Hold On! - Season 1 by Peter Darley

anything to protect her.”
    McKay nodded uncertainly. What Treadwell was saying made perfect sense, but the relevance was still lost on him. “What do you want me to do, sir?”
    “If we can’t locate Drake, we must strive to draw him to us.” He moved closer and positioned his nose inches away from McKay’s. “Arrange for a nationwide APB on Belinda Reese. Top priority.”

Thirteen
     
    Goodbyes
     
    Belinda shuddered as she sat astride Brandon. “Just try to relax,” she said breathlessly.
    He gazed lovingly upon her passionate expression, consumed by the experience. This time, he wasn’t in control of himself. “I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’.” He gripped her fingers as she moved up and down upon him.
    Belinda giggled as she sensed he was about to unleash himself. “You are so beautiful.”
    “No, stop.”
    “Let go.”
    She quivered as Brandon climaxed to the accompaniment of a tormented cry of release.
    She looked at him, concerned. “Brandon? Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine. Just a little disappointed.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “My pride. I wish I could have lasted a little bit longer.”
    She quickly succumbed to contented laughter. “Don’t worry, you were great. It takes practice.”
    He looked at her as though unconvinced. “But you didn’t . . .  you know .”
    She stroked his cheek tenderly, realizing his primary concern was still for her well-being. “Sometimes it’s better when I don’t. I feel like I’m still going through it, rather than it being all over.”
    She pulled herself off and lay down beside him. He held her as she rested her head on his chest. With his free hand he pulled the sheets over them. Before long, the safety and quietude of the cabin drew them into slumber.
     
    Belinda awoke before dawn to find herself alone. Alarmed, she threw the sheets off, took one of Brandon’s t-shirts from the top of the dresser, and put it on.
    She entered the living room and saw him in his robe studying his laptop screen. “What are you doing up at this hour?” she said.
    “I couldn’t sleep.”
    “You’re not watching porn, are you?” she half-teased.
    He gave her a sly grin. “I didn’t want to waken you, so I did the next best thing.”
    She hadn’t expected that answer, but recovered quickly. “Oh. OK. I don’t really mind.”
    He turned the laptop around to show her. “I’m working on something for us. ”
    She saw an image of snow-covered mountains on the screen, and a promo for what looked like some kind of resort. “Where’s that? Somewhere else in Aspen?”
    He shook his head. “Switzerland.”
    “Switzerland?” she almost shouted.
    “It’s the best place I could think of.”
    “For what?”
    “We need to get out of the country pretty quick.”
    “Wanna tell me what’s on your mind?”
    He placed the laptop to one side, moved toward her, and gently rested his palms on her shoulders. “If we stay here, the fun could soon wear off. It’ll be like living in a prison. Every time we do anything, even shop for essentials, we’ll have to be in disguise, and we’re not gonna be able to get away with that forever.”
    “Does this have something to do with my picture being all over the TV?”
    “Yes. Here’s what I have in mind.” He turned back to the laptop. “If we can make it to Canada, we may be able to get a flight out to Switzerland.”
    “OK, but why Canada? And why Switzerland?”
    “Take a shower and get dressed,” he said with a grin. “There’s something I want to show you.”
     
    Belinda climbed into the back of the van behind Brandon and waited for him to open the Turbo Swan. After a few moments, the seats folded forward with the electronic motor. He reached into the back and partially unzipped the leather sack. “Take a look.”
    She squeezed past him and peered inside, open-jawed at the money. “Wow. Where on earth did you get all that?”
    “It was all filtered away by my grandfather from his unscrupulous dealings in the