Rescuing Liberty: Perseverance Book 1 (22 page)

He nodded. “I’m listening.”

“
We have provisions.” She gestured
toward a couple of bags leaning against the wall. “Jeff can hunt,
and you are obviously a survivor. Even with a woman and child
tagging along.” She smiled at him. “That’s so sweet.”

I coughed.
Too
easy. Too convenient. Too irritating.

Connor’s glance shifted between Gina and
Jeff several times before he finally nodded. “If either of you try
anything, I’ll kill you both.” He delivered the words without
emotion.

I ground my teeth, but if Connor heard the
noise, he ignored it. Ashley and I had been pushed into the
background as he decided what was best for us. “Connor, can I talk
to you for a second?” My hands went to my hips and I glared daggers
at him.

“
Later,” he said, without even a
glance in my direction.

The side of Gina’s mouth curved up
into a wicked smirk, making me want to knock out every last one of
her perfect teeth.
Connor will
pay for this.

* * *

Weapons were retrieved, fresh bikes were
selected and we all took off heading northeast on Highway 2. Gina
and Connor pedaled side by side, leaving Jeff, Ashley, and I to
follow behind them. Connor continued to ignore my presence, keeping
his gaze focused on Gina. Compared to the rose, I felt like a weed.
I listened as Connor and Gina talked incessantly.

“
The last time I saw you on the news
was that trial … The one where that guy sold the plans to that
airliner.” Gina glanced at Connor. “Right?”

Connor smiled his famous, blood-sucking
smile. “That was just an allegation. My client was cleared of all
charges.”

Connor Dunstan: valiant
defender of the guilty.
I rode between Jeff and
Ashley, like riding in the back seat with the kids. But none of us
kids were happy about the status. We pedaled in silence, glaring
holes into the backs of the two ahead of us.

After a couple of hours, Jeff wheeled his
bike closer to mine. “Stop torturing yourself.”

Scowling took all of my concentration and
Jeff’s cryptic words were an annoying distraction. “What?”

“
Gina always gets her way.” He nodded
toward the chatting couple. “Might as well kiss your boyfriend
goodbye now.”

I stopped glaring at Connor’s back long
enough to give Jeff an indifferent glance. “He’s not my
boyfriend.”

“
Right.” He nodded. “I didn’t really
think he was, but it happens all the time.” He shrugged. “When Gina
glows, everyone else pales.”

I glanced at Gina and let out a
breath. “She is very pretty.” I looked over at Jeff and he beamed
me an impressive smile. His baby-blues lit up like headlights. “But
you’re a good-looking guy. Surely
you
don’t disappear into your sister’s
shadow?”

He blushed. It was slight and ever so cute,
making me feel like a cougar, eyeballing a young buck. I had to be
at least ten years his senior.

Ashley closed the space between us and
joined the conversation.

“
So …” I turned toward Jeff. “What was
your previous life like?”

“
School and work.” His smile was sad
and reminiscent, making me thirsty for more information.

“
Oh? Which school?” I
asked.

“
University of Pudget Sound.” He ran a
hand through his hair, and then replaced it on the
handlebar.

“
UPS? That’s where my friend Katie
went.” I glanced at Jeff. “Liberal arts school, right?”

He nodded.

I rolled my eyes, frustrated by his
lack of willingness to give details. “
So
, what did you major in?”
Some people just don’t know how to communicate.

“
Social sciences.” His barely audible
reply was delivered while he stared at the ground in front of
him.

I blinked. “Social—”

“
Yeah.” Gina’s scornful voice cut in.
“Social sciences. Jeff wanted to be a substance abuse
counselor.”

Ashley and I shared confused glances. “Is
that a bad thing?” I asked.

Gina turned her glare toward me. “I
wouldn’t expect
you
to
understand.” She turned back around to Connor and they continued
their conversation while I gaped at her back.

Did she
just
—
?

“
Liberty.” Jeff interrupted my fuming.
“It’s alright.”

He slumped over his bike. Just like that
Gina had crushed his Jason Bourne confidence.

“
Why do you let her do that to you?” I
glared at the back of Gina’s head.

Jeff shrugged. “She’s my big sister. And
she’s … Gina.”

I sighed. “Yeah, well she’s not
that
pretty.”

Moments later, Connor called us to a stop
beside a small spring. He slid his bike under a bush on the side of
the road, and walked back to us as Gina hid her bike.

He glanced from Jeff to me and spoke. “I
need the ducks.”

Straddling my bike I blinked like a
simpleton.

“
I’m going to cook the ducks,” he
said. “I need them.”

I wondered if I should start drooling to
complete my idiot guise. If he could be rude, I could pretend to be
stupid. When he finally caught on and added a “please” to his
request, I responded.

“
You’re
going
to cook them?” I pulled my pack off my shoulders and unzipped it.
“You?” I handed him the birds.

“
Of course.” He motioned for Ashley to
follow him. “Bring the pan and come on.”

Ashley looked at me, shrugged, stashed her
bike and followed Connor.

Jeff chuckled. “Nice guy.”

I sighed. “He used to be. But I guess that
was just part of the game. New players, new rules now.”

“
You know …” Jeff said, leaning closer
to me. “We could just keep riding. We’d probably be a few miles
down the road before they even missed us.”

I paused and stared at him. “You could leave
your sister like that?”

Jeff shrugged. “Trust me, Gina can take care
of herself. She doesn’t need me.”

My feet ached for the pedals. So help me, I
wanted to do it. Life would be a lot less complicated without
Connor. I could bike straight to Canada and forget all about the
past few weeks. It would be easy. Welcome, even. Then I looked
across the clearing and saw Ashley, trailing after Connor with the
frying pan in hand. My heartstrings were tied to that kid and I
knew there was no way I could leave her behind.

“
Ashley,” I replied, knowing that her
name would be enough to explain my reluctance.

“
She could come with us,” Jeff
insisted. “She’d be better off with us than them, I assure
you.”

Something about the way Jeff delivered that
message told me there was more to his sister than he was willing to
diverge. Chewing on my curiosity, I kicked my leg over my bike and
my jeans got caught in the chain. The bike wobbled as I jumped on
one foot trying to balance my weight and untangle my pants at the
same time.

Jeff’s bike hit the ground. He wrapped one
arm around my waist and steadied my bike with the other.

Wow, can I not even get off
a bike without bruises?
“I am the world’s biggest
klutz.” My face heated while I kicked until my leg came
free.

“
Nah.” Jeff took the bike from me and
hid it. “You’re just tired.”

I attempted a smile that no doubt looked
more like a grimace. “Tired is where I live.”

He was about to reply when Ashley showed up,
fists clenched and seething.

“
Why is he being such a jerk?” she
asked. “I don’t know why I believed him, he hasn’t changed at all!”
She turned and noticed Jeff’s proximity. “Uh … sorry.” Her cheeks
reddened.

Jeff chuckled. “That’s okay. I don’t like
him either.”

I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder.
“What’s the prob, kiddo?”

She opened her mouth to say something, and
then shut it again.

“
What?” I put my hands on my
hips.

She glanced over her shoulder and I followed
her gaze to find Connor laughing with Gina.

“
He’s … he just … I don’t want to talk
about it.” Ashley stormed off leaving Jeff and I staring at her
back.

Alrighty then.

We turned to study Connor, and I
wondered what he’d done to tick her off this time. His behavior was
so out of character. I could see him upgrading
me
, but Ashley was the best model of kid out
there. I knew he loved her. I’d seen the way he looked at her and
how happy he was when she started speaking to him again. Surely he
wouldn’t throw that way for some floozy with great hair? “What’s
his malfunction?” I asked.

Jeff shook his head. “I’m sorry Liberty.
It’s always like this with her.”

I don’t know what you’re
doing, buck-o, but it better be worth it.
“No offense,
Jeff, but your sister is a soul-sucking harpy.”

He chuckled. “Yeah.” He frowned as he
watched her. “But she saved my life today.”

“
Huh?” I asked, completely confused.
Moments ago he wanted to run off and leave her, and now he was
calling her a life saver?

But my curiosity would have to wait,
since Jeff didn’t answer.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

WE MADE CAMP next to a small stream in a
wooded area, a few miles past the Monroe airport. Connor slept away
from Ashley and me for the first time that night, and his absence
was a void we both felt. We huddled close for comfort as well as
warmth. Jeff made his bed a few yards away, and Connor and Gina
slept beside each other, on the other side of Jeff.

Anger burned in my stomach, making me want
to do something stupid like throat-punch Gina. Or better yet, sneak
over and cut off Connor’s toes while he slept. I’d been perfectly
content to spend my entire life without a man. Then the slime ball
slid into my life and mucked up my mind. He’d looked at me and held
me in ways that made me consider ideas I’d long ago abandoned. For
the first time in a long time, I had allowed myself to consider a
relationship.

I shook my head, chuckling as the
desire to throw up tickled my throat. I’d been kidding myself. This
was Connor Dunstan. Not exactly boyfriend material, and definitely
not the man I’d want to meet my momma. In the beginning, I had
wisely resisted him, but he played me and I fell for it. As tears
burned my eyes I realized how far I had fallen.
Stupid! You don’t want Connor. You’re lucky he’s showing his
true colors now.
I repeated the words until I almost
believed them.
It doesn’t matter. The plan
was always Canada
.

Ashley snored beside me, reminding me of the
flaw in that plan. I heard Jeff’s voice in my head, reassuring me
that the girl would be safer with me than with Connor and Gina. I
was still plotting a way to run off and take Ashley when finally
overcame me.

* * *

It was early the next evening when we reached
a quaint, little town surrounding a large body of water proudly
labeled ‘Lake McMurray.’ Dense fog hovered over the calm, cerulean
water, giving the area a mysterious and picturesque feel. The
serenity of the abandoned town only highlighted the magnificence of
God’s creation; not to be depreciated by the near-annihilation of
human life. I uselessly wished for a camera to capture the
scene.

We stopped to rest our legs. Ashley and I
headed for the lake, and the rest of the party went off in separate
directions. Out of habit, I picked up a flat stone and skipped it
across the water.

Ashley watched as the rock skipped several
times then plopped into the deep. “How did you do that?” she
asked.

“
Well.” I reached down and grabbed
another one. “You have to find a flat rock. Like this.” I held it
up. “Then you wrap your finger around the edge, like this.” She
watched as I curved my index finger around the rock. “Then, you
just kinda toss it with your arm to the side, like so.” I released
the rock in front of me and it skipped across the water before
disappearing into the deep.

She picked up a stone and attempted to mimic
my throw. Her toss was too high, and the rock plopped into the
water. “Ugh.” Ashley’s shoulders drooped.

“
No one gets it their first time.” I
handed her another stone. “You have to put more speed on it and
keep it lower. You threw too high.”

She tried again, and this time the rock
skipped once.

“
See, you’re getting the hang of it.”
I handed her another one. “Try again.”

Ashley glanced back toward the others, then
said, “Jeff’s nice, but I still don’t understand why we had to
bring them. We were doing fine on our own.” She threw the rock and
it skipped several times. A huge grin spread across her face.

“
That was awesome.” I nodded toward
the water. “And
I
wasn’t
included in the decision, remember?” I tried not to grind my
teeth.

“
She’s gonna screw up everything. We
don’t need her.” Ashley released another rock.

“
We haven’t given her much of a
chance.” I shrugged. “She’s probably not
that
bad.”

“
How can you say that?” The opened
mouth look she gave me made me chuckle.