Read Wanted for Free Online

the jerks that stole her car and then a few hours and she could be back. She had a stash at her place that she couldn’t wait to get her hands on. She licked her lips and felt her hands shake a little.
    “ You don’t have a car,” Tanya said.
    Jessie looked at her, blinking. “Right, we’ll circle around them and-“
    “ No! I mean it’s a few hours by car, right? How far for us?”
    Jessie’s eyes widened and her throat suddenly felt dry. When was the last time she’d had a drink… of anything? She had some water before she left Carl’s, but just enough to wash the meat down.
    “ 150 – 200 miles?” Dustin asked, straightening up. “I’ll keep up,” he vowed, “but we’re talking what, 5 – 10 days?”
    Tanya stared at her brother, then turned to look at Jessie, a mix of emotions warring on her face. Her eyes were angry one minute, then her chin quivered a little with anguish. Jessie took a breath and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I always drive.”
    “ Look, guys, there’s scary shit out here, okay?” she said, stepping closer to them so she could reach out to put a hand on each of their shoulders. Tanya pulled away a little, but did not break the connection.
    “ Scary, yeah, but we’ll make it. I’ll get you back, I promise.”
    “ Otherwise you don’t get your reward,” Tanya accused, looking at her with a fire in her eyes.
    “ Enough with the reward, okay?” Jessie hissed. “Look, I could use a few bucks, who couldn’t? You going to blame me for that?”
    She pushed on, convincing herself she was who she said she was easily. “I stopped because I figured everybody was dead. I ain’t gonna lie to you. I figured planes only have rich folks on ‘em - that or they’re military. I was hoping I’d get my hands on something I could use or sell.”
    “ I didn’t expect to find nobody alive,” she admitted truthfully, in character or not. “But I did, and I made you guys a promise.”
    “ Easier just to ditch us and run,” Tanya said suspiciously. “Unless you want the reward.”
    Jessie looked to the hazy sky and let out a deep breath. She looked back at Tanya and said, “I’m trying to help you – both of you. You want to be a bitch, that’s fine, you can find your own way back. Dusty’s hurt and needs help. You don’t know your head from your ass out here, you think I’m going to let you get him killed?”
    “ Hey, I can make it!” Dusty protested, standing a little straighter but wanting to defend his sister.
    Jessie looked at him and smiled fondly. “Honey, you’re full of shit. I-I know what you feel like, I been hurt before. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, even if that means big sis and I need to roll around in the dirt and throw some punches.”
    “ Look,” Jessie said to both of them but staring intently at Tanya, whose mouth was opened and ready to protest. “You can’t drink the water cuz you don’t know if it’s safe or not. You can’t trust what you eat to not be diseased, sick, or full of radiation poisoning. Been a few years since the bombs went off, but that don’t make it safe. It’s washed into the water and the ground, killing quiet-like.”
    “ So it’s just us, got it? You and you and me. We look out for each other and I’ll get you back in one piece. Everybody else wants something, I figure if we can give something for nothing, maybe it’s a good place to start to bringing the world back to where it used to be.”
    Jessie stood there, watching the two of them and wanted to slap herself on her back. It was the best performance she had ever given! Especially with her clothes on. She knew where the words came from, and as much as she wanted to spit at the thought of him, she almost wondered if maybe he had something. Maybe she was right – and maybe he had been right too.
    “ Sis?” Dusty asked.
    “ All right,” she said. As Dustin continued to stare at her she rolled her eyes and said, “Fine! I’m in, okay? I