GUN IN MY HAND

CHAPTER 61: LUCY & FORD... & ROMEO

'They take their shots, but we're bulletproof (I know places)

And you know for me, it's always you (I know places)

In the dead of night, your eyes so green (I know places)'

*BLADE'S POV*

'Fucktown welcomes you for a lovely stay!'

No, it wasn't the real name; otherwise, I would have been the mayor, but after driving past hundreds of signs like that, I wasn't paying attention to the names of all those boonies.

We'd decided on an alternative route, more sinuous and less followed, the second we'd glimpsed the flashing lights near the Subrose beltway, and we'd almost got caught off guard.

Kenneth had really made it big, as Spencer had said. It was like he'd been planning this arrest for days, using more resources than for apprehending the best outlaws. Maybe he'd been right though, because thanks to my trained eyes and Dorothy's knowledge of the dirt tracks around town, we'd managed to get away again.

It had now been hours, and there remained nothing but the horizon line, our hair in the wind, and our thoughts lost somewhere in-between. No siren, no revolving lights, no gunshots, only the greenery around, the cerulean sky, the sandy ground, and the engine's purr following us, at least until a few grumblings came to disrupt the harmony.

"What are you doing?" Dorothy jolted upright from her weird, twisted, and messy position against the car door, her eyes glancing from left to right as I put the turn signal and slowed down.

"It's time we get some grub." I nodded to the supermarket on the side, the first one I'd seen in hours.

"Already? Maybe we should continue a little bit more. I'm not hungry personally." She was trying hard to not fiddle with her fingers, but the growl rumbling from her stomach gave her away, and I didn't even have to say anything with how loud it was.

I only cocked an eyebrow as she squirmed in her seat.

"Besides, we need to get a new car."

Her stomach wasn't the only growl echoing from the depths, and this old piece of junk wouldn't wait for the next stop.

"There are lots of people here, maybe we should find something smaller?" Speaking of junk, Spencer, I'd almost forgotten about him.

"The more people, the more we blend in, and the sooner we go, the less Kenneth's worldwide bounty on our heads has been seen." I tightened my grip around the steering wheel as I was already maneuvering the car through the back of the parking lot. "We'll split to not get spotted. You go get the grocery, while Dorothy and I find another car."

"No way! What tells me it's not one of your tricks?"

I could feel his eyes burning through the back of my head, but I didn't spare him more second glance than at the car key as I turned off the ignition and got out of the car, knowing it would never start again.

"I don't trust–"

"Spencer," Dorothy cut him off, her warning tone sounding a lot like a teacher scolding an annoying kid. "I trust you both, and we're all in this together."

I grinned like a blue-eyed boy of the teacher as she came to stand beside me, and also because he was right. The thought of abandoning him like a lost puppy had crossed my mind more than once. He was useless, only getting on my nerves with his stupid questions. But I knew Dorothy would never agree. She had a thing for rescuing hopeless strays apparently, and just like with Meteorite, I couldn't fight her stern look – even if the raccoon had at least the quality to be cute, and I preferred his squeals over Spencer's ramblings.