BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

The man shook his head and Lance turned away, then, thinking better of it, swung back and kicked him in the face too.

The bartender spoke again. “Lance, get the hell out of here before I call the cops.”

Lance reached into his pocket and put some cash on the bar, about enough to cover the damage, which he figured was fair. He picked up his sunglasses and clipped them back on the neck of his shirt.

He looked at the bartender, who was wearing an ACLU t-shirt from a campaign a few years back protesting the death penalty.

“I thought you liberals all had bleeding hearts,” he said.

“Fuck you,” the bartender said.

“Fuck me?”

“You’re a dead man, Lance. I don’t care where you served. These guys are going to gun you down in the street.”

Lance looked down at the two unconscious bodies. They didn’t look like they’d be causing him trouble any time soon.

“I guess I’ll have to take my chances” he said.

He turned to the girl.

“I don’t care if I have to carry you. You’re coming with me.”

3

Sam got into Lance’s pickup without a word.

He climbed in next to her and cracked the window.

He had a pack of cigarettes on the dashboard and lit one. He offered them to Sam but she ignored him.

He fired up the engine. It was a cold night and he turned the heat on full. Ice covered the windshield and he grabbed the scraper and got back out.

When he returned, Sam was smoking one of his cigarettes.

They pulled out of the parking lot and headed north. There was a McDonald’s and he asked if she was hungry but she didn’t answer.

This was her town. Beulah, Montana.

Lance had been coming for a few weeks, keeping tabs on her, getting to know her life. She’d been easy to find. She spent her time in bars, pool halls, sleeping in until four in the afternoon in a cheap apartment with her scumbag boyfriend.

Lance had seen her getting high in the parking lot behind the drugstore. He’d seen her running out of the apartment at four in the morning with blood on her face. He’d seen her twist an ankle on a dance floor wearing seven-inch stilettos.

He kept his distance, but saw everything.

They passed the motel Lance sometimes stayed at and crossed the bridge over the Kootenay River.

The road from her town to his was windy. It wove through a steep mountain pass next to the river. Dense forest covered the slopes on both sides. An hour tops and they’d be at his place unless the snow caused a road closure. It looked like the first big storm of the season.

“Can I ask where you’re taking me?” Sam said about ten minutes out of town.