The Game Has Changed (14 page)

Evan nodded in agreement. “Tell them what you
have to,” he replied, shrugging with indifference.

Reverse psychology would work best with her and
he would use it to the best of his ability. He would have her back
on his side soon enough. There wasn’t much of a challenge presented
to him in doing so, which was a pity as he enjoyed a good
challenge.

“I
am
a
criminal and I
did
kidnap
you. Tell them everything! About what I’ve done and of what I'm
concealing.” He tapped his jacket above the area where his gun was
stowed. “I'll give you the serial number if you want it. Tell them
about my birthday, too, since you’ve already taken a look at my
driver's license.”

He frowned momentarily and then continued,
“Give them a really good physical description of me, as well. I'm
six-foot-two, about a hundred and seventy pounds, with dark-brown
hair.” He ran his fingers through his long, shaggy hair. “I’ve
dark-brown eyes, too. Did you happen to notice the birthmark I have
on the upper part of my left thigh? It's quite distinctive, a
strawberry Hemangioma. Me mum called it me little cherry spot. You
would have seen it when you gawked at my jewels.”

Jaime’s face turned a bright red color. She
didn't want him to know that he was getting to her. She remained
quiet, giving him her complete, unblinking attention.

“Anything else you need to tell them about
me?”

“Are you trying to tell me that you aren't
afraid of me?” she asked with amazement.

He was truly surprised. Once again, she had
proven that she wasn't quite as naïve as he assumed her to be. “I'm
not afraid of you,” he repeated boldly.

“I may just prove you wrong,” she said
testily.

“You don't have it in you,” he
challenged.

She stared at him with derision. “It's on,” she
said with defiance, and stood up to promptly walk out of the
restaurant.

Evan watched her leave and sighed deeply as he
pulled out his wallet in order to pay the check. So much had
changed between them. Part of him wanted to let things stand as
there were. Another part of him wanted to make her see things his
way. One way or another, he would sort things out with her before
she disappeared from his life completely.

CHAPTER 15

They packed up their meager belongings and were
on the road again, shortly after. The icy silence between them was
so thick and oppressive that it literally could have been cut with
a knife. Neither of them said a word to the other for over an hour.
This didn’t bother Evan, in the least, but it did bother Jaime.
Although, she didn't want to be the first to crack, she could feel
herself full of agony.

Evan noted her squirming in the seat beside
him. It made him smile.
Too easy,
he thought cockily.

Ironically, he was the first to break their
silence. “Everything okay, my Darlin'?” he asked, his voice a tad
flippant.

“Please, don't call me that anymore!” she
demanded.

“Oh, Sweetheart,” he sighed, bestowing her with
a teasing grin. “I call all women pet names. I certainly can't stop
now, but it's not you in particular, so no worries.”

“Well, make me the 'in particular' and don't
call me any pet names anymore!”

“It won't be easy for me, Luv,” he said,
purposefully baiting her.

She stared at him with spite flashing within
her eyes. He winked and smiled back at her. She hated the fact that
that particular action of his caused chills to run amok deep within
her. Yet how could that be since she despised him now?

***

Jaime watched as Evan pulled the car onto a
major freeway. The new travel route was a large contrast to the one
they’d kept to previously. His reasoning for taking the back
country roads had been obvious. It was easier to avoid being
spotted by the police, this way. His purpose now, though, became
clear as she saw a diminishing mile sign along Interstate 70 which
read “Indianapolis International Airport.”

A sigh of melancholy escaped her as she stared
out the window. Evan snuck a glance in her direction, knowing that
she’d seen the airport sign. He smiled to himself, wondering how
long it would take her to give in. He took the airport exit,
waiting with expectation for her to make a move.

Her eyes widened as she saw groups of police
cars scattered all over the place as they drove closer to the
airport’s entrance. In the distance, she could even see a vehicle
checkpoint. She nervously glanced at Evan. He seemed unfazed and
kept on driving toward the checkpoint. Her heart was racing as she
looked back and forth between the determined Evan and the waiting
police. He knew she was going to break at any minute and she knew
it, too.

“Alright, stop!” Jaime finally cried
out.

Evan didn't respond, nor did he look at her.
Instead, he swung the car around in an illegal U-turn. Her
breathing tightened as she waited with expectation to see what
happened next. Her breath wasn’t abating and she knew it wouldn't
until she was certain that no police would follow them.

Silence reigned between them once more as Evan
made the dangerous return onto the freeway. Police cars were
prevalent everywhere they looked. Yet the blue Acura with Jaime's
quite visible Pennsylvania license plates slipped right on past
them.

“You were testing me, weren't you?” she asked,
finally breaking the air of deathly stillness, anxiety, and
petulance that lay between them.

“You were testing me just as equally,” he
responded haughtily.

“You knew I would break first, didn’t
you?”

“I was certainly hoping that you would, yes,”
he laughed. “But you had me worried for a while there.”

“If I hadn't stopped you, would you have . . .
?”

He looked at her for a moment, his expression
almost sweet. “I would have done it for you. I don't particularly
want you to leave me, though.”

She released a shaky sigh, watching him as his
eyes turned back toward the road. “If I asked you to turn yourself
in now, you would do it for me?”

He smiled softly. “Are you trying to trick me
again, Sweetheart? You're getting really good at this game, aren't
you?”

“I'm not playing the game now,” she replied,
utilizing his term of 'the game' to the best of her ability,
although she wasn't exactly sure what it meant. “I'm serious now.
You'd do that for me?”

“I would do whatever . . .” he began, but
hesitated as he made sure to formulate his words carefully in order
to get his point across. “Whatever makes things easier for the both
of us.”

Consequently putting it in such a way kept
Jaime wondering. She frowned as she found herself confused by his
statement. Evan smiled inwardly as he realized he’d achieved
exactly what he’d been hoping for. Her predictability had allowed
him to gauge her mood in order to twist her around his little
finger. The knowledge pleased him greatly.

They were soon driving along the back roads of
Indiana. They were quiet yet again, each lost within their own
thoughts. Evan was aware of the fact that Jaime's head was spinning
with unasked questions. She wanted to talk to him, but at the same
time, she seemed unwilling to do so. So after a long pause between
them, he helped her along.

“What’cha thinkin' about, Luv?” he asked, his
tone careful, yet deliberate. “Oops! Sorry. I wasn't supposed to
call you that, was I?”

She shrugged in response. “Can you tell me what
you mean by 'the game'?” she asked as curiosity got the best of
her.

He smiled. “It refers to the mind games we've
been playing with one another, that's all. It’s nothing
ominous.”

“Like that last one? Who would break
first?”

“Exactly.”

“So you won that game?” she mused.

“Yeah, but you'll win plenty more, I'm
sure.”

“Which one could I possibly win?”

“If I told you, I'd be giving you the advantage
now, wouldn't I?” he quipped.

“How is that possible?”

“Think really hard, Sweetheart. You were
playing a game with me just this morning. You could still win that
one. It's not over yet.”

His comment intrigued her, of that he was sure.
A slight frown marred her forehead as she replayed the events that
had taken place between them earlier that morning within her
head.

“You mean when I said I would tell the police
and you were giving me information to tell them about
you?”

“Spot on, Darlin'!”

“So your way of playing that game was giving me
all the information!?” she murmured as realization finally hit
home. “And my way of counteracting that was to threaten
you.”

He nodded again and thoughtfully stared at her
for her a moment or two. “Mhmmm.”

“Is the game always one of who breaks first,
then?”

“Not always, but lots of times, that’s for
sure. But let's not get vicious with that, Sweetheart. We don't
want any broken hearts now, do we?”

“If we're playing these games with each other,
we obviously don't care if we break each other's heart,” she stated
righteously.

“Hang on,” Evan laughed. “I care. I don't want
to hurt you.”

“Too late for that,” she mumbled.

They stared at one another in contemplation. He
broke their concentration and turned about to face the road once
more. “How have I hurt you exactly?” he wondered, fully cognizant
of the reason behind her pain. He was curious to hear her point of
view.

“If you don't already know . . .” she began,
her voice drifting off into silence. She almost said, 'Then you're
pretty stupid,' but she bit her tongue in order to keep the words
from spilling forth.

“Is it about last night?” he
inquired.

She shrugged, staring down at her hands as they
lay upon her lap.

“No, really,” he insisted. “Tell me exactly how
you're feeling about me going off to have gratuitous sex with a
strange woman whilst leaving you sitting alone in our motel room.”
He waited for her to answer and then released a pent-up breath.
“Because technically what I do to myself should have no bearing on
you, seeing as how we have no emotional ties between us. You are
here with me under great duress on your part.”

“I didn't understand that one bit,” she
muttered.

“Did I make you jealous when I went off and had
a screw?” he stated bluntly, putting things into simple terms for
her.

“Jealous? No,” she replied snootily. “Angry,
yes, because it was quite rude of you to just leave me there
alone.”

“According to you, you're nineteen so you
should be capable of handling things on your own, young lady.” He
purposefully patronized her once again. “Or did you lie about
that?”

She refused to tell him her real age, even
though it didn't really matter at this point. It was obvious to her
that Evan would never reciprocate the feelings she thought she felt
for him.

“I guess I'll have to rifle through
your
wallet sometime and have a look
at your driver's license,” he replied as a
matter-of-factly.

“I'm sorry that I did that, okay?” she
apologized. She didn't want him to do the same to her.

“You know, maybe we shouldn't even talk
anymore. We only seem to say bitter and hurtful things to one
another now, anyway,” Evan suggested.

“Fine,” she sighed.

“And we'll just see who loses this game,” he
said smugly.

“Fuck you,” Jaime mumbled, using the word for
the very first time in her life. It felt wrong, but so right at the
same time.

Evan's eyes widened with surprise as he heard
the foul language slide past her lips. “I'm a horrid role model for
you, aren't I?”

“I thought we weren't supposed to talk
anymore?” she asked, pouting. “I think you just lost.”

“Technically, no, you did. But I'll let it go
this time.”

“I hate you!”

“We'll see how long that lasts, as well.” He
smirked.

“Forever,” she said and promptly gave him the
finger.

Evan couldn't help himself. He burst into
laughter.

CHAPTER 16

“There was a police sighting of Jaime
yesterday,” Marshall replied into the receiver as he spoke to
George. “In Indiana.”

George was sitting within his office taking the
call and trying to square away a bit of work. Unfortunately, he
hadn't been able to work efficiently since his niece's
disappearance. “If they saw her, why didn't they do something?” he
snarled angrily into the phone.

“Hold on, Mr. Johnson. Let me finish. Two
officers in Cambridge City, Indiana responded to a 911 call at a
convenience store on the outskirts of town. They were told that an
attempted sexual assault of a young girl was in progress,” Marshall
continued, cutting off George's retort. “They didn't know, at the
time, that Jaime was a kidnap victim, but their report clearly
states that the attempted rapists were two local teenage boys and
that a man in his late twenties rescued her from their clutches by
beating the boys up. This clearly illustrates to me that our
perpetrator isn't planning on hurting her. And the main point you
should be taking from this is that as of yesterday, Jaime is still
very much alive and safe.”