Free Faith: Biker Romance (The Virtues Book 2) by Davida Lynn Page A

Nevada.”

    “Nevada?” She knew the answer, but asked anyway. “You’re coming here?”

    “Esther, where else can I go? I’ve never been outside of Colorado. You make California sound like a dream. I really hate to put you out, but could Eddie and I stay with you for a day or two until we figure out what exactly we’re going to do with ourselves?”

    She was sniveling, and I couldn't tell if it was out of that rush of joy after fear, or it had to do with my father. Either way, it was hard to hear her through the tears. “Faith, of course you can stay with us. You are more than welcome. I’ve always been afraid of Dad. Part of me is glad you got out before anything happened.”

    “Thanks, Esther.”

    “When will you be here?”

    I tried to think through the route. It had been two days already. “I’m not positive. Eddie might know better. Three more days? I mean, if you aren't going to be around...”

    She stopped me. “Don't be silly. You are more than welcome here. Call when you get into Bakersfield, and we’ll meet somewhere. I’m not going to try to give you the directions to our place. I’m not going to say anything to our parents. You and I will figure that out when you get here. I’m sure you’ve got enough on your mind.”

    “Thank you so much, Esther, I love you.”

    “Love you, too. And enjoy yourself. I bet it feels good.” With that, she hung up.

    It did feel good. Being away from my parents, being on the road with Eddie, being alone with Eddie—it all felt amazing.

    I let the sun bake my skin on the walk back to the motel. It was a good day.

    “I’ve got an out-of-state pickup truck located. It’s got Arizona plates, which will throw the cops in the wrong direction once they find it abandoned. The place should be as dry as a tumbleweed when we go in. I’ll be on watch while you get the cash. I want us in and out in two minutes. I don’t care if they’ve got gold bars. This is about a living wage, you understand?”

    I nodded. I understood that this was about enough money to last until California. There was more to it, but that wasn’t what we were talking about. These were the steps. A, B, C.

    “We take off in the pickup with the cash. No shots fired. We’re gonna head east in the getaway car. Just outside of Mesquite, we ditch the pickup. Literally. I want to leave it in a ditch, make it look like we hitchhiked or snagged another ride and kept going back into Colorado or Arizona.

    “The Harley will be waiting for us beneath a small underpass just inside Arizona. We’ll take the access road back into Nevada.”

    Again, I nodded. It all made sense. For just one day of scouting and planning, I had to admit that it was a solid plan. My heart raced as I imagined the entire thing going down. I could barely contain myself, and it was an active struggle to keep listening to Eddie lay out the plans.

    “Mesquite PD will be en route after maybe four minutes, giving us a two-minute head start before they even get to the bank. In and out of Nevada, then back in. We’ll give Delores every impression that we are in for an afternoon nap, so if the heat comes back to us, we can use her as an alibi. It helps that she’s deaf in one ear and can barely hear the cars coming and going.”

    I hated to find a chink in his armor, but there were avenues that we hadn’t discussed. “Won’t it look suspicious if we skip town the day of a bank robbery? I mean, if they are looking for people from out of state, won’t we be high on the list?”

    Eddie nodded. “Absolutely. I guess it’s a good thing Delores didn’t check to make sure the license plate number I gave her was correct. Jason Arnett and Ella Wills will be long gone to New Mexico by the time Mrs. Alison gets a visit from the PD.”

    I had to admit that the plan was pretty flawless.

    “What’s left to do?”

    He smiled at me, “Well, Miss Wills, you’re going to go establish the alibi. Mention travel down to Vegas