Free Love Ahead: Expect Delays by Astrid Amara Page A

Amara

    Zach nodded. “Or about the Swede who loved his wife so much he almost told
    her?”
    Dave smacked Zach on the side of the face. It stunned him and left him cowed
    into silence.
    “Not funny!” Dave yelled.
    Zach cursed himself, only imagining what Austin would have made of this
    repartee. Austin had told Zach he couldn’t joke his way out of every situation. And
    boy was he painfully right.
    Zach remained silent until they reached the outskirts of Casper. They passed a
    sheriff’s patrol car. Zach racked his mind for ways to alert someone to his plight, but
    nothing came to mind.
    Thanks to the heavy application of deicer through the city, the interstate was
    cleared substantially better than other segments of the highway. But they didn’t get
    to enjoy the bare route for long, because Dave prodded Zach with the gun.
    “Take that exit there, the US 20 bypass.”
    The car fishtailed through a loose snowdrift, but it exited without crashing.
    Zach kept looking behind him. Now that they were going off the interstate, there
    would be no way for anyone to know where he was.
    “We’re nearly out of gas,” Zach said quietly. He hoped they would stop
    somewhere populated, where he could attract attention.
    Dave grunted and leaned close to Zach to check the gauge. Zach felt an
    overwhelming repulsion for the man and almost swerved the vehicle to push him
    away.
    “Do you want me to pull off at a gas station?” Zach asked hopefully.
    “Not yet. Keep going.” Dave looked pissed.
    They headed west on the bypass road until they hit the Old Yellowstone
    Highway and curved north. Even with the gun and the terrible weather, this change
    in direction scared Zach more than anything else. He was heading into the

    Love Ahead: Expect Delays

    61

    wilderness of Wyoming with an armed convict in a blizzard, and no one would know
    where to even look for him.
    As they hit a service road, the population of slow-moving vehicles increased,
    and so did Dave’s attention to Zach. The gun resumed its position at Zach’s head.
    “Nice and easy,” Dave told him. “Nothing fancy.”
    “I don’t do fancy,” Zach reassured him.
    Dave was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded at a truck stop. “Turn right.
    We’ll get gas there.”
    Zach obeyed orders, keenly aware of the gun as the car bounced over a pothole
    and his hands were nearly jerked from the wheel. It would only take a slip of Dave’s
    finger, and Zach would be either dead or spending the rest of his life with a feeding
    tube, watching others eat without him.
    The gas station appeared nearly buried as plows cleared the roadway and piled
    filthy snow in front of the establishment. Zach bypassed the commercial fuel tanks
    and stopped the car alongside one of the four car gas pumps. If he was planning on
    escaping, now was the time. Anxiety coursed through him.
    Dave took the keys from the ignition and put them in his pocket. “Give me
    your credit card,” he demanded.
    Zach fumbled for the wallet in his pocket. He handed Dave his card.
    “You make a move, a sound, so much as a hand wave, I shoot you.” Dave got
    out of the car and stood outside Zach’s window, processing the card, then facing him
    as he filled the tank. The gun was visible, tucked within his belt, and he kept his
    left hand close to it as he held the fuel pump in his right.
    Terror nearly froze him, but Zach knew this would be the last chance he had
    before they headed west on Highway 20 and to doomed Bethany. He slowly reached
    into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He kept it low, under the dash, and
    Dave didn’t seem to notice. He watched the other vehicles warily.

    62
    Astrid Amara

    Zach hit the number 2 button on his phone, which was programmed for
    Austin’s mobile. He knew the chance of Austin still being alive to answer the call
    was slim, but he had to try.
    He heard the opening riff of “Back in Black” muffled somewhere in the
    backseat and quickly hung up the call.
    Zach