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Jason found himself wondering which side of this battle he’d inadvertently joined by jumping on that motorcycle with her. Something dark was going on, that much was obvious, but what it was still eluded him. He trusted Lily and Lachlan, but he was also aware his trust was without cause. He could be trusting the wrong people! Yes, someone had been shooting at him. But was it him they were aiming for? Or were they warning shots, trying to intimidate the two of them into stopping? He didn’t know.

The rain was somewhat hypnotic, causing him to feel numb.

“Upsetting, huh?” Lily said, coming up behind him and snapping him out of his lethargy.

As if reading his mind, she added, “If it’s any consolation, those guys back there were firing rubber bullets. Body shots sting, but even a rubber round can be lethal if you take one to the head.”

“Ah,” he replied. “That’s why you gave me the helmet.”

“Well, it wasn’t to compensate for my riding,” Lily added, grinning.

“Here they come,” Lachlan said, joining Jason and Lily as he clipped the radio on his belt.

White lights appeared through the night, breaking up in the rain.

“Professor,” Jason began. “I have to say, all of this is freaking me out a little, and a little is an understatement. I’m having a hard time buying what’s going on here. This is crazy! Nothing you’ve told me makes any sense.”

“I know,” Lachlan replied in a soft, kind voice.

“Please be patient,” Lily added, but her words weren’t reassuring. Jason wanted answers. He wanted an explanation that was coherent and complete. So far, all he had were fragments of a puzzle.

“I will tell you anything you want to know,” Lachlan promised, resting his hand on Jason’s shoulder with fatherly care. “There is nothing I will keep from you, Jason. You have to believe me.”

Jason appreciated his honesty, but he was aware that Lachlan was only now offering this promise to him. He’d known Lachlan for years. For at least four years, Lachlan had maintained a facade, a charade.

A handful of grainy pictures seemed flimsy as far as explanations went, Jason thought. They were hardly credible as evidence. Jason didn’t want Lachlan to tell him anything he wanted to know, he wanted Lachlan to tell him everything, regardless of whether Jason wanted to know about it or not. Somehow, Lachlan’s promise felt contrived, murky. The trust Jason had felt in the truck was eroding, washing away like the mud in the rain.

Within a minute or so, a recreational vehicle pulled up beneath the overpass, but it didn’t stop either, slowing just enough for them to hop in as they jogged beside the side door.

The RV was nondescript. Dents and scrapes spoke of careless driving. The top rear of the vehicle had crumpled slightly where someone had tried to back up under a low ledge. They probably had to let the pressure out of the tires to free the jammed RV, Jason thought, looking at the crushed, accordion like metal, his mind running faster than his body as the three of them ran to keep up with the vehicle.

The side door was open, it had been clipped back in place. Rain had soaked the carpet in the stairwell. Lachlan got in first, followed by Jason, while Lily brought up the rear again. The RV was already beyond the overpass when Lily finally got on board. Torrential rain broke as she shut the door of the RV behind her.

The RV was spacious.

Fake wooden veneer lined a kitchen on one side. There must have been a bedroom beyond the kitchen, but the door leading to the rear of the RV was closed. Jason could hear voices from back there.

Lachlan moved up next to the driver, talking with him as he sat down in a plush leather seat while windshield wipers swished back and forth across the vast glass window. The driver signaled as he pulled back onto the highway. Lachlan scolded him for that, hurriedly getting him to switch off the turn signal as he said something about aerial surveillance.

Lily squeezed past Jason, resting her hands gently on his hips as she stepped around him and perched on a couch covered in a floral pattern. Jason hated being touched. Most of the time, he’d flinch if someone came up and grabbed his waist like that, but with Lily he had no such reaction. Funny, he thought. Subconsciously, he was more at ease with her than he would have consciously admitted.

“Here,” she said, patting the soft, dry, cushioned seat beside her.

Jason sat down next to her. Lily pulled out a couple of plastic water bottles from beneath the coffee table in front of them and handed a bottle to Jason.

They were seated facing forward, with the kitchen behind them. A pair of matching seats faced them. Beyond those seats lay the open cabin of the RV, with Lachlan sitting beside the driver. His radio hissed and he pulled it from his hip and began talking into it. Jason would have loved to listen in, but he wasn’t close enough to distinguish the words being spoken.

Lily sipped at her water.

“Well, this is nice,” Jason said, relaxing for the first time, allowing his body to sink into the soft cushions.