Love in Disguise

Sunday, June 29 Footsteps sounded outside my door. My heart raced as I sat upright, then I saw the sunlight streaming through the sides of the window shade and realized it was morning. The door slowly creaked open, and Raven appeared. She was dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants. I let out a shaky breath. “You scared me for a minute there,” I said, trying to keep my voice down. “Sorry about that. You can use the spare toothbrush I put out in the bathroom for you, but I think it’s best we hurry up and get out of here. We can stop for something to eat on the road. The longer you stay here, the more at risk you are.” “Ok,” I said, climbing out of bed. I brushed my teeth and pulled off the large T-shirt she had given me to sleep in, then put my own clothes back on. When I stepped into the hallway, the silence that greeted me had an eerie ring to it. I blamed it on my circumstances. Not wanting to call out in case Kya was hanging around nearby, I slowly and quietly walked down the hallway into the kitchen, where I found Raven peering through the lacy curtains. I cleared my throat. She turned around. “Anything?” “Not that I can see,” she said softly. “Is her car there?” Raven nodded. “For now, go back in the bedroom and hide in the closet while I go outside to look around, tend to the horse, and load up the car. Don’t come out of the closet when you hear me return. I’ll come and get you.” “Ok,” I said, heading back down the hall. Once again, I squeezed myself into the crowded closet, crouching in an uncomfortable position to wait for what seemed like forever. When Raven returned, she said, “The coast seems clear enough. You ready?” “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, standing upright. “Then let’s get out and hit the road as fast as we can. Stay close to me.” She drew her pistol and held it by her side as I followed her out. She quickly locked the door while we both looked around. I strained to see over at Kya’s house but saw no signs of movement. Not even Yogi was visible. Perhaps he was indoors. “Ok, come on. Let’s go.” I followed her to the car. We quickly hopped in and pulled away. The dashboard clock read 6:51. Both of us were quiet for the first few minutes. I half-expected Kya to come barreling out of nowhere and box us in along the narrow dirt road, but there wasn’t another vehicle in sight. Finally, I released a sigh of relief. “Feel better now?” Raven asked. I nodded. “But where will we go, and how will I live? I mean, if I have to go underground and all that, how will I obtain a new identity? One she can’t trace?” “We’ll figure all that out eventually. Right now, why don’t we just relax and enjoy ourselves? Think of it as a well-earned vacation.” I smiled. “If anyone needs a vacation, it’s me. But what about you? Aren’t you missing work?” “No, fate must’ve planned it this way because I was just about ready to take a week off.” “You were scheduled for vacation now anyway?” She nodded. “Wow. I guess a guardian angel really did time things right, for if it hadn’t been for you helping me, who knows what I’d have done?” She smiled. “Thanks for helping me like this.” “No problem,” she said, taking her eyes off the road just long enough to glance at me. “Perhaps you won’t hate cops as much anymore.” I laughed. “Hungry?” she asked. I thought about it for a moment. “You know, I think I am. Yeah, I could use a bite to eat.” We had a hearty, traditional breakfast at Denny’s, where I used their payphone to call Mary, whose machine came on. “Hi Mary, it’s me. Listen, I know this is going to sound strange, and that you’re probably frantic with worry—or close to it—but all I can tell you right now is that I’m alive and well. I can’t give you any more information than that. I can’t tell you where I’m going or who’s helping me, but Kya’s crazy, Mary. Completely insane. She threatened me. That’s the only reason I went back to her, so you were right in suspecting something was wrong. It’s just that we can’t use the police to help me. They’ll only protect her. I can’t go to people she knows I know, and I can’t give you phone numbers to call that she could check into. I also can’t have you come to me, where you could be followed by someone she hires. Remember, this is a cop we’re dealing with—a well-trained, experienced private detective who’s been at it for nearly ten years. I literally have to go underground. Please tell Andy not to worry. And don’t worry yourself either. I’ll call you as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I hope you all had a good vacation. Love you.” I hung up the phone and returned to the table. “Everything ok?” I nodded, though I didn’t feel like everything was ok. Raven seemed to sense and understand this and covered my hand with hers. “It’ll all work out.” I tried to smile a little. Would it? I feared the unknown just like most people did. Nonetheless, I concentrated on the tasty food and tried not to notice just how attractive Raven really was.