Stealing Grace (23 page)

“Well, Edmond, I’m fine right where I am, thanks.”

“Yes, I assumed you would say that. I know this is all unorthodox, but open your mind and think of the nice possibilities here. Wife swapping. It’s a system that’s designed very well to be fair. You would never get tired of the same cook. You would never get tired of your bed mate. We know of other communities that wife swap as well. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We’ve also thought about adoption. Getting some of the men and wives to adopt older girls...ah, it’s just a thought. Alright, I must be off. I’ve got a lot of calls to make on folks. Think about it. Meeting is tomorrow night at 7. We’ll see you there!”

Alex felt sick to his stomach and when he looked over to Elena she was pale.

“Alex, how can we leave now?” she whispered a look of udder disbelief on her face.

“Elena, it’ll be ok.” He walked to her and rubbed her arms. “They have to have a town hall meeting before this all happens. They’ll still follow procedures. We’ll just have to work quickly. The week after the festival, we’ll take what we have to the news station and the police. We should be far enough away for the community’s arms not to reach but still close enough for the police to care- Wait! Wait! I’ve got it. They’ll give us some kinda list to choose from or draw names or something at the meeting. There is a registry somewhere with everybody’s names on it, husbands and wives. If I go to the meeting, I can try to get my hands on a list but I’m gonna have to act like...I don’t want you anymore.”

“You’re right, they probably will have something like that, and it would be nice to get our hands on it for evidence. This isn’t a trick is it? A trap?”

“No, I don’t think so. They wouldn’t sneak around like this, they would just get it over with as soon as possible so as not to stir something up in someone else. This will work. Alright we got everything done here at the office. Let’s go home and why don’t we make a production out of it?” he smiled at her cunningly.

“Ok, I love you,” she said sweetly.

“I love you too, El. Now get your butt in that truck!!” he yelled laughing.

Elena walked outside with him. It was lunch so at least a few people would be out and about and might catch a glimpse. He locked the office door and pulled Elena by her arm and ‘threw’ her in the passenger side and slammed the door. She hung her head to keep from laughing. He was trying his best show, but he would never actually hurt her, even a little bit.

A couple men were walking across the street and a car was at the stop light. They were looking so, mission accomplished. Elena sat on her side of the truck, buckled her seatbelt and pretended to sulk all the .4 miles to the house.

That was the one nice thing about the place, you were so close to everything.

Once home he grabbed her and pulled her across the seat to him and out of the truck and held her arm until they were through the door.

Once inside he pressed her against the wall and kissed her pushing his chest against hers. She responded immediately by wrapping her arms around his neck, letting him lift her and carry her to the bedroom. He had been trying to be gentle with her because of her brush with death and hadn’t been able to really kiss her, or anything else he wanted to do, in the last couple of days and he was about to make up for it, right now.

Chapter 10

Later that night, he called Roger and told him he was going to the meeting. Roger agreed that he thought he could get his hands on something to have a little proof, that he would go too, so they would have two sets of hands to hopefully grab something of importance.

The girls would be packing and getting the clothes and things ready for them to leave the next morning, insanely early. Sounded like a good plan.

It was settled.

Elena made something quick that night for dinner, so as there wouldn’t be much cleanup. Though she didn’t know what she was cleaning up for.

They were leaving.

She was ecstatic but worried about Alex and Roger going tonight. She had a bad feeling, but they didn’t have much physical evidence and if there were going public with this, they’d need something more. This was their last chance.

Alex was heading out the door and Elena hugged him so tight and long. Alex knew what she was thinking, feeling her tense arms around him.

“El, it’s gonna be fine. We’ll be in and out as fast as we can. Don’t worry ok, that’s my job. I love you, ok? No worries.”

“I love you, too, just be careful, please. I don’t trust them.”

“One more night, then we won’t have to worry about that anymore, and it’s gonna be pretty hard to get rid of me from now on. You are as stuck with me as they come.”

“Like glue,” Elena joked as she kissed him deeply and tightly one last time before he turned to head out the door.

She turned on the porch light for him and bolted the lock. She sighed and leaned against the door trying to calm her nerves.
He’ll be ok. We’ve been very careful. He knows what he’s doing.

She just hoped she was right.

She headed to the bedroom to start the packing. The two bags Alex had gotten down for her from the attic weren’t that big, but they couldn’t exactly load the truck down and drive inconspicuously out of town. She would do her best with what she had.

Looking in the closet she glanced on the wide shelf overhead.
One jacket and two pairs of shoes each...
trying to sort everything so they could each have the same amount of necessities in their own bags. Once done with that she headed to the bathroom to get the toiletries, ect. She laid them both out an outfit for in the morning and decided to grab that book she had started earlier when she was done.

She would work on it now and take it with her to finish another time. She grabbed a couple of Alex CD’s and books for him as well and put them in his bag. Before she sat down to read she went to the kitchen and grabbed a few green olives and a glass of sweet tea.

She sat in Alex’s favorite hideous green chair and read, hoping that Alex and Roger were safe and making some good progress in the search.

* * *

Alex didn’t sit with Roger. It would be easier for them to grab something that way he thought. Not be both grabbing at things drawing attention right next to each other. He listened as the meeting dragged on. The other men seemed excited by the new ideas of the council. Some even commented that it was about time.

Alex knew what the verdict would be tonight.

He tried to hide the look of disgust on his face as he passed the papers down the row as instructed. He looked down realizing it was a wife list. Could it have been that easy all along? They were instructed to put their names on the paper and pick which wives they wanted to swap with, the council would go from there and choose a rotation or come to some conclusion as to an agreement.

Alex rolled his eyes as the notion. He didn’t know how to get the paper in his pocket without someone noticing. He decided to go to the bathroom. On his way back to his seat Edmond stopped him.

“Alex, how are things? I heard of your little tiff with Elena outside your office after I was left. I admit, I’m still a little surprised to see you here. I thought things were going so well. Did something else happen?”

“You could say that, Ed. Elena’s just a little too nosy and boring for my taste. I want someone with a little more spunk I think. I’m glad you stopped by the office. You gave me something to think about.”

“Wonderful! In fact, I’ve heard a few have had their eye on Elena, including myself, so it shouldn’t be hard to pass her off on the next unsuspecting yet willing fool.” He chuckled patting Alex on the shoulder and starting to turn then turned back. “Where is your ballot, Alex?”

“I turned it in already. It didn’t take long for my mind to be made up. I got my eye on Roger’s Amy,” Alex said with fists shaking.

He had never wanted to punch someone so much in his life.

“Wonderful! Though you may have to fight for her.” He jokingly put up his hands in fist as to fight.

Alex laughed as Edmond walked away, burying his fury, wondering if it was safe to leave now. He glanced at Roger. He was sitting quietly and still had his paper in his hand. He looked a little freaked. Alex walked over to Roger’s seat and took the one in front of him, turning in his seat to talk.

“Hey, buddy, who you got your eye on?” he said loudly enough for the surrounding men to hear.

“Elena, actually,” Roger said flatly, trying to determine what Alex’s theatricals we’re trying to let him do.

“Really, well I picked Amy. Now how do you like that?”

“How ironic. Well, do you think we’re done here? I’m famished.”

“Oh, were done here,” Alex winked. “Just waiting on the big guy to dismiss us.”

Roger took that to mean Alex had the paper and he could relax. They sat there for another ten minutes then, they finally instructed the ones who had made their decisions and turned in their papers in to head home.

On the way out Roger mouthed to Alex “5:00?” Alex nodded his head once and they got into their separate trucks and drove to their homes. Roger was confirming the time to drive by Alex’s for their convoy out of town.

Tonight had seemed just a little too easy, but Alex would take what he could get.

* * *

He got a full tank of gas earlier before the meeting and once home, he looked around the garage for anything they might need to take. He made sure the jack had been put back in the truck and jumper cables as well. He did not want another incident like before, just in case, with Elena.

He looked on the porch to make sure there was nothing he needed before heading inside to find Elena asleep in his chair, reading her book. He saw the bags by the back door with their next days clothes folded neatly on top.

He smiled looking at her bunched up in the chair. Her chin on her fist and her knees drawn up to her chest, the book she had been trying to finish for weeks now was open against her chest. He marked her place and put it in the bag for her. Everything was clean and spotless, even though they were leaving and never coming back. That was his Elena, nothing if not thorough.

He locked the door and carried her to bed. He was beat too and they would be getting up very early.

In the morning they barely spoke, just rushed to make sure everything was done. Elena grabbed her bag on the way out to the truck. Alex grabbed his bag, his ball cap and the keys. Taking one last look closed the door behind them and threw his bag in the back seat of his crew cab.

Elena pulled herself in to sit next to him, pulled out a granola bar for him, as they waited in the driveway for Roger’s truck to slowly drive by, that was the signal to follow. It didn’t take long and they were off.

Alex had been taking out medium chunks of cash slowly over the past two months. He’d purchased a few prepaid credit cards in case they had to have them for a hotel or something. Roger had done the same. No one could track them. Alex working in the office closely with the county had gotten replacement tags for their trucks, for his ‘clients’, so they couldn’t be traced that way either. They didn’t know if the guard on the county line would be there or not. They hoped not since the last escapee had been a little while and also it was seriously early, but there he was.

Standing in the middle of the road, shotgun in the crook of his arm and his wide brim hat tilted to the side. Roger was ahead of Alex and already applying the breaks.

“Howdy, Rog! Where in the world are you going this time of morning?”

Alex could hear everything the guard said through his open window, but couldn’t hear Roger’s responses.

“Really...Why’d you bring your wife with ya?...Oh I see...and Alex...Uhuh ...well I can see that but I’m supposed to report anyone leaving town from now on, especially if the wives are with them... I know...I know but... now don’t be like that, Roger!”

That was the last thing Alex heard before seeing Rogers fist come out his window into the guards face forcing him backwards into the ditch, holding his nose and cursing.

Alex sprang from the truck yelling for Elena to stay there. Roger, already out, was holding the guards arm behind his back, The gun had flung somewhere in the ditch away from them, the guard looking confused and angry.

They took him to his car, Roger ran back to get something out of the back of his tool box and then returned to Alex. They tied him to the steering wheel, put on his seat belt and threw the keys and radio in the woods. At least if someone drove by they would just see him sitting there in the car and not think anything of it for a while.

They raced back to their trucks and punched the gas before anyone could come by. That was that. No way around it and it was done. The community would know who was responsible in a matter of hours.

Then, they would start looking.

One by one they passed the city limit signs as they got further and further away. Once they were an hour and a half hour into their drive, they pulled into a diner and all got out, stretching and yawning.

Starving they went inside, Elena was a little worried wondering if they should be stopping but the guys seemed confident and said not to worry. They all ordered breakfast omelet’s and toast, fast and easy and filling, still an hour away from their first destination.

Since they were stopped at the diner already Elena decided to change into her clothes for the day; for the wedding. She wore a blue dress Alex had bought for her, his mother’s earrings and her lovely new ring in front of her wedding band that she could wear from now on in public with no worry as to who may be looking.