Bound to Forever - Book ll

Midnight Rider

Simon's Point of View: 

Graves sat in the passenger seat of my car, a pistol in his lap with the barrel pointed right at me. The grip on my steering wheel was tight, so tight that my knuckles were turning white. I was running on thin time and had to figure this out fast. "I don't know how you think I'm going to find Hockley driving around aimlessly like this." 

"Well, you have until sunrise tomorrow, so I suggest you figure it out." Graves hummed. 

"I need a map and a place to think, and I can't do that if I'm driving around like some tourist." 

"Alright, but try anything smart, and I'll paint the inside of this car with you." 

Not a chance. 

"Understood." 

I grabbed a Montana state map from the brochure case as we entered the cafe, removing my jacket and setting it in my lap after Graves and I sat across from each other at the booth nestled in the far corner. "What can I get you fellas?" The waitress smiled at us, her salt and pepper hair pulled back into a neat bun. 

"Nothing for me." Graves replied, his right arm resting in his lap, pistol aimed at me under the table. Bloody hell, if he decided to shoot me now, a bullet to the dick was an awful way to go. 

"Black coffee, and a slice of cherry pie." 

"You got it." 

"Dessert?" Graves scoffed. 

"Been trying to get my hands on a piece of that pie for a while," I shrugged. "Give me a pen." 

"You expect me to give you something you can use as a weapon?" 

I sighed, leaning back in my chair and grabbing the red crayon from the decorative cup that housed various colors for when children wanted to color. "Does this scare you?"

Even though I could do some damage with this...

He didn't answer my question, so I began looking at the detailed map of Montana, circling three different cities within a close range of Belfry. "He's in Bozeman." 

"Oh, just like that?" Graves scoffed. 

"I used to track men far worse than Hockley. I know how to get inside of a criminal's head. If I were him, I'd go to Bozeman."

"Hm," He scoffed, not believing a word I said. "Why?" 

"He knew to protect his family, he needed to get away from them, but not too far just in case he felt the need to go back, so he ran off to Billings, about an hour from Belfry. It's likely he figured that a big city with a lot of people made it easier to hide. Then he realized more people means more chances of getting caught, so he left." 

"To Bozeman?" 

"Columbus. Almost two hours away from his family, and it's a place that's directly linked to him as I remember him telling me that he used to work at a bank in Columbus when he and his wife first moved here. It has a lot of memories for him, but he'd move on after a day." 

"So, he went to Bozeman?" 

"Almost three hours away from Belfry, but still close enough to his family where he can still feel connected to his wife and kids. Plus, Hockley's a golfer, and there's a lot of big league courses in Bozeman where he's competed before. A place far enough away, but familiar to him." 

"Bullshit," Graves scoffed. "You can't just stare into something and come up with a conclusion like that, especially getting inside of a man's head like that."