Never Alone

Chapter 17

     As they walked through the aisles of the supercenter, Annie pushed the cart while Trevor loaded it with everything he imagined they would need for a five-day stay in the middle of nowhere. Grabbing a five-gallon bucket, he placed it in the cart.

"What's that for?" Annie's furrowed brow tugged his lips into a smile.

"That," he leaned close and whispered. "Is so you don't have to pee standing up behind a bush. If I remember right, it was one of your main concerns."

A deep blush crept up her cheeks as she cast her gaze downward. His smile widened at her reaction, and they continued down the aisle of sleeping bags. He found the heaviest ones he could find and added them to their growing stash.

"Black?" Annie's finger rested on the sleeping bag nearest her and her nose crinkled in disgust.

"What's wrong with black?"

"Couldn't I get a purple one or something? We may be trying to stay alive, but I don't see a problem with roughing it in style."

"Get the purple one...by all means." He grinned at her. Somehow he could sense her walls crumbling, and for the first time, things between them were natural and easy...like they used to be.

"What is that dopey smirk all about?" She grabbed the coveted purple sleeping bag, and his grin widened as he noted how thin and flimsy it was. While it would be suited to a third-grade slumber party, it would be useless in the wilderness.

"It may get warm during the day, but these fall nights are downright cold, and that wimpy thing won't even begin to keep you warm. I can only assume you're planning to snuggle with me..."

To his surprise, she smacked his arm. "There isn't a germ's chance at a Lysol convention that I'm ever snuggling with you again." Though she glared at him, he saw a faint sparkle in her blue eyes and a smile curl one corner of her mouth. His heartbeat quickened pace as she bit her lip to hide her widening grin. Resisting the urge to kiss her, he cleared his throat and watched her put the purple sleeping bag back on the shelf and return his original choice to the cart.

Noticing a GPS tracker usually used as a keychain, he took it off the rack and looked at the specifications. For an object so small, it could let off a signal for more than five miles. While it was not super high tech, he saw the merits such a device would provide if the men hunting Annie ever caught up with them.

As he turned to her, he hoped his words would be more reassuring than frightening. "Annie, I'm getting you this tracking device...just in case."

Fear darkened her eyes and she nodded solemnly. "How would I use it?"

"I will sync it to my phone. If someone...if something happens and we're separated, you would need to hit this button," he indicated the large button at the center of the key fob. "It will help me find you...and believe me...I will come for you."

She took a deep breath and nodded once more.

"And look," he forced a smile. "It comes in purple."

After adding groceries, a tent, two burner phones, and other necessities to their supply, they checked out and headed for his pickup.

***

With the back of the truck full of supplies, Annie sat in the passenger seat as they went back to the hotel to collect their belongings and check out. Every time she remembered the warning from NotJamesBond, her heart beat a little faster. Though the thought had not crossed her mind until the internet stranger said something, his words held a ring of truth. The sniper took Blake out with a single shot. Even though other people were killed in the shooting, the men behind the attack would not want the police force to think Douglas Blake was a target. It would better serve their purposes to conduct a mass shooting than to take out one man. With the precision of the first, fatal shot, it was clear that if they wished her dead, she would be on a slab in the morgue at this very moment.