Outlaws to the End (HotCider & heartofcourage)

[HotCider]

Ian only smirked at Elizabeth’s response to the clerk before she proceeded to browse the store. Never had he felt so nervous, watching someone shop in a store. His hand rose to his mouth, grasping it as he tensely watched Elizabeth browse. In his mind, Ian was praying, Please don’t pick that one. Not that one either. You’re going to burn up in all of these gowns. If she picked an ugly one, he didn’t know if he would be able to touch her. She might have actually gotten her wish. If her dress was horrendous enough, Ian more than likely would have kept his hands to himself. That was what they were all designed to do apparently.

Elizabeth settled on a dress. A blue one. The flowers stitched into it were terrible but that was possibly his opinion, being a lover of simplicity. A positive quality about the dress was not only did the blue make her red hair stand out, it had short sleeves so he at least got to see something. Ian lowered his hand from his face when Elizabeth looked to him as though for his approval. He could hear the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. Sliding his hands into his pants pockets, Ian answered, “It’s decent. I’ll get you a new one in Vegas.”

Ian planned on getting his baby whatever she wanted once they got to Sin City. He had a gambling itch he needed to scratch. Just because he couldn’t rob banks no more, didn’t mean he couldn’t find other methods of profit. “You should go try it on, and then we’ll get your hair done afterwards.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth noticed the slight wrinkle of his nose as she showed him the dress before he finally announced that it was decent. Decent to Ian Darcy was a mystery to her. He might have thought it was trash but he’d never say as much. At least, he didn’t right then.

“You can say you don’t like it.” Elizabeth said as he insisted that she go try it on so they could go get her hair done. “And we don’t need to waste our money. I know you want to take care of me, but let’s save our money and make it really count when we get to where we’re going.”

She turned then, moving towards the back of the store where the shop keeper indicated the changing room. The dress wasn’t flattering in the least but the color was nice. It did it’s level best to hide her feminine figure, making her look slightly dower and boxy. Ian was going to hate it, she thought to herself as she stepped back to the front of the store to let him take a look.

“Could be worse.” She said, standing in front of him to let him get a good gander.

 

[HotCider]

Ian smiled at Elizabeth when an idea came to his mind. He recalled when he had been the one to dye her hair the first time. He vaguely remembered. “Sure. We’ll save money. I’ll do it for you.”

There was no need to pay for the labor. Not over the hair dye. Besides, when Elizabeth stepped out in her dress, he swore she looked like she was wearing a shield. Everything was so rectangle. He preferred her old rags to the curtain she was wearing.

“Gorgeous selection,” the clerk complimented Elizabeth.

Ian’s head snapped in the man’s direction, and he gave him a disturbed and questioning stare. Was he blind? Or he probably had never seen the sinful curves of a woman. Ian blinked when he realized the expression he was wearing. Elizabeth was probably patiently waiting for his final acknowledgement. He dropped his head mentally damning the dress before he brought his head around to Elizabeth. He wore such a casual smile.

“It could,” he optimistically agreed. However, on the inside, he was wondering what had she worn so far that was worse than that? Even his shirts looked sexier on her than that (and that could have been because she barely wore anything underneath).

Changing the subject and tearing them out of that awkward moment, Ian faced the counter and removed a few dollars from his pocket. He didn't have a fancy wallet. He just pocketed what he needed for the trip.

“There you go, fella’” said Ian.

The clerk glanced up at Ian with raised brows. He was surprised such a scruffy-looking bumpkin was even able to pay for such a thing. Ian was more amazed that such an ugly dress had cost so much. It wasn't entirely expensive, but it felt like a hole was burned through his pocket. If she wanted to save money, she could have continued to wear what she had worn, but he figured how women were. He had to keep his girl looking and feeling nice in their rough runaway life. The clerk gave Ian his change and Ian waited by the door for Elizabeth.

Once she was close enough, Ian teased, “You make a nice lamp shade.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth paused next to Ian after he had paid for the dress and teased her about her new look. She raised an eyebrow as she slipped her arm around his waist and leaned against his side.

"I'm your lampshade." She murmured, giving him a small grin as they slipped out of the store. "And now I fit in around here. I'm leaning a few tricks from you."

Elizabeth leaned in and kissed Ian's cheek as they just walked, wandering around the new town that they had found themselves in. She noticed the conservative style of everyone there and even she knew that something wasn't quite right.

"We've been halfway across this country and this is the first time that I've seen anything like this. Are towns really like this outside of the big cities?" Elizabeth asked him, depending on his more worldly experience to give her some idea of what they were dealing with.

 

[HotCider]

Ian was being a “good boy.” He hadn’t forgotten how she had pawed at him earlier for being too much of himself, so as she slipped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, he just slowly blinked his eyes as though he was unaffected. At her question about little ol’ Sandy, Utah, Ian gave her his honest observation.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we were secretly abducted and happened upon an alien dimension. Now with you wearin’ this lamp shade, you’ve gone and been assimilated by them. Next thing you know, you won’t wanna have sex with me no more because we’re not married and the Good Lord would be upset with you,” he grumbled. The bright and sunny town was making Ian feel like The Devil, and it was making him sick. The people in Sandy just seemed so fake. They could have been a community of Christian cultists and fanatics. He didn’t like it one bit. The preacher seemed normal, but then he hadn’t been to his house and he didn’t know how he felt going to anymore stranger houses.

“Let’s get you that hair dye,” Ian said. There was annoyance in his tone as he sought out a hair salon.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You are such an odd duck sometimes." Elizabeth said as he commented on how she had been assimilated because she was wearing a dress like they all had on. "It was either this or nothing. While you might enjoy the nothing, I don't think everyone else would."

As he steered her down the street, mentioning that they needed to find a hair salon, she let out a sigh. It all served a purpose, but she always found salons so fussy. They wanted her money and they would bend over backwards to get as much of that money as possible.

"The first chance I get, I'm going back blonde." She commented, looking up at Ian as they walked. "I know you like the red and all, and it's done well to disguise things, but I miss looking in the mirror and seeing myself."

 

[HotCider]

Ian stopped and turned to face Elizabeth. He rested his hands upon her arms and looked her in her eyes. “You could be black, blonde, brunette, purple, green, blue, or pink and I would still love you. You will always be…” He bit down on her name not wanting to say it in public. “It’s not your hair color or the way you look. It’s you; and you’re what I’m crazy about. Nothing else. Now I know this is annoyin’, but we’re a state away from California. Hopefully this will be the last time you gotta do this.”

He wanted to kiss her then. Her forehead. Her lips. But Ian retracted his hands and saw that they were shaking a little. It wasn’t out of fear, but as usual he was anxious around his woman. Ian stepped back and cursed softly down at the ground before he resumed his frustrated stride. A salon by the name of Amazing Grace entered his sights. As he came before the window, he saw women getting their hair rolled and sprayed with chemicals. He was happy that he wasn’t subjecting Elizabeth to that punishment. One woman looked like she had wires attached to her head. The bell jingled when he entered. By now he was desperate to finish the mission and return back to the quiet of their hotel bedroom.

“Welcome to Amazing Grace, Sir. You here for a trim?” a stylist teasing some blonde woman’s curls asked.

“Ya’ll got any red hair dye?” Ian asked.

“We do, Sir, but we don’t sell it.” The stylist was an older woman with her hair also in curls. Now, he knew where the carbon copies (the people) were being made.

“I’ll pay you ten for it,” Ian stated.

“Sir, I said we don’t-”

“Twenty dollars take it or leave it.”

The eyes of several women widened then. They stared at Ian amazed. Never had they expected some scruffy bumpkin to cough up such money. Why, a few women started to waggle their fingers his way and bat their eyelashes. Ian, however, didn’t pay them a single mind. He just wanted to complete the mission. The hair stylist stopped teasing her client’s hair and click-clacked toward the back of the salon. She started browsing shelves as she went until she found a box of dye. She read it to make sure it was the right one and then walked it over to him. They made the exchange. The stylist happily plucked the 20 from his hand and grinned at him.

“Thank you, Sir. Have a blessed day.”

“Yeah, you too,” Ian said as he turned, marching out of the salon. If Elizabeth had been following along, he nearly lost her in his haste to return to the hotel.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sorry." Elizabeth said softly to the ladies in the salon as Ian aggressively asked for hair dye and paid them a fortune for it.

There was nothing else to really say as he got the box that he wanted and then stalked out of the salon. She looked around at the other women gathered, knowing that she stuck out like a sore thumb with her normal hair. It wasn't curled or primped or sprayed. It made her feel awkward as she turned and slowly left, looking over her shoulder at the women as they slowly returned to their normal routine.

She had to hurry to keep up with Ian as he angrily stalked away. Something had upset him, and as always, she had no idea what was going on in his head.

 

[HotCider]

Ian had marched all the way back to the hotel, up the stairs to their bedroom, and unlocked the room door. He didn’t once look back for he figured Elizabeth had the door. He stormed over to the bed, dropped the dye on the floor, and collapsed backwards across the mattress. The quiet. The comfort of the mattress lifted a big, annoying weight off his shoulders. Ian brought his hands to his face, grasping it as he waited for the headache that had been forming to subside. It slowly did, lifting off his skull as though it sprouted wings and flown the coop. He inhaled deeply and exhaled on a deep sigh. Dropping his arms to his sides, Ian arched his legs. They bent at the knee as he continued to just lay there. Once he had his cool, Ian cracked open his eyes, and then apologized, “I’m sorry babe. I got tired of bein’ around all those folks.”

Ian shook his head and laughed, but it hadn’t been in amusement. It sounded mildly like stress. “I am just…so tired. I didn’t sleep good in that car. And we are this close…” He held up his thumb and index finger, squeezing a dime-sized space between them. “We are this close to Vegas. I don’t wanna go to any more houses. I don’t wanna deal with any more strangers. I just wanna get you and me to Vegas, and then off to California. But…there’s somethin’ I feel I need to do here.”

“I’m a bad person Elizabeth and bad people go to Hell. I’ve robbed people. I’ve gotten people killed. I almost got you killed. I got you followin’ me on this wild goose chase. Before we do anything next…before we go ridin’ off to Sin City, I gotta get right with God.”

Ian crossed an arm over his eyes. He didn’t like when Elizabeth saw him cry. “I keep sayin’ these people make me sick because I’m jealous. They got nothin’ to worry about. They’re saved and happy. They look at me like I’m some kinda’ devil. Like they can feel the evil on me and know all the sins I committed. I gotta get right Elizabeth before anything else happens. I want to make sure our story has a happy ending.”

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ian." Elizabeth said as she lay down beside him, listening to him talk about being a sinner and how he needed to get right with God. "You could be the biggest sinner and we'd still have our happily ever after. I'm not going to tell you what is right and what is wrong. You simply have to do what makes you feel better."

She knew that he had a lot to think about. He had lead a rough life, one that she couldn't even begin to understand. Whatever he needed to do to get past his feelings of inadequacy, she would support him. He didn't have to change a bit for her and she told him that all the time.

"I think you're a pretty good man. You didn't cage me up or even return me back home for that reward." Elizabeth said softly. "Someone with less morals would have in an instant."

 

[HotCider]

Ian's arm remained folded over his face as he listened to Elizabeth try to comfort him. She said he was good for not turning her in for the money. “I stole you away, Elizabeth. How does that make me good? You see this world is complicated like that. If I returned you, even if for the money, I'd be a hero. But I know from what you told me the truth, and that returnin' you even if I knew your ex was a big pile o'dung wouldn't had made me feel heroic.”

He lowered his arm and turned on his side to face her. “I'm just afraid. Bad guys don't get good endings, and I wanna make sure ours is a happy one—clean slate. I ain't ever been much of a Christian, and I ain't plannin' on lookin' like those posies outside, but I think that may need to change. If you and me are gonna get married some day, then we may also have a family. I want to raise my boy—or girl—right. I don't come from a perfect and organized household, so givin’ them some good morals is gonna be important.”

Ian turned his face into the mattress and moaned, “Ugh. I'm sorry darlin'. I didn't think I'd be so emotional right at the end. I've become sucha' wuss…”

 

[heartofcourage]

"You'd be a hero and I'd have popped Stephen in the nose. You know that I would." Elizabeth said as he moaned about how simple her view on the world was. "And I probably could have broken his nose too."

She gave him a small grin as he turned on his side to finally face her, lamenting about how he wanted to change and how if they were going to marry and start a family, he wanted to give their children a good upbringing.

"Ian, you might have done some bad things in your life, but that doesn't make you a bad person. You can have a past and still raise decent children." As he rolled completely to his belly and buried his head into the mattress. "Just don't let them do the things you did."

She stared up at the ceiling as they both went quiet. "There's nothing saying that we have to have kids. We'd be happy enough together in California with just the both of us."

 

[HotCider]

Ian turned his head to once again face Elizabeth. He wore a bleary smile as she told him that she would be happy if it was just the two of them all the same. His smile quirked into a naughty smirk as he jested, “Are you kiddin’? As much as we romp? I’m expectin’ a thousand and no less.”

He scooted closer to her so that his side was next to hers as he laid on his stomach with his face in the pillow. Ian was fading. It was the fatigue he had told her about. The uncomfortable car ride had made him feel so exhausted. Everything in the last 72 hours had, and his body and mind were telling him, Ian. It’s time to hit the hay brother. Ian closed his eyes, and if Elizabeth chose to continue talking, she would realize that he wasn’t responding back. Her man was out like a light.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, one or two at least." Elizabeth said with a smile as he countered with a thousand children.

He was asleep in moments and she couldn't really blame him. He'd been through hell for her over the past few weeks. In fact, she was surprised that he was still there with her. Lying there next to him for a few more moments, she soon rolled out of bed. He didn't even move an inch as she bent down and picked up the box of hair dye.

Elizabeth worked quietly in the bathroom to redye her hair, finishing after a while and standing in front of the mirror with fresh red locks. Her hair was still wet, shaggy around her face as she considered herself. She wasn't the same girl that had left Chicago with the wild Ian Darcy. She had changed in so many ways, so much so that she didn't recognize herself sometimes.

Carefully, she wrapped her hair up in a towel to dry and soon had rejoined Ian, snuggling up against his side and finding sleep herself.

 

[HotCider]

It was in the middle of the night when Ian gasped sharply and awoke with a start as the sound of a gunshot resonated throughout his conscience. The room was dark. It was night and he didn’t know what time it was. They had missed the dinner probably. Ian took a moment, staring at the headboard and then behind him at the rest of the room. This was real. He looked over at Elizabeth, and he noticed the towel around her head. He peeled it back a little and realized that she had dyed her hair.

Shucks. I wanted to do it, Ian thought. He felt a little embarrassed for having passed out on her. He was trying to rest his eyes and he hadn’t expected to black out asleep. He turned toward her and reached an arm across her shoulder. He drew her close against him, wrapping his leg around hers until he was crotch to crotch with her. His hand slid back to cup the side of her face as he ran his fingers back through her damp, dyed locks.

“I’m gonna make everything right,” Ian whispered. He rested his forehead against hers and then lightly kissed her lips. You’re a dick for trying to disturb her, he heard his conscience tell him. He was hoping his light peck would go unnoticed for he didn’t want to wake her. He smirked to himself as he thought about their earlier conversation. He would always be horny for this woman.

“Out of everythang’ I ever stole, you were my greatest prize,” he whispered again. He rested his head against the pillow and just watched her for a few minutes.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth's brow furrowed in her sleep as she felt Ian move beside her. She was warm as he pulled her in closer, one fist tightening before her fingers relaxed back in sleep. A sleepy mumble issued from her lips as she felt that quick kiss and then he was gone. Moments later, her blue eyes peeked open and she stared at him in that bleary way of someone still deeply half asleep.

The first words she managed to say were thick on her tongue, garbled as she situated herself more firmly against him in a comfortable position. At the curious look on her face, she managed to get out more distinguishable words.

"I'm hungry." She muttered, her blue eyes drifting back close. "I think we slept through dinner."

 

[HotCider]

“We did,” Ian informed. He then removed his hand from her face and rested it upon her hip. “What do you want, baby? I’ll find you some food out here.” He wondered what the pastor was thinking. He was sure he understood. They were both tired and they needed a break from their ordeal. He had to give them a few days. Naturally, Ian’s hand squeezed her bottom some. He couldn’t help but get a little touchy with his woman.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Anything that's edible." Elizabeth murmured, opening her eyes as she felt Ian squeeze her bottom. "Did you wake me up to grope me? Really?"

Her eyes were clearing from sleep, a hand reaching up to pull off the towel that she had wrapped around her hair. She threw it to the floor and gave a mighty stretch, wondering just what time it was and why he had woken up.

 

[HotCider]

Ian smirked naughtily at Elizabeth’s question. He squeezed her bottom once more before he sat up in the bed to allow her to stretch like a cat. “I had a nightmare,” he told her. “I didn’t want to wake you, but I also didn’t want to leave you lying here alone. I’m gonna head to the bathroom, and then I’ll go find us some food.” Ian stood and headed toward the door. He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday…it was the only outfit he had really. He bought Elizabeth more outfits than he bought himself. He liked to keep her happy and frankly, if not for the lampshade style, everything he had bought her made her look gorgeous.

 

[heartofcourage]

By the time Ian reemerged, Elizabeth was back under the covers. Pulled up to her shoulders, the only thing that peeked out was the top of her red head. She was just about to fall asleep again when movement made her open her eyes and look after Ian.

"Don't get lost and don't be gone too long." Elizabeth said softly.

 

[HotCider]

Ian had taken a pit stop at the restroom, and afterward, he had taken a walk through the town mainly to assess how peaceful it was. It was late at night and normally, if they had been in any other city like Chicago, there would have been muggers in the alleys. But Sandy, Utah? It seemed too good to be true. If there was one thing he learned from his journey so far, nothing was as it seemed. But then again…Ian stopped to gaze around the small square. The town was so small that if anyone did anything, he was certain the people took justice into their own hands.

I need to get back, Ian thought. He didn’t want to spend too much time outdoors and away from Elizabeth. The past few trips had made him paranoid. He always felt as though something was going to happen if he didn’t hurry.

There were so many places that were closed. Sandy was traditional all right. A traditional pain in his ass. Ian scowled as he continued to walk passed the blackened shop windows. The town really knew how to make someone pay if they missed dinner. The local bar was the only place that was open. As Ian opened the door and walked in, there were about as many people as there were fingers on his hands. They immediately turned to regard him, regarding him as they had all day. He was foreign and not from around here. Yeah; yeah.

The bartender was an older man who wore a brown apron and had a fancy blonde monopoly man mustache. He was drying a glass with a towel when he asked Ian, “New guy. Evening. Welcome to Sandy. What can I get for you? My name’s Jesshua.”

The seconds it took him to approach the counter, Ian recalled the current name he was using. Was it Harry? He remembered Harry. “Harry,” he replied and took a seat upon a stool. He rested his hand upon the counter and asked, “My girl and I missed dinner. Ya’ll servin’ any food?”

“Ya’ll?” Jesshua and a few others giggled. “Kitchen’s closed. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Where you from stranger?”

Ian internally sighed. He was reminded why he hated this place and he regretted telling Elizabeth that he was jealous of these people. “Arizona.”

“What’s an Arizona boy doing up here?”

He didn’t like all the questions. “Can you just get me two bottles of coke?”

The sugar would hold them.

The bartender smiled and went to retrieve the cokes from the back. Ian glanced at everyone else. The people up north certainly knew how to stare a guy down. If he hadn’t been trying to be a good boy, he might have told a few of them to put’em up. He noticed a newspaper two stools down from him. He stood from the stool and walked over to pick it up before he returned to his seat. Curiously, he set the paper on the counter and skimmed over the news.

I wonder if Elizabeth is still in the paper… he wondered. Ian flipped through a few pages and glanced over a few ads when his eyes happened across one that had the word “Elizabeth” on it. Seeking a red-headed or blonde, blue-eyed…Ian’s face paled. Last seen in St. Louis, Missouri and may be with a male, brown hair, brown eyes, six-foot-one…Where the hell…

The newspaper knew what he looked like. But Stephen hadn’t met him before!

Sir…

Sir…

Hey, Harry.

The bartender set the coke bottles down noisily to tear Ian from his thoughts. Ian folded the newspaper closed and looked up at Jesshua. “Sorry,” Ian apologized. Ian grasped the coke bottles between his fingers and rose from his seat. He was going to leave the newspaper, but he didn’t get a chance to finish reading it.

“How much I owe you?”

“A quarter.”

“And for the newspaper?”

Jesshua glanced at the paper and shrugged. “A dime.”

Ian fished the change out of his pocket and set it upon the counter. He then snatched the newspaper and headed for the door.

“Harry.”

Ian stopped to look back at Jesshua. Jesshua smiled and replied, “Have a good night.”

Ian took his leave and hurried back to the hotel. His heart was racing. His paranoia was going berserk and he regretted leaving the hotel, but if he hadn’t, then he wouldn’t have seen the update in the newspaper. When he returned to the room, he burst through the door and quickly closed and locked it behind him.

“Shit!” he exclaimed. Ian paced about, staring wide-eyed at the floor. He was going back to his days as a bank robber. His mind was racing at a mile a minute. They had to leave; they had to change her disguise; they had to steal a car; they had to make sure there was enough gas in the car; fuck! “Shit; shit; shit!”

 

[heartofcourage]

The opening of the door upon Ian's return sounded like a gunshot. Elizabeth jumped, clutching the blanket to her chin as she looked at him with wide eyes.

"What in the world, Ian?" Elizabeth asked, her heart racing a million miles an hour as he just stood there staring at the ground and cursing.

 

[HotCider]

Ian was wildly pacing about as he tried to come up with a plan. He hadn't cared that he had woke Elizabeth as insensitive as the situation seemed. This was serious. Ian set down the cokes on the nightstand and forced himself to sit on the bed.

"Someone knows who I am, and they updated the reward article. Someone knew that we were making you into a red-head…" Ian fell silent to finish reading the article. His blood ran cold when he saw Ian Darcy, The Devil himself, may be responsible for kidnapping Elizabeth Darrow, Collingwood Bank President Stephen Collingwood's beloved. Investigators were tipped off two days ago by a man in prison wishing to aid police in catching Elizabeth's kidnapper. The bank robber set the newspaper behind him for Elizabeth to read as he stood from the bed.

(Scene #348) Ian's eyes were wide, crazy and small as he stared at the wall. He was digging deep in his mind who the rat could have been, and he didn't have to dig too deep. There were only a few people in this world who knew who he was. He trusted two of them, but the third…it dawned on him. Frank McCredie. Just the thought of that man made Ian's face flush red in rage and if Elizabeth hadn't seen Ian angry. She would in that moment. He fucking snapped.

"Frank! You son of a bitch!" Ian roared. His hands were on fire and he needed to break something since they couldn't strangle the fuck out of that fat swine. Ian raced over to the mirror and shattered its face with his fist. Glass shards cut his knuckles and it didn't stop him from punching the mirror two more times until it no longer had a face. He then grabbed the wooden chair and threw it against the wall. He then walked over to it, picked the chair up, and slammed it onto the dresser where the vanity mirror had been. The chair broke a little, but it hadn't shattered like he had desired. He was going to break it!

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth was terrified as Ian raged, declaring that someone was on to them. She glanced at the paper as it was thrown on the bed and she picked it up to read the article.

"Ian, none of this matters. They'll know if they find us that I did this willingly." She said, glancing up at the sound of smashing glass. "Jesus, Ian, stop!"

She was off the bed in and instant, shrinking back as he demolished a chair. Pressed against the wall, she just watched him rage, her heart racing and her eyes wide. She had never seen this side of him before, not this violent and destructive.

 

[HotCider]

Jesus, Ian, stop!

Ian slammed the chair over and over upon the vanity until it finally gave. A piece flipped behind him, and the legs came off upon the vanity top. He dropped the chair and sank to his knees, his chest swelling and sinking rapidly. His hands wouldn’t stop burning. He held them before him. Blood was dripping from one of them from when he had shattered the mirror. Did the town know about them? Were they going to piece everything together?

There was a banging upon the door. Ian glanced over at it as though there were cops on the other side. It was a neighbor. “What is going on in there? We’re trying to sleep!” the man complained.

Ian said nothing. He could still hear his own thoughts querying loudly in his skull. What are we going to do Ian?

“Is everything all right?”

“We’re fine! Goodnight!” Ian finally shouted back.

“Well keep it down then or I’m calling the owner!”

You need to calm down Ian, he mentally told himself. His hands started shaking and he planted his palms flat upon the floor. He knew what he had to do. It was the solution he always resorted to whenever he felt as though he were pinned in a corner. He had to steal, and then he had to run. They needed a car; they needed money; and he needed Elizabeth to change her hair color again. Why God? Why couldn’t he just be an average guy? Was it the devil making him a robber again? Was his past sins his curse?

Ian finally spoke to Elizabeth, acknowledging that she was still there and probably feeling just as frightened. His voice was a low whimper but it was clear, “I promised you that I wouldn’t do it again, but I dunno what else to do. Would you hate me if I broke my promise and stole again?”