(Mis)fortune Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Name’s Emmitt Cole.  I was recently discharged from the military.  Now, I’m just taking my time seeing the country as I make my way home to Montana.  And I’m helping you because, back at the restaurant, you looked like you could use someone on your side.”  He paused a long moment.  “As long as it wasn’t anything illegal, I had no reason not to help.”
    I sipped the coffee in quiet thought, very aware the boys listened as they ate.
    “I appreciate what you did.  I wasn’t doing anything illegal.”  In the parking lot, anyway. “They had no right to take us back with them.”
    He studied me and nodded.  “I figured as much from what David was saying.  I’m guessing you’re running.  Going anywhere particular?”  His gaze flicked to the boys briefly.  “I’d be happy to tag along to make sure you safely get to where you need to be.”
    His question brought a pang of guilt, and I waged another silent war with myself.  The boys were counting on me.  Could I really keep them safe on my own?  Blake had changed before my eyes.  He wasn’t normal.  Didn’t appear human.  My hand holding the coffee shook slightly.  I wrapped my other hand around the cup, too, trying to steady it and my thoughts.  How could I hide from what I didn’t know, from what I didn’t understand?  I needed help.  But, could I trust a stranger?  Even if I did, was it fair to put him in danger, too?
    “Emmitt, we could use help, but I don’t think it’d be right to accept it.”  I looked at the boys.  “There’s a lot going on that I can’t explain.”
    He didn’t say anything as he studied me.
    I took another sip of coffee then answered his original question.  “I didn’t have a place in mind when I left.”
    “Can I make a suggestion?”
    I nodded.  Never hurt to listen.
    “Keep moving.  As long as you’re awake, get further from the last place they found you.  He knows you’re exhausted.  He’s going to count on you needing to stop.  If I were him, judging from how rundown you looked, I’d bet you would crash hard, too.  He’s going to start checking likely places where you might have stopped, calling and asking for you by name.”
    I realized then that Emmitt had booked and paid for our room.  I’d been too tired before to notice.  He’d known what he was doing.
    “If he can’t find you still sleeping, he’ll at least look for a trail to follow.  Switching vehicles was a good start, but they’ll have found the dealer by now and gotten a description of the new one.  It’s only a matter of time,” he said slowly, meeting my eyes.  “Unless you can disappear.”
    My heart stuttered in fear at his words, and I looked down at my coffee to hide my frown.  I’d disappeared four years ago and didn’t want to disappear like that again.  I just needed a place to hide.  A place where I’d be in control.
    “What exactly do you mean?”
    “I live on a big spread.  No neighbors close by.  Plenty of room for you to lay low without feeling like you’re being locked away.”
    His words, echoing what I had just thought, continued to pluck a familiar cord of fear.  I looked up, met his eyes, and searched for a hint of an ulterior motive.
    “What’s in it for you?”
    He shook his head slowly and frowned slightly.  “Haven’t you ever had anyone help you just to help?”
    I sighed.  If someone had, it happened in a past I barely remembered.  Should I trust again?  And a stranger?
    “May I see your wallet?” I asked cautiously.
    I doubted he had anything to do with Blake, but I still needed to assure myself that he was whom he said and wasn’t trying to hide something.
    He didn’t hesitate.  A complete stranger reached into his front pocket to hand me his slim bi-fold wallet.
    Liam, no longer pretending to eat, watched me closely.  Fear had crept into his eyes.  I gave him a weak smile, and feeling slightly embarrassed, I opened the wallet.
    The name he had given