Chapter 2

• It took almost as long to get all the bags down as it had for her to pack them. Of course, if you’re planning to pack your whole life up and vanishing, it would probably be easier if you didn’t drive a Cabriolet. Fitting everything into the micro-sized car had taken more than one attempt. In the time it took to finish, she was much calmer about her decision to leave. Not that she had a choice, but she could always have a mini breakdown and cry her heart out, later. Right now, she needed a plan to figure out the next step.
• The first stop was the gas station. Getting out of the car, she looked around, checking for Aiden or one of his men. Great, paranoia already. After she assured herself that he couldn’t possibly know yet, Rayne walked over to the pump. As she lifted the card up to the slot, she realized that he could track her cards. As if the machine was going to grab it, she jerked her hand back and turned to get her purse. She’d need all the cash she had available. Looking over her shoulder again, she walked to the cash machine. This location was close enough to the apartment to not point in any direction—when she finally decided on which direction. Her hands weren’t the steadiest as she punched in the numbers and requested the limit the machine would allow, the shaking increased when she grabbed the cash and stuffed it in her wallet.
• Glancing around, she walked back to the pump, inserting a card to pay for the gas. It only took her a few minutes to decide she would hit a few more cash machines in the area to bypass withdrawal limits. Aiden might not drive by, but now she suspected he had people everywhere that would recognize her.
• After the gas was pumped, she thought that a map would be a good thing, unless she planned to drive around Chicago endlessly—because that’s the only place she’d ever driven. Reaching down, Rayne pulled out the nearest one, only to put it right back, it was a map of the one place she knew. Bending down, she studied the title of each map before spotting an oversized atlas with Canada in it. She grabbed that one. Before she could second guess the decision, she set it on the counter and waited for the clerk to ring it in.
• With the receipt and atlas clutched in her vibrating hand, she went back to the car, hoping she could get through the next few moments without questioning what she was going to do next.
• An hour later, she sat in an empty parking lot, trying to force a bagel down her throat. The atlas she’d purchased was propped against the steering wheel, endless lines of varying colors stared back at her. So many places and no idea where to go. She looked over at the glove box where she’d put her money–in a make-up bag no less. It had taken five different bank machines to empty her accounts of every cent she had. Her cards were now at their limits, accounts were empty and on a whim, Rayne had taken out a cash advance on the card Aiden had given her for emergencies. If this wasn’t considered an emergency, she didn’t know what was.
• Focus, Rayne. Looking back at the map, she tried to wash down a bite with the lukewarm coffee. She knew making maps took a lot of work and was complicated in a way she didn’t really care to understand, but they really weren’t telling her anything. She needed her laptop and the internet to make a decision that the squiggly color co-ordinated lines weren’t telling her. Sighing, she glanced around the parking lot. A hotel was at the far end. She reached down to pull the laptop case off the floor. Setting it on the passenger’s seat, she opened it and hit the power button, praying for it to pick up a signal as she flipped through another few pages. There was a signal, not a strong one, but it would do. Bringing up a mapping site, she entered Chicago as the starting point. Now what? A starting point generally meant you needed a destination and that she didn’t have. Flipping a few more pages, Rayne picked the first name that jumped off the page. Destination? Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Her heart was pounding as she hit enter.
• Strangely, she felt relieved knowing she had decided on a location. Her resolve only faltered for a few seconds when she discovered there was a fourteen-hour drive to get there. Biting her lip, she looked out the windshield, not really focusing on anything. Was she ready for a fourteen-hour drive that would take her far away from Aiden? If she had translated the map correctly, where she was heading was right in the middle of nowhere. That meant there was less chance of her being found. Yes, she was ready. Picking up the notebook that was waiting for the details of the game plan, she started to jot down the directions, deciding after a few lines that she’d only write down the first five hours and then reassess her route from that point. She had no idea what it was going to be like driving this far.
• Closing the laptop, she put it back on the floor and just sat there. Was she crazy for doing this? Yes, but she couldn’t stay here and that left few options. She was alone, just like when her parents died. This time all the decisions to be made were going to be her own.