"You little bitch." The man said, and grabbed her roughly, throwing her against the car. Sandy reeled with the force of his throw, and fell to the ground. He was reaching for her when an expression of surprised pain bloomed on his face, and he was suddenly flung face-first into the car door with such force it knocked him out cold. She scrambled sideways to avoid his prone form, and clutching the keys, dragged herself to her feet. She ran to the door, praying that Tyler had unlocked it already. As she opened the door, she felt a hand on her forearm, and swung her elbow back toward her attacker. She met flesh, heard his grunt of surprise and pain, and swung the door open, jumping in and locking the doors. He was banging on the car window so hard it was shaking as she hurriedly put the key into the ignition. Pulling off his jacket, he wrapped it around his arm and drew it back to break her window. The car engine came to life as his snarling face suddenly flew to the side, and he fell into her door with a thud, nose-first, then slid to the ground. Tyler stood by the window now, his face grim. The car started suddenly, and he crowded into the driver's side.
"Put your seat belt on. I'll drive," he said, and whipped the deep blue mustang out of the parking space.
They had been driving for a couple of hours and Sandy was so tired her eyes felt like they were full of gravel, but she couldn't sleep, because she just kept waking up to nightmares of being chased by men in grey suits.
"Tyler." He hadn't spoken to her unless spoken to. "I want to know what the fuck is going on."
"What?" He sounded surprised. It was the first form of emotion she'd seen since their escape from the hotel.
"Tyler."
"You're telling me you don't know?" He said, the suspicion evident in his voice.
"Know what." Her tone made him blink, and he turned to stare at her, until she had to tell him to watch the road.
"Know what, Tyler?!"
"Maruc, the guy you were seated next to, is a terrorist, wanted internationally for war crimes and human trafficking."
"What?? That's ridiculous! People are seated next to strangers on planes all the time!"
"Sandy. You checked in together."
"No, no I..." She trailed off. She remembered the handsome man in the airport. The first class lounge. Tyler was gripping the steering wheel, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
"Don't lie to me Sandy. Are you in love with him?"
"What?? Tyler I just met him! Where are you getting this shit??"
"Look, it's none of my fucking business, but you're in way over your head here."
"Tyler. Look at me." Sandy was fuming.
"I'm driving."
"Look at me!!" She exploded, reaching over and grabbed his hand on the steering wheel. The truck swerved, and he threw her hand off, and pulled to the side of the road so quickly the tires screeched.
"What the hell is wrong with you Sandy? Do you want to die? Is that what you want??" He practically roared the last words at her, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. Sandy didn't respond. Tyler glanced over at her. She'd buried her face in her hands and her shoulders were shaking. Tyler instantly felt like shit. "Aw Sandy I'm sorry. Don't cry, please. Your love life is none of my business. But you need to understand. Whatever it is he gave you, you're going to have to give it back."
Sandy was staring at him. Finally, she started laughing.
"No. This is too ridiculous. This is ridiculous."
"It's true."
"How do you know?"
"I heard about the plane crash."
"No. How do you know all this? Who is looking for me and what do they think I have??"
"Maruc Trevelyan is under heavy surveillance. I'm surprised he let you be seen with him, after all this time. I'm surprised, because Celia is known to be so much more cautious..." he trailed off, eyes on her face, watching her reaction closely.
Sandy was breathing rapidly. She felt her heart beating. Her face was hot. Tyler was still talking to her.
"Shut up." He opened his mouth but she cut him off. "Shut the fuck up." He closed it, slowly. His hand, warm and large, was covering hers. She pulled her hands away and turned to face the road.
"Did you know?" Her tone was accusatory.
"Sandy."
"Did you know before I got on the plane? " She was staring at him, but he couldn't meet her eyes. Suddenly, she jumped out of the car and bolted down the highway away from him. A car zoomed past, bright lights disorienting in the darkness. She stumbled and fell.
"Sandy!!" She was vaguely aware of Tyler running after her. He was roaring her name, and lights were bearing down on her again. Panic seized her, and she was up and running, blood pounding in her ears, heart in her throat. She was running as hard as she could, until a huge man in a grey suit stood up out of the road like a brick wall and knocked her down. She tasted blood in her mouth, and everything went black.
***
Everything hurt. Sandy opened her eyes slowly, her eyes adjusting to the brightness of the room. She blinked and sat up slowly, groaning with the effort. She was in bed, in a hotel room.
"Where am I?"
"We're in a hotel." Tyler stepped out of the bathroom. He was stripped to the waist, his light brown skin marred with bruises on his arms and chest.
"What happened?"
"After you ran out into the road like an insane idiot, we were ambushed. I barely managed to get us both out of there in one piece."
"Tyler, I..." Sandy started, but he held his hand up.
"Don't. You don't owe me an explanation, and I don't want to hear any lies. I'll protect you. Just...don't lie to me anymore."
He didn't believe her. The words hit her heart like a brick wall, and it was all she could do to look away from him. He watched her face fall, her eyes fill up with tears, and he looked away, swallowing.
