“I’m sorry,” she whispered, clenching and unclenching her shackled hands. “It’s over between us. He said he’d never leave you. That’s why I was going away.”

Sherri shook her head. “Lying little bitch. I don’t believe either of you.”

“It’s true,” Colleen blurted. “I swear. I was headed for the bus station. Look in my purse. I have a ticket. For Atlanta.”

“So what? You’d come back. Or he’d go there. To look for you.”

“No! That’s why I’m going away. Alone. To start over. A new job, new name, new life. Someplace nobody knows me.”

“So you can latch onto somebody new, screw some other woman’s husband, ruin another woman’s life.”

“Never. I’m done with that. This was all a horrible mistake. You don’t understand. My husband? He beats me. Brice was trying to help me. He wanted to lock Allen up, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. Brice, he’s a good guy. We didn’t mean to hurt you. Things just … happened.”

Sherri slapped her again, hard, without warning.

“Do not say his name again. I don’t want to hear my husband’s name come out of your filthy mouth one more time.”

Colleen nodded, mutely.

They were leaving downtown, headed west on First Avenue South. She looked out the window, hoping to catch someone’s eye, to somehow signal the danger she was in.

But the lights were with Sherri, and against Colleen, and they sailed through every intersection, never slowing, not even when they crossed Tyrone Boulevard and the street doglegged and became Central, and then they were speeding north on Gulf Boulevard.

A cold chill ran down Colleen’s spine when she realized where they were heading.

The traffic was unexpectedly light for late on a Friday afternoon. She glanced over at Sherri, whose jaw was clenched, eyes darting back and forth.

“Just let me go,” Colleen pleaded. “I’m not a threat to you. I’ll leave town.” She looked at the train case on the floor. “I have money,” she said. “Right here in this case. Everything from my bank account. Seven thousand dollars. You can have all of it. Just let me out of this car.”

Sherri laughed. “You think this is about money? Think you can buy your way out of what you’ve done to me?”

They drove on. The light at the next intersection was yellow as they approached. Colleen swiveled slightly in her seat. If she could get her hands on the door handle, just as they slowed to a stop for the light? Whatever injuries she suffered would surely be better than whatever Sherri had in mind.