Sunlight shimmered off the highway in waves as the sun reached its zenith, and I paused my journey to take a drink of water. There wasn’t much traffic- one or two cars every hour- which didn’t leave me with many options for hitching a ride.
As I resumed my journey, a small, red sedan pulled over in front of me. It was the third vehicle in as many hours, and I cautiously approached. The driver was a lovely young woman- dark hair, brown eyes, college-aged, innocent.
Everything I desired.
She smiled as she rolled down the window.
“Hey, you need a ride?”
I accepted her offer and climbed into the passenger seat, thankful for the blast of air conditioning that greeted me.
“Thank you. I thought I was going to melt out there.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you walk down a desert highway in the middle of summer,” She glanced at me teasingly before focusing on the road again. “Where are you going, anyway?”
“Vegas.”
She nodded understandingly.
“Same here. I’m happy to take you, provided you don’t try to rob or kill me along the way.”
I hid the nervousness in my voice with a chuckle as I gazed at the road ahead.
“I won’t if you won’t.”
She nodded and held out her hand.
“Deal. I’m Lola, by the way.”
I took it with a quiet sigh of relief.
“I’m Genna.”
“So, Genna- What’s in Vegas?”
“Work. I’m hoping to interview with MGM Grand later this week.”
It wasn’t completely true, but I decided early on that a cover story would be best. She took it in stride and didn’t question it, a fact that magnified her perfection tenfold.
“Oh cool. I’ve been there once. It’s nice.”
“Yeah,” I glanced out the window. I still had a few hours of daylight to wile away before darkness fell over the desert. Then, I could make my move.
“I’m going to visit some family.”
Damn. If she had family, they’d probably look for her if she didn’t show. I played it cool as I probed deeper.
“Oh yeah? Mom and Dad?”
“No- a cousin. She recently had a baby, and I wanted to spend some time with them.” She paused and glanced at me. “Sorry. You probably don’t care about my plans.”
I didn’t, but I needed to make her feel more at ease. I smiled.
“It’s ok! We have a long drive, and I don’t mind if you want to talk.”
And she did. Lola talked about her family, how strained her relationships were, how her folks retired to Florida, and how she hated being so far away from everyone.
I remained silent, nodding where appropriate and planning my next moves carefully.
A few hours later, she pulled into a gas station and sighed.
“Sorry, but I really need the bathroom. Do you need to come in?”
“Sure. I could use a snack.”
I followed her into the run-down station and browsed the assorted food items as she took care of business. It wasn’t long before we were back in the car and headed to the city of sin.
“So what about you?” She inquired after a moment. “Any family back home?”
“Not really,” I mumbled around my snack. “Most of them are dead or unable to care.”
“I see,” she replied, and I had the odd sensation of being sized up. “So, no one to miss you, then?”
“Eh, not really. I’ve always been a loner.”
Lola nodded then, and I caught a faint smile flit across her face as she turned her attention back to the road.
“Perfect.”
We remained silent, and I eventually dozed off in the passenger seat. When I awoke, she had parked off the highway and was watching me sleep. I leaned away from her.
“What is it?”
“Remember how we agreed not to murder each other?”
“Yes…?”
“Well, I’m going to have to break that.”
I grinned as she pulled out a knife.
“With that? No. The car doesn’t have enough room to stab properly. What you need is one of these.”
I threw my rope around her neck, and her eyes widened in shock as I began pulling it tight. However, something stopped me, and I loosened my grip after removing the knife from her hand.
“Maybe we should talk first. Who are you?”
“Lila Strone.”
“I’ve heard of you. You stab your victims, take their identity, and ditch them in a remote place. You’re wanted in four states.”
She rubbed her neck.
“I know you as well. Genna Koffa, the so-called “hitchhiker.” You like to ambush your prey on the road and boost their cars. You’re also wanted in a few states.”
We regarded each other in silence for a moment. What were the odds that two well-known killers would end up in the same vehicle? It was almost like poetry.
Finally, I sighed and stretched.
“Instead of killing each other, how about we work together? I need a new MO, and you could use a partner. We could take on new names and try our luck in Vegas- a city rife with crime and coin. We’d be unstoppable.”
Lila thought about it for a moment before slowly extending her hand.
“You have a deal.”
I shook it, and we spent some time plotting out the terms of our working relationship. And, as the early morning light peeked over the horizon, a new terror dawned on the world of men.
Erynn Crittenden 