Free Dead or Alive by Trevion Burns Page B

at his weight.  Son of a bitch was heavy. “Go, go, go.”
    They made slow progress towards the back of the house and, soon, they were deep in the thick, dark, unfamiliar woods of Suede Falls.
    Though they had to make a slight detour, Remy was a seasoned pilot, and had a knack for directions.  Because of this, they soon found themselves emerging from the quiet darkness of the woods and racing toward the dead boat they’d left behind.  It was still floating quietly on the dock, white paint standing out against the black waters and starry sky like a shining light.
    “Where does the gas go in this thing?” Violet asked, after they’d climbed—or in Remy’s case, tumbled--inside.
    “I don’t know.” Remy fingered the outside of the boat, feeling for anything that remotely resembled a gas gage.
    “Take your time, Archibald.  Really.”
    He shot her a look just as his hand swept over a little door on the boats backside.  Blindly, he was able to swing it open and stick his finger inside before bringing it back up and sniffing it.
    “Did you just sniff your finger in front of me?”  Violet asked, handing him the gas can that he was wildly motioning for.  “Archibald, I’m a lady.”
    “No, you’re a pain in my ass.”
    “Now you’re talking dirty to me.  Just what kind of girl do you think I am?”
    As Remy emptied both cans into the gage, he couldn’t help shaking his head at her.  “There’s a cop within a hundred feet of us, and you’re making jokes?”
    “A cop who thinks we’re both swimming with the fishes out there.”  She pointed her thumb toward the water.  “Besides, Barbara’s house is fifteen minutes away on foot.  That small town cop has no idea we were even in there.  And, even if he did, I highly doubt he would recognize us.  No way anyone in this boondock ass town knows what we actually look like.”
    “Of course he knows what we look like.  Everyone in the country knows what we look like by now.” Remy imagined having that small town cop find them there, recognize them, and concluded it wouldn’t be the worst thing.  In fact, it would surely be the best way to get rid of Violet Chambers, her long legs, her sweet smelling hair, and her perpetually loud mouth for good.  If that cop found them here, he would insist Remy let her go, and Violet would have no other choice than to comply, lest she be considered an accomplice to a murderer.  Remy would then let her go, and zoom out of sight without her.  With a smirk, he realized it would be the second escape he made that day, this time from the prison of Violet Chambers.
    Of course, if the cop did find them, there would be nothing stopping him from shooting Remy dead the moment Violet was out of range. Remy, however, had caught a glimpse of the kid at Barbara’s door, and he doubted very much that rosy-cheeked cherub would have the balls to actually shoot him, even if he had a clear window.
    He would simply bring Violet to safety, all while aiming his weapon at Remy—searching desperately for the fortitude to fire as Remy whipped the boat out of sight, making his escape from both of them.
    He found himself looking off into the grassy field longingly, daydreaming about that infant cop spotting them from the distance and hurrying to them with his weapon drawn.
    Let the girl go, Archibald, he would scream.
    Remy almost laughed out loud at his own thoughts.  Let the girl go?  He’d only been trying to do that for the last hour.
    His head snapped toward Violet when the sound of the boat roaring to life vibrated at his feet.  She’d started the engine.  “This is your second chance, Chambers.  You can leave me now, and never look back.”
    “No way.  If I leave you now there’d be nothing left to stop that mall cop from shooting you dead if he finds you alone.”
    “He’s a kid, he wouldn’t shoot me.”
    She knew Remy was right, but she’d die before she ever let him know that.  She met his eyes and, without