Page 437 of Devil’s Disciples

Baker exhaled a mile-long breath. “It sure did.”

“I should have known they’d be motion-activated,” Tito said.

“I know enough to know that cop he’s talking about let’s them get away with murder,” Reno said. “Hell, that bank job was more than a month ago, He’s been looking into this and sitting on it for six weeks. That cop ain’t gonna do shit. He’s gonna use us for his dirty work, and that’ll be that.”

“My experience with that is this,” Baker said. “It never ends.”

I’d heard all I was willing to listen to. I felt slightly uneasy about us being under the thumb of a crooked cop. Reno had a good point, though. If he wanted to arrest us, he would have arrested us six weeks prior.

I tightened the laces of my boots, got Ally’s attention, and tilted my head toward the door. “I’m headed out fellas. Not going to sit here and bump my gums about the what-ifs. See you in two weeks. Sounds like we might be busy when I get back.”

Ally and I hugged our way out of there and got on the elevator together. When we reached the garage, we put on our helmets and I started the bike.

When Ally and I met, I laughed at her old-school approach to life. After being around her for several months, I realized most of the amenities that she’d relinquished weren’t, by any means, necessary.

I now felt like she was one step ahead of the population with her system of beliefs.

As the motorcycle’s engine was coming up to operating temperature, I walked to the trash can. After taking my phone out of my pocket, I paused.

I looked at Ally. “You ready to go on vacation?”

“I sure am.” Her eyes narrowed in wonder. “Are you?”

I tossed the phone in the trash. “I am now.”

Epilogue

I was witnessing nothing short of a miracle. We’d been on the road for seven days, with no plan—that I knew of, anyway—of where we were going, or what we were going to do when we got there.

It was the best vacation I’d ever been on.

The unbelievable part?

Goose was driving a cage.

A red cage.

“This fucker’s actually fun to drive,” he said. “Plenty of power, handles good, and is pretty responsive. It’s like driving a four-wheeled motorcycle.”

I rubbed my eyes and gazed out the window. “Where are we now?”

“In the mountains,” he said. “If you wouldn’t have been sleeping, you’d know.”

I reached for the navigation button to activate the map. He slapped my hand before I touched it. “Keep your hands off my buttons. You’ll know where we are when I stop.”

I pulled my hand away. “I love you, too.”

“We’ll be there in an hour,” he said.

It was three o’clock in the afternoon. “Are we staying all night, or just eating dinner and leaving?’

“Depends, I suppose.”

“On what?’

“If you want to stay, or if you want to go.”

“So, I get to decide?” I asked.