“Huh? Wait a second!” Marcus yelled in amazement. “They’re not pulling us over! They just wanted to get around us!” “Please tell me you’re not kidding,” I squeaked, afraid to look up and see if he was right or just hallucinating. “I’m definitely not kidding,” Marcus proclaimed, tilting my face toward the driver side window so I could see the police car speeding away. “Oh what a close call,” I exhaled in overwhelming relief. “Yeah, I guess I’m getting paranoid from being on the run for so long. Every time I even see a mall security guard, I get worried that my time is up. But this isn’t Buttercup Valley. Cops have lots of people to chase here in California,” Marcus said with a knowing chuckle. My face still vibrated from the light touch of his hand and all I could do was nod. The more time I spent with this man, and the more near-death experiences we shared, the more explosive our chemistry became. Did he feel it too? Or was it just me? Remembering how awful I looked with the heavy bags under my eyes and wan coloring from dehydration, I wasn’t so sure. But his touch had felt so soft, so solicitous… “What the…?”
