Doriann held her breath as Clancy's fingers turned white on the steering wheel. She peered sideways at him, though trying to appear as if she wasn't. His lips disappeared in a red streak, and his eyes narrowed to the point Doriann wondered if he could see the road. She knew that look. Her cousin Ajay looked the same way just before one of his screaming fits.

"I'm making you famous." He spat the words at Deb as if he was shooting bullets.

"Being on the FBI's Most Wanted list isn't my idea of fame," Deb snapped back.

He cut a look at her. Would he punch her in the stomach again? He'd already done it once, when they'd stopped for gas. Doriann braced herself.

He held his cold stare on Deb, as if his eyes controlled a razor blade. And then, one by one, slowly, his fingers returned to their dirty pink color as he relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. His lips regained their shape. He stuck out his jaw, took a deep breath, blew it out—the way Doriann did when her cousins were getting on her last nerve.

"Why didn't somebody call the police on us sooner?" he asked, sounding almost normal. "We're heroes, that's why. Those idiots deserved to die, and people realize it," he snapped, then muttered, "Bunch of rich thieves who make their living on the backs of the working class. Bloodsucking scum. That's why this country's in the state it's in."

Doriann stared at the dashboard. So this guy hated rich people.

"Think again!" Deb said. "The callers were probably scared. Or stupid. Or just found out about the search for us. But they called, all right?"

Clancy turned his attention to Doriann, and his eyes narrowed again, but not as if he was mad. It was as though he became a different person all of a sudden. Very weird. Very scary. Doriann couldn't take a breath.

He patted her leg, leering at her as if she was a banana split with extra nuts and chocolate syrup. "This here's our little protector. They can't get to us without coming through her."

Deb pounded a fist against the passenger door and spat out a stream of words that made Doriann's eyes bulge, and started her breathing again.

Doriann was proud of her vocabulary, and always tried to use words properly. These didn't sound like words she'd need to know, but the anger behind them scared her. They were crazy.

Jesus, help me, please! These people are killers, and I know I shouldn't have lied about being sick and skipped out to the zoo today. Oh, yeah, and I know I shouldn't have drank coffee after Mom and Dad told me I couldn't have it. But I was so far ahead in my studies after this weekend, and I was so tired of Danae and Ajay and Coral and the baby all being so noisy at once, and now the coffee's going right through me, just like Mom said it would… Oh, Jesus, please don't let these people kill me, and don't let me wet my pants.

"Got to get off this highway," Deb snapped. "Now!" She reached in front of Doriann and grabbed the steering wheel.

Doriann wished she had a seat belt; there was no exit. The truck bounced off the road and nearly hit a tree and Doriann closed her eyes and focused on not screaming as her chest bounced against Deb's arm.

Clancy was going to kill somebody for sure this time.

Doriann thought about home and Mom and Dad and the great work both her parents did at the hospital, and about how Jesus was always with her, and about how she loved her cousins even though they drove her crazy, and about her schoolwork, and the great future Aunt Renee said Doriann would have when she graduated high school ear...