I just wanted anybody to stop and put me out of my misery.

“Kendall, since when do you talk to me like that?” he asked, acting hurt.

“Since you have me on the side of the road begging for a ride,” I said, grabbing our backpack as a red jeep came to a screeching halt.

“Kendall,” Mason called after me.

“I should use my brain for once and leave you here,” I told him. I approached the passenger side window, a big smile on my face.

“Hi there, thanks so much for stopping,” I said sweetly.

The man was about thirty. He looked me over, a big smile on his face. He nodded his head, not saying a word.

“Does this mean I could hitch a ride with you, handsome?” I asked breaking his stare.

“Of course. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Where would you like to go, darlin’?”

I looked him over, trying to quickly assess the type and manner of this guy. For one thing, judging by the bad haircut, he didn’t care too much about his physical appearance.

“Oh, I’ll let you know,” I said with a wink.

He melted instantly and unlocked my door.

“Hop on in,” he told me.

“Just a sec,” I said holding one finger up as I backed up right into Mason. He scurried like a ninja to the back of the jeep and in one quick flash was inside. The man shrieked, startled by Mason’s surprise attack.

“Please don’t hurt me,” the man begged, his hands in the air. Mason forced him into the backseat.

“Come on,” he yelled at me. “I should just leave you here for treating me like shit a few minutes ago.”

I scoffed, knowing full well he would never have the gonads to leave me on the side of the road.

I climbed in, shooting a quick look at the backseat at our panic-stricken passenger.

People express their fear in various ways. Some shut down or just freak out. They’re usually the ones who make more trouble for themselves in bad situations.

And then you had those who refused to believe what was happening. They were the ones who did the sensible things and saved themselves.

“What’s your name?” Mason asked as he drove the jeep down the lonely highway. The light from the dashboard illuminated his face and made him look intimidating.

“Leonard,” the man answered flatly. It had been a few hours and I could tell he was ready to be put out of his misery. Mason had said nothing to him the whole drive. That alone was torture.

“Are you married?” Mason asked, releasing one hand from the steering wheel.

“No, I’m not,” Leonard answered.

“Kids?” Mason pressed.

I stared at Mason, annoyed he was making things harder for this guy. And I was even more annoyed that Leonard was being honest.

“No,” he said.

“Hey, Leonard, little word of advice. When two crazed kids hijack your car, lie your ass off,” Mason told him, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Uh, what?”

I looked back at the man. He was sweating like crazy.

“It’s always better to make people feel for you, rather than feel nothing. No one would want to hurt a man who had a family,” I explained.

“Oh God…are you going to kill me?” he asked, starting to panic.

Mason sighed, gripping the steering wheel. He was as much a killer as I was.

“We just need a way to Jersey. I ain’t planning on killing you. What do we look like?” he asked, looking back at Leonard. “I would, however, appreciate if you kept this to yourself though. Okay, Lenny?”

“Absolutely, it never happened,” he said.

Just a few kind words from Mason was all it took to settle Lenny’s nerves.

JULY 9

TH

THE JEEP CAME to a quick stop, nudging me out of my sleep. Still groggy, I tried to figure out what was happening. I squinted my eyes at the sunlight flooding the car.

“So this is Jersey?” I asked.

Mason stretched, letting out a loud grunt. Leonard had gotten a nap as well and he was finally waking up.

I had never been to Jersey. In all the years we’d been on the run, it was one place I’d never seen.

“Yes, this is Jersey. It’s a blast. You’ll love it,” Mason said, pulling out our backpack.

He leaned back into the jeep and told Leonard to get into the front seat.

“Mason are we here?” I asked, looking up at the manicured bushes and two separate staircases that led up to a breathtakingly beautiful home. I was positive only the filthy rich lived here—windows upon windows and two private balconies.

I grabbed the backpack Mason was shoving my way, unable to take my gaze away from the gargantuan home. My mind was working overtime trying to figure out who lived there.

“You’re free to go,” Mason said, shooing Lenny away.

I turned finally. I was annoyed with how Mason seemed so unconcerned about sending Lenny on his way after kidnapping him and scaring him half to death.

I was about to let him have it when a young guy came bounding down the staircase to greet us.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is this the pretty boy himself?” the guy said, totally happy to be laying eyes on Mason.

I laughed at the pretty boy comment. I wasn’t sure who this guy was, but he was stunning. He smiled at Mason and then took a look at me as Mason talked his ear off.

“Get inside and you can fill me in on the rest of your wild ride, man,” he ordered, heading back up the stairs in his designer jeans and vintage t-shirt.

The inside of the house was huge and seemed to go on forever in every direction. I felt so small looking around.

I waited patiently for Mason to tell me his name. I kept staring at him—he was flawless.

I couldn’t imagine he was that much older than me.

“So, Mason, are you going to introduce me to your gorgeous sidekick? Or are you still that rude when it comes to beautiful girls?” He flashed a perfect set of white teeth in my direction, his crisp baby blues sucking me in further.

“This is Kendall. Kendall, this is Jay Archer,” Mason said, leaving me in shock.

I couldn’t believe this was the Jay Archer—the one I’d heard so many bad things about.

I couldn’t believe what he looked like. The guy I had despised all these years was hot. And that was saying a lot because Mason was hard to beat in the looks department. Jay was gorgeous in an entirely different way—he looked so wholesome and all-American.

My heart sped up. My attraction was quite possibly obvious as I looked at him.

“Mason has always talked about you. It’s almost like we’ve already met,” Jay said with a smile. He winked, leaning against the counter as Mason and I came into the kitchen.

“Good things, I hope. Although with Mason you never know,” I joked.

Mason gave me a weird look, trying to figure out my sudden good mood.

“Nothing but. This kid has talked about you since the beginning of our friendship,” he told me, cracking another mind-blowing smile.

Mason seemed a bit embarrassed Jay was letting me in on his little secret. It didn’t surprise me.

“Well, then, I’m glad,” I said, shooting him another smile myself.

Jay touched my shoulder, sending a shiver through me.

“I love the accent. You’re very southern like the southern belles in the movies,” he said, his hand still on my shoulder. His smile remained as our eyes met. He didn’t look embarrassed in the least.

“Uh, thanks. I’ve never liked the way I sound. Makes me feel different.” I blushed. “I love the way you talk, though.”

Mason cleared his throat, breaking into our moment.

“Yeah, Kendall hasn’t shaken the hillbilly yet. Anyway, can we grab a bite to eat and a shower?” Mason asked, helping himself to the refrigerator.