’t have the slightest clue where my mother was, but I knew where we could start searching, but before we could do that we had to organize a bit more money and change our ride, because Major would be searching for the missing motorcycle soon.
Devon reached back and patted my thigh before he turned the key and the motorcycle roared to life. My pulse exploded in my veins at the thought of how far the roar had carried. My grip on Devon tightened and he must have understood because he floored the accelerator. I was sure that Major had heard the engine all the way to headquarters. I rested my head against Devon’s back and let the reassuring feeling of his heartbeat against my palms calm me. The motorcycle vibrated under me as we rushed through the darkness. Our light caught on trees that looked like claws reaching for the stars.
Was revealing the truth worth losing everything I’d held dear?
I would find out soon enough.
We’d been driving for two hours and covered a little over one hundred miles when Devon steered the BMW into a parking lot in front of a run-down motel. It was painted in different shades of gray, except for the green neon-letters saying “Jimmy’s”. A gas station was beside it—which was fortunate since we were almost out of fuel.
My butt prickled when I dismounted the BMW. I didn’t think my butt had ever fallen asleep quite this much before. I didn’t understand how people could enjoy this. We removed our helmets. Devon’s face was red and sweaty, his hair matted down against his skull, and I knew I didn’t look much better. My usually wild hair was plastered all over my forehead and cheeks. My physical comfort wasn’t the only reason I was relieved to be back on my feet: being the passenger on a motorcycle gave you lots of time to think.
“Let’s ask how much they charge for a room,” I said, waving at the motel with its bad paint job and dirty windows. My eyes darted back to the road that had taken us here, half expecting a parade of FEA’s black limousines or SUVs to appear at any second.
“Won’t they ask for ID or something like that?” Devon asked as we walked toward the door with its ripped screen. Gravel crunched under our feet and the wooden steps groaned as we stepped up onto the porch.
I shook my head. “Motels like this one usually don’t care who their customers are, as long as they pay cash.”
Devon looked skeptical but when we entered the lobby and asked the man at the reception desk for a room, he barely looked at us. He was engrossed in watching a poker game on TV and as I suspected, he just counted the bills I’d pushed over to him before handing us the key.
“Have fun,” he said distractedly when we headed out.
My skin heated. The guy probably thought Devon and I needed a place to have sex. That’s probably why most couples, especially teens, rented a room.
“Well, that was easy,” Devon said as we entered our room; he didn’t seem to be one bit flustered by the man’s assumption.
Two narrow twin beds with flowery blankets, a wardrobe missing a door and two nightstands crowded the small space. The yellow wallpaper must have been white once; it was peeled off the corners in strips. The brown carpet was littered with unidentifiable stains. I didn’t even want to know what they were. A myriad of chewing gum wads dotted the ceiling, some of it gray with age. Disgusting. There was only one door, which led into a tiny, musty bathroom.
I sank down on one of the beds, exhaustion catching up with me. Devon took the other bed and stretched out.
“It probably won’t always be this easy. The FEA will start searching for us soon. And if Abel’s Army figures out that I’m no longer in headquarters, they’ll probably send a hunting party after us.”
Way to ruin the mood, I chided myself. But I wouldn’t do us any favors if I kept my eyes closed to the inevitable truth. We were the hunted now.
“So where are we going next?” Devon asked between yawns. He tilted his face toward me, his arms stretched above his head. A sliver of tanned skinned showed when his shirt rode up.
I brought my focus back to my shoes and pulled them off. “We need to find my mother. I don’t know where she lives now, but I know someone who might know. Her last boyfriend. Or at least, the last boyfriend she had while I still lived with her.”
“Did she have so many?” Devon asked quietly.
“Oh yes, and each one was worse than the last.”
I hated remembering that part of my life. It wasn’t just that my home life was hard; I hated the way people judged me, as if it was my fault that my mother couldn’t get her life in order. Kate used to call me white trash behind my back, but once she even did it to my face. But there was no sign of judgment in Devon’s blue eyes.