Believe: The Complete Channie Series (81 page)

ESCAPE

J
OSH
’
S
HEART
POUNDED
AS
HE
kissed the tip of Channie’s nose. They were on the run and headed into who knew what sort of danger but it’d been two weeks since they’d had sex. He couldn’t wait to get Channie inside the hotel and rip her clothes off. No. None of that. He’d take it slow and make it last. Unless she wanted to take charge again. Damn. He needed to quit thinking about it if he wanted to get out of the car anytime soon. He put his hand on the key, but before he could shut off the engine, a flash of light seared his eyes. His shield burst out of his chest and slammed down over Channie.

She screamed, but the curse bounced off his shield. Scared, not hurt.

Josh jerked the car into gear. The tires squealed as he laid rubber on asphalt. He blinked against the blue spots floating in front of his eyes and swore as he gunned the accelerator.

Channie still had her seatbelt on, but she twisted around and looked over her shoulder. “It’s Momma.”

Josh threaded the gap between two semis as he shot back onto I-70 East. “How’d she find us?”

Channie’s voice shook. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think she’d torture your dad for information?”

“She’s willing to cut out my heart.”

“Good point.”

Another curse bounced off Josh’s shield. The magic didn’t hurt them, but the blast of light nearly blinded him. Traffic wasn’t heavy, but there were enough cars and trucks on the highway to make even a few seconds of driving with impaired vision dangerous. He slammed on the brakes then jerked the wheel to the right, dodging a Smart Car. The horn sounded like an angry gnat as he passed. Prudence’s black Lexus was riding his ass. Josh swore as she hurled another blinding curse.

Channie said, “Curse her back!”

“I have to drive.”

Channie took a deep breath then said, “Keep me shielded,” and unfastened her seatbelt.

“What are you doing?”

“Just drive!” She turned sideways and squeezed her body between the bucket seats.

The car swerved as Josh grabbed her arm with his right hand. “Get back here and buckle up.”

“I know what I’m doing!” Channie jerked free and climbed into the back.

“Well that makes one of us.” Josh glanced into the rearview mirror and saw her digging around in her backpack. “You wanna fill me in on your plan?”

She didn’t answer, but he recognized the
chunk-chunk
sound as she slammed the clip into her gun and cocked it.

Oh shit.
“Channie. You can’t shoot your own mother!”

“I’m not going to shoot
her
, just the car. Roll down the window.”

“Get back up here!”

“Roll it down, or I’ll shoot through it.”

Josh swore again then rolled down the window. He kept his gaze glued to the road in front of him and focused on driving as Channie emptied her clip into her mother’s car. A quick glance in the rearview mirror showed steam pouring out of the hood of the Lexus as it fell further behind.

Josh trembled with relief when Channie said, “She’s getting off the highway.” But the distant sound of a siren made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Someone must have called 911.

He took the next exit, a deserted rest stop with nothing but a couple of vending machines, a water fountain and a low-slung, concrete building with “out of order” signs swinging from both bathroom doors. Josh drove around to the back, cut the engine and turned off the lights.

Channie said, “Why are we stopping?”

“I can’t outrun the cops and if you try to shoot up a police cruiser, they’ll shoot back.”

“What if they find us?”

“I’ll cast a misdirection spell.”

“You don’t have time.”

The sirens grew louder. Pulsing blue lights flickered in the trees along the highway. Channie was right. For a misdirection spell to work, he needed to cast several of them in a wide perimeter to keep the car out of the cops line of sight. A misdirection spell wouldn’t make them invisible.

“Give me your gun, the extra clips and all your ammo. Better give me your holsters too.”

“Why?”

“Just do it! Now!”

Channie scowled, but handed everything to Josh.

He opened the door and tossed it all on the ground.

“What are you doing? We need that!”

“We can’t get caught with illegal weapons.” He pulled the knife Wisdom had given him for Christmas out from under the driver’s seat and threw it on the ground, next to Channie’s gun.

Before Channie could interfere, Josh closed his eyes and gathered his magic. It warmed his gut as it flowed out of his power-well. He opened his eyes and focused on the pile of contraband … then
wished
it into non-existence.

Channie gasped then said, “How’d you do that?”

“Same way I clean my clothes.” Josh hopped out of the car and lowered the back seats, enlarging the cargo area of the RAV-4.

Channie got out of the car and whispered, “What are you doing?”

Josh yanked his shirt off and tossed it into the front seat then unzipped his jeans and climbed into the back of the car. His heart stopped when two highway patrol cars pulled into the rest stop. Their lights flashed across the roof of the building housing the bathrooms. At least they’d parked in the front. “Come on.” He grabbed Channie’s hand and pulled her in with him. “Unbutton your blouse.”

“This is hardly the time or the place for such shenanigans!” She was still whispering, but the urgency in her voice revealed her level of panic.

“We need an alibi. Just … let me do the talking. Okay?”

Channie nodded.

Josh undid the top three buttons of her blouse then tousled her hair and said, “There. That should be good enough. Now lie down.” He slid down beside her and pulled one of her legs between his knees. “Kiss me and act like we’ve been at it for awhile.” To his surprise, she kissed him with as much heat as she ever had.

Intermittent blue light filled the car when a cruiser pulled around back. A sense of deja vu swept over Josh when the officer tapped on the rear window and shined his flashlight into their faces, but this time, there were two officers, and they’d drawn their guns.

Josh kept his mouth pressed against Channie’s and whispered, “Move slow and if they ask you anything, just say ‘I don’t know.’”

Channie nodded.

The cop tapped on the window again and said, “Lemme see your hands.”

Josh resisted the urge to hold his hands up in a “surrender” position and simply lifted them off Channie’s body.

The cop said, “I need you to exit the vehicle. Keep your hands where I can see ‘em.”

Josh sat up, then opened the door and said, “Is there a problem?”

The cop stepped back, but kept his gun leveled at Josh’s bare chest. “Turn around, put your hands on the hood of the vehicle and spread your legs.”

Josh needed to act like a surprised teenager and not a fugitive that was expecting to be arrested. He let his eyes go wide and mouth fall open then obeyed.

“I need the young lady to exit the vehicle as well.”

Josh snuck a peek at her out of the corners of his eyes. Her fear and confusion were genuine and perfect for the situation. But when the other cop said, “spread ‘em” and kicked her feet apart with the toe of his boot, Josh had to squelch the desire to turn around and punch him. He trembled with rage when the cop’s energy field spiked with lust as he patted Channie down.

Hopefully, the cop searching Josh would interpret his shaking as fear instead of anger. He holstered his weapon and said, “What are you two doing out here?”

“We just got married.”

“Uh-huh. You look a little young to be married and this isn’t exactly a honeymoon suite at the Ritz.”

“We’re saving our money.” Josh instantly regretted letting Hunter talk him into accepting the pillowcase stuffed full of cash. How the hell was he supposed to explain that?

The cop nodded at the sack of money and said, “What’s in the bag?”

Josh took a deep breath. If he demanded they get a search warrant, they’d just haul him and Channie off for more questioning. “Money.”

The cops eyebrows shot up. “Money?”

“I worked as an exotic dancer at ‘Her Lady’s Pleasure’ in Vegas. That’s my tip money.” Josh’s cheeks burned and his ears felt as if they were on fire, but the closer he kept things to the truth, the better. “I used the name ‘Hunter’ when I’m on stage.”

The cop didn’t look convinced. “Hand it over.”

There was nothing keeping the cop from just taking the cash. If Josh were half the mage Channie thought he was, he could curse the man. He untied the knot at the top of the pillowcase and opened the bag. “If you want to examine the money, feel free. Just remember where it’s been.”

The cop curled his lip and wrinkled his nose. “I think I better take you guys in for questioning.”

Josh felt the warm glow of magic swell inside his chest. He released it and guided it towards the two cops. “Please, we just got married in Vegas this morning. I have a marriage certificate to prove it. Please … don’t ruin our wedding night.”

The other cop rested his hand on the butt of his gun then said, “Let’s see the marriage license, but move slow and keep your hands where I can see ‘em.”

Josh said, “It’s in the glove compartment, on the other side of the car.” He pulled up every bit of magic he possessed and flung it at the two cops.
You don’t want to ruin our honeymoon. You want to catch the bad guys that were speeding down the highway shooting at people. We aren’t a threat.

The cops scrutinized Josh and Channie’s wedding license as well as every other document in their possession then went back to their cruiser. The first cop came back and handed Josh a warning ticket for loitering. He rested his forearms on the open window and said, “I could have arrested you two for indecent exposure, but even if all you were doing was sleeping, it’s not safe. Thieves and rapists prowl isolated spots like this, looking for young fools. Go get a room. The back of a car is no place to spend your wedding night.”

Josh
nodded and said, “Thanks,” then slumped against the seat and let his head fall back against the headrest as the adrenaline left his body.

Channie brushed his hair off his forehead. “You need to sleep.”

He’d used all his magical energy on the cops. Josh was exhausted but they couldn’t afford to stop. “Your mom is still out there.”

“Didn’t you see the steam pouring out of the hood? She’ll need to stop and get that vehicle patched up. And I doubt she’ll be able to find a mechanic before morning.”

“I’m not comfortable stopping when we’re so exposed.”

“Then let me drive.”

“You don’t have a license. What if you get pulled over? I don’t have enough power left to get us out of another jam with the cops.”

“I’ll drive very carefully and obey all the rules, even the speed limit.”