Outlaws to the End (HotCider & heartofcourage)

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth had no idea what had gotten into him all of the sudden, but when he looked up and asked if he could steal again, her heart set to racing all over again. "Hell no. I almost lost you the last time."

She made herself move from the wall, pushing away and slowly making her way towards Ian. "Look, I'll call my dad and tell him that I'm alright. He won't need to know where I am. Maybe then he'll call off his dogs and we can just keep going."

 

[HotCider]

She didn’t want him to steal again. He didn’t want to either, but he felt cornered. She offered to call her father, and Ian wanted to exclaim “No!” but he held his tongue. He sank. His forehead rested upon his forearms and he sat back on his calves. Ian was practically curling into a ball. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like any of this, but if he denied Elizabeth the right to talk to her parents, then he might as well had really been her kidnapper.

“I don’t like this,” his voice was muffled and he turned his head just so she could hear him. “I don’t like any of this, but I’m not gonna stop you.”

Ian then went back to tucking his face away. He needed a moment to calm his nerves.

 

[heartofcourage]

“I don’t know what to do about this, Ian.” Elizabeth said as he curled up on the floor in front of her. “I won’t call him if it’s a bad idea, but I don’t want you to put yourself at risk of getting shot up again. We have money to make it. We....just have to be careful.”

Elizabeth slowly sank onto the bed, rubbing her tired and sore eyes. "We haven't been spotted in a long time, Ian. What makes you think that I'll be spotted just because someone knows that I might be blonde or a redhead?" There are millions of people out there."

 

[HotCider]

Ian was quiet for a moment. He was trying to calm the heart that was hammering in his chest. His nerves were firing all over and his pits were sweaty. He needed to calm down. She was right. He was over-reacting. The days of Ian "The Devil" Darcy were done. His hands went flat against the floor and he pushed off them to sit up on his knees. A long sigh left Ian as he closed his eyes.

"It was always easy to just run away and vanish, but I have somebody else here now," he thought aloud to himself. "You're right. I need to calm down. It always feels like somebody's out to get us."

He turned a malt ball eye over his shoulder at her. "I know someone's trynna' get you back, and he's willin' to go through hell and high water, and I know why."

Ian turned on his knees to face her. He reached out and grasped her knee and gave it an affectionate squeeze as a soft smile broke through his fear and anxiety like the sun through rain clouds. "Because you're such an amazin' woman and your fiance is just now realizin' that. You can call your Daddy and let him know you're safe, but based on what I've seen in that paper, Stephen wants you back."

Ian rose to his feet and sat on the bed next to her. He posted his hands behind him and gazed thoughtfully up at the ceiling as he imagined the drama he may have to face in the future. "I swear if Stephen and I meet, I'm gonna give him what for. I ain't holdin' back neither. He gonna try to take my woman away from me. Out of all the fights I've been in that's one worth given my all for. You're gonna see a side of me you ain't seen."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You seem to forget that even in all of this, I'm an adult that can make my own adult decisions. They might see me as that caged bird still, but you've shown me so much in such a short amount of time. I'm certain I could take on Stephen on my own if I needed to." Elizabeth said softly, looking over at Ian as he reclined next to her. "I'm sure my father is disappointed in me. Probably enough to disown me, but that's just something we'll have to deal with in the future. I can deal with his disapproval if it means staying with you."

 

[HotCider]

Ian closed his eyes and bowed his head a little. Was she still planning on calling her father? He was hoping that she would have reconsidered it. No matter what, Ian didn’t like it. He didn’t trust it. After a few seconds of silence, Ian sat up and turned to kiss Elizabeth on the cheek. “I’m gonna try and sleep,” he explained.

Ian rose off the bed and walked around to the other side. He settled down on his side with his back turned to Elizabeth. He didn’t mean to. Or the perceived manner was unintentional. He wasn’t trying to shut her out. His arms were crossed before his chest as though he were holding himself to keep warm. Ian closed his eyes. His heart was still racing. His legs felt restless. Shit. He wasn’t going to sleep tonight. He was going against his nature staying in that hotel. He would have been in a stolen car and out of town long ago. His conscience screamed, Why are you still here? They’ll figure it out and lock you up! Ian’s brows furrowed deeply as he mentally answered his conscience, I’m here for Elizabeth. He repeated it over and over in his head, hoping it would calm his nerves, but it wouldn’t. He wasn’t going to sleep until either the sun came up or the cops barged into their room—if they did.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth stared down at Ian as he curled up on the bed, trying his hardest not to look freaked out or restless. She knew there were things that he needed to work out on his own, things that she couldn't help him with.

"I'm going for a walk." She said, no frustration or anything in her voice. "Just for a little bit."

She didn't even want to argue with him, so she left quickly, shutting the door gently behind her. She wandered around the motel for a little bit before she stopped by the front desk. It was late, but the hazy yellow light inside the office still shone. Quietly, she knocked on the window and when it slid open, she gave the attendant a small smile.

"Hey, um, you gotta a phone I might borrow?" She was as nonchalant as possible, giving him a grin still. "I know it's late, but I need to make a call to my brother. He sent out a telegram that my mother was ill."

 

[HotCider]

The attendant rubbed at his eyelids, suggesting that he might have been taking a nap before Elizabeth knocked. Upon lowering his hand, brown, weary eyes gazed upon the red-head, capturing her grin and her beauty. Beneath a thick mustache and beard, the attendant smiled in return and greeted, “What’s a beautiful young lady doing up so late? A phone you say?”

He seemed to repeat her words as his foggy and half-asleep mind struggled to remember what she had just said to him. He was good at faking it at least. Leaning through the window, he turned his head to the right to gaze down the hall. He then pointed down it and informed, “Just go down that hall. There’s a small room with a sliding door. It’s about the size of a closet. You can find the phone in there.”

He then remembered the last thing she said and his bushy brows furrowed in concern. “Such a shame to hear about your mother. God bless her with a quick recovery and god bless you, my dear.”

 

[heartofcourage]

"Thanks. I'm hoping it's not too serious." Elizabeth said with another grin and a nod towards the man before she followed his directions.

The phone booth was tiny, but it was right where the man said it would be. She opened the door and stepped inside, locking it as she turned to look at the phone. Picking up the receiver, she was greeted with the sound of a woman on the other end asking in a bored tone where she was needing to be connected. Elizabeth answered instantly, giving the phone number to the woman and waiting patiently as they got to work.

It was late in Chicago. The shrill tone of a phone ringing broke the dead silence inside the house. Everyone was sleeping save for one man, use to keeping late hours. The sound of the phone still startled him and he quickly stabbed out a cigarette before lifting the receiver.

"Hello?"

Elizabeth froze at the sound of her brother's voice. If anyone in the world understood her, it was Junior. Jacob Darrow had a world of wealth and freedom laid out before him. He had a college degree, a well paying job, and an inheritance to boot. He also adored his little sister more than anything else.

"Junior?" Elizabeth whispered, almost afraid of speaking too loudly.

"Lizzy?" Junior glanced towards the clock on his desk, frowning as he caught sight of just how late it was through his wire rimmed glasses. "Jesus, Lizzy, where are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Junior. Better than fine, actually. I need you to do something for me." She murmured as she leaned back against the wall of the phone booth. "I need you to call off daddy. Get my name out of the paper and get Stephen to back off."

"Lizzy, Stephen hasn't been in Chicago in weeks. I can't control what that asshole says or does." Junior muttered, glancing towards the office door to make sure that the phone hadn't woken either of his parents who were asleep elsewhere in the house. "Liz, you need to tell me what's going on."

"I couldn't stay anymore, Junior. I realized that I wanted freedom more than a marriage to Stephen. I'm happy now, though. Happier than I think I've ever been." The honesty in her voice made Junior sigh, the sound harsh in the receiver as he thought about what to do.

"Do you need money? I'll wire you money. You just need to tell me where you are." He insisted. "I promise no one else will have to know."

"Somewhere in Utah, I think. Heading towards California. Maybe Las Vegas." Elizabeth didn't really know their plans.

"I'll wire the funds to a bank in Las Vegas then. You can pick it up when you arrive." Junior said as he wrote himself a note. "In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about those news stories and ads. I might not be able to stop them, but I'll try my hardest."

"Thanks, Junior." A weight felt lifted off her shoulders as he brother promised to try and help her. "I'll send you word when I'm in Las Vegas. I love you."

With that she hung up, pressing her head against the side of the phone booth before she exited. She would tell Ian in the morning and hopefully he was in a much better mood.

 

[HotCider]

When Elizabeth opened the phone booth, leaning against the wall with his arms folded behind his back was a scowling, bristly man. Ian Darcy was glaring at her. He pushed off the wall and growled, “You told him where we were and where we were headed? Have you lost your mind!?”

Clenching his eyes closed, Ian bared his teeth and balled his hands tightly into fists to keep from throwing another tantrum. He wanted to scream, but the hotel hallway where everyone could hear their business was not the best place. Ian stepped toward her and harshly whispered in her face, “All you had to do was go to sleep and let the mornin’ come. Now you’ve tipped off your family! The cops are gonna be all over us from here to Mexico!”

Ian then turned away from her and stormed angrily down the hall, “We’re no longer goin' to Vegas or California!”

 

[heartofcourage]

Jerking back when Ian was just suddenly there, Elizabeth could instantly see that has was absolutely livid. She watched as he clenched his fists and his teeth, raging at her for telling her brother where they were and where they were going.

"Ian, if there's anyone in the world that I can trust, it's my brother. He can give us money and get people off our case." She insisted as she followed after him. "He won't tell anyone."

 

[HotCider]

Ian sharply turned and grasped Elizabeth’s wrist. He led her back to the phone booth, using all of his willpower to hold his tongue. Their conversation was too sensitive to risk other ears to hear. Ian released her before the phone booth, waited for her to step inside, before he stepped in behind her. He slid the door closed behind them and did his best to make the cramped space bearable. “I have no reason to trust your family Elizabeth. They have done nothing but pursue us. They tried to marry you to an abusive jerk who did nothing but keep you locked away and now wants to hunt me down for takin’ ya. That’s all it is Elizabeth. I shattered his pride good takin’ you away from him. Big Shot Stephen Collingwood’s fiancée ran away with a robber. It must be humiliating. I don’t know how you believe your brother to keep your family off our tails without him tellin’ our business. You could have told him anywhere. Did you have to tell him everything?! Did he really need to know Elizabeth? How can you be so naïve?”

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ian, I'm not stupid." Elizabeth countered as he gave her a dressing down. "Contrary to the belief that you think I am, I'm not. If I didn't ask him for money, you'd be in the bank tomorrow morning holding the place up and then we'd have to make a mad dash to the next location. You can't deny that you wouldn't try it."

Elizabeth was boiling mad. "My parents wanted me to marry Stephen. My brother has been against it from the start. You don't know a damn thing about my family and how we work. Did I have the best life? No. I'm not going to blame Junior for their failings. I trust him and I know he loves me. He wants to keep me safe."

 

[HotCider]

“I don’t think you’re stupid! I just think you don’t understand how the world works bein’ cooped up all your life!” Ian growled. “I wasn’t gonna risk it. There ain’t enough money in this tiny, God-fearin’ town. But you’re right about one thing. I’m willin’ to do whatever it takes to protect us! Even risk my own life, but when you go tellin’ everybody where we’re goin’ it’s kinda’ hard for me to do that! I don’t care if he’s your brother and you trust him. He’s not here. He doesn’t know anythin’ about what we’ve been through, and he’s with your damn family! The people who are lookin’ for us. There isn’t much to think about Elizabeth! It all adds up!”

“We’re not going to Las Vegas and we’re not going to California. I’ll find us somewhere else to go.”

Ian opened the booth door and turned his back to her as he stepped out as though that was that.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, you'll be going there alone then because I'm going to California." Elizabeth called out after him, her arms crossing over her chest, knowing that he thought he had won this fight. "I've got money waiting on me in Vegas and I can make it there on my own if I have to."

 

[HotCider]

“I’m goin’ to bed,” Ian indifferently replied as he walked away from her. He headed back to their room, still wearing a frown. She was back to being the Crazy Broad…the same one back when they first met. He climbed the stairs. She wasn’t going to go anywhere without him. Once Ian was back in the room, he returned to the position he was in when Elizabeth left. He continued to glare at the wall as he racked his brain for somewhere else. It was going to be difficult. Las Vegas had meant so much to them. So had California and she gave it all up. He closed his eyes. Damn it, Elizabeth. Why? he mused.

 

[heartofcourage]

It was hours later when Elizabeth finally returned to the room. She had wandered the halls for a while, walked around the little town, and finally returned. She was still angry with him and did her level best to ignore him as she slipped into bed and presented him her back.

 

[HotCider]

He hadn’t been asleep. He laid there, trying to but he had instead probably laid there awake for hours even with his eyes closed. He felt the bed shift. It was Elizabeth. He knew it was her without needing to confirm it. He turned his head any way just enough for a single brown eye to peer over his shoulder at her back. Ian settled his head slowly back on the pillow and closed his eyes. His back was to hers and her back was to his. Geez…how did they wind up like this? Everything had been so peaceful. Why did he read the paper? Why didn’t he just go to bed? If he had pretended everything was fine, then Elizabeth would have never squealed to her brother. They would have never had this fight. Was it a fight? Ian’s eyes opened again as he stared across the room in contemplation. It was a fight, wasn’t it? Ian didn’t know how to fix it. They couldn’t go to Las Vegas or California. They just couldn’t! There was money waiting for her there? Was that what he had promised her? Only cops were going to be there to take her back to Stephen. Ian frowned again. Damn. Damn; damn; damn it all!

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth knew that he was still awake. She knew it the moment that he shifted ever so slightly, probably to look over his shoulder at her. She wasn't even going to give him the time of day, she decided. He had to start trusting her sooner or later and calling Junior had been one of her better decisions so far. She trusted her brother and knew that he wouldn't rat her out.

Jerking on the blankets, she stole them away from Ian and curled up underneath them. Pulled to her chin, she got comfortable. She still never spoke a single word to Ian.

 

[HotCider]

Ian blinked when the blankets were suddenly drawn away. His hands curled before his chest as he stared at the emptiness in them. He then lifted his head once more, gazing over his shoulder at her. Ian narrowed his eyes and his nose wrinkled like the snout of a beast as a glower weighed on his face. He sat up in bed and swung his legs over the edge. Really? Was that how she was going to be? His hands rose to his face, cupping it before he pushed his fingers back through his hair. He felt so tired, but he couldn’t sleep. No, Ian. His conscience begged. His stubborn dam was breaking. Don’t do it, Ian. You’ll regret it. When he was alone, those thoughts might have saved his life. But he wasn’t alone anymore. Everything inside him, mind and body, begged him not to trust Elizabeth. But Ian had to deny his paranoia just once. Not only that. He had to admit that he might even be wrong, but he can do that in Vegas.

Ian lowered his arms and exhaled a long and irritable sigh. “All right,” Ian said. His voice started to dwindle in volume as he reluctantly informed, “We’ll stick to the plan…and we’ll keep goin’ to Vegas…”

 

[heartofcourage]

The amount of effort that it took him to admit that she might have been right weighed heavily as Elizabeth heard him admit defeat. She was still angry and refused to turn to look at him as he moved around on his side of the bed.

"Alright." She said softly, a slight shrug to her shoulders as she kept the blankets wrapped around her body.

 

[HotCider]

Alright. That’s all she had to say? Whatever. Ian stood and said nothing as he walked around the bed and exited the room. He accepted that he wasn’t going to sleep. He tried, and he couldn’t. Ian walked the quiet halls and would stop at the slightest sound he would hear—someone moving about in another room or some creaking board somewhere in the hotel. Ian walked over to the railing and peered down at the first floor as his mind imagined cops barging into the lobby. He stared for what he didn’t realize was about two minutes, watching the scene play out in his head. He occasionally had these nightmares when he was really paranoid, but tonight, they were really bad, and he couldn’t run from them. After his two minutes, he slowly blinked his eyes and turned away from the railing. The next thoughts on his mind was Las Vegas. With how he was currently feeling, it no longer felt like the finish line. It felt like the start all over again. Ian never returned to the bedroom that night.

As the morning sun started to pour through the windows, Ian had walked to the end of the long hall and found a seat against the wall. He was seated with his head slightly eased back and eyes closed. Every now and then, his eyelids fluttered and his focus once again blurred and faded with the sleep that was starting to finally settle in.

“Excuse me! Sir?” a man called.

Ian’s red eyes opened and he lowered his head. He stared at one of the inn keepers who was swiftly approaching him. “Do you have a room here?”

“Yeah,” Ian answered exhaustedly. He sluggishly rose to his feet.

The inn keeper grinned in what appeared to be relief. “Oh. My apologies. It’s unusual to see our tenants sleeping in the hallway. One of the other tenants was frightened and complained.”

There was a tired and indifferent look on Ian’s face as he walked passed the man back to his and Elizabeth’s room. “I was havin’ nightmares…”

The inn keeper frowned in concern. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you do get some rest.”

“Thanks.”

Ian returned to the bedroom and walked around the bed to sit back where he was hours ago. He stared at the wall. He was so tired that he didn’t even want to think about the ordeal anymore.

 

[heartofcourage]

The sound of someone entering the room woke her from slumber. She hadn't realized she had been asleep and she was groggy as hell. It felt like she hadn't slept at all as she turned her head, mussed red hair peeking out from under the cover and saw Ian sit down heavily in his spot on the bed.

"Ian?" She mumbled, rubbing her blue eyes to clear them. "What's wrong?"

 

[HotCider]

What was wrong she asked. Ian glanced at the morning light pouring through the window. Nothing had happened. No cops had stormed the hotel. The only thing that happened was he didn’t get any sleep. “Nothing,” Ian answered. Nothing was wrong.

Ian laid down upon his side and folded his arm beneath his head. He closed his eyes, and finally dozed off to sleep.

 

[heartofcourage]

As he laid down, she tried for a moment to figure him out. It might take her the rest of her life to understand Ian, but what mattered was that as angry as they had been with each other the night before, he had still come back to her. As he dozed, she moved to his side and found her spot against him, finding sleep alongside him.

She dreamed of fancy parties. The country club had always hosted a gala where everyone showed up in their evening best. With Stephen, it was always incredibly tailored black tuxedos. He had always been a handsome man, she had to admit. The moment that he saw her in her gown, however, she saw the disappointment covering simmering rage.

Jean Harlow had been her inspiration when she had the dress made. It was backless, tight, and absolutely beautiful. Elizabeth couldn't have been more proud of the way that she looked with her hair curled and pinned and the dress settled beautifully hugging her curves. This was what she wanted and it seemed like he wasn't pleased.

"What's wrong with it?" Elizabeth asked as they drove in strained silence. "I think I look nice."

Stephen was hateful towards her, gripping the wheel of his car tightly between those muscular hands as if he'd lash out at her at any moment. Slut and whore were immediately thrown her direction and her face burned the brightest shade of red.

"Stephen, there's nothing wrong with my dress. I'm sure I'm not the only one that'll be wearing something like this." She countered, looking across the car in the darkness to see his jaw tightening. "You're being difficult about this."

The first blow of his fist knocked her sideways in her seat, far enough that her head hit the glass beside her. She was dazed as the car was suddenly jerked to the side of the road and more blows reigned down as soon as it was in park. She screamed at him to stop, but he didn't. Each strike of his fists had her screaming for help until her voice was too hoarse to make a sound. He was going to kill her. The last moments that she had on this earth were going to be staring Stephen in the eyes as he punished her for going against him.

Blue eyes opened suddenly, staring at Ian's back. She was coated in sweat, panting for breath. As carefully as she could so not to wake him, she pushed herself out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Once the door was locked and she felt safe, she sat heavily on the lid of the toilet and turned on the taps of the sink. Elizabeth didn't want to disturb Ian with the sounds of her frantic sobs, the dream had disturbed her that greatly.