For as long as Boyd can remember, he's been pushing pins into a map. Carson City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque -- all places he wants to see, for a dozen different reasons that wouldn't mean a thing to anyone else. When he finally gets a chance to purchase the '70 Plymouth Duster of his dreams, at a price that even he can manage, Boyd jumps at the opportunity.<br><br>Oliver seems like just another kid with a broken dream when their paths cross in Vegas. Against Boyd's better judgment, he offers to let Oliver hitch along for the ride when Oliver confides the need to get out and get gone.<br><br>But isn’t long before Boyd realizes Oliver's reasons for running are more complicated -- and more dangerous -- than Oliver let on. Boyd doesn't like people who play hardball, and he definitely doesn't like people messing with a man who's managed to light a fuse that Boyd forgot he had.

Road Trip

For every smiling face there were ten more frowning. There were far fewer happy couples than singles, and far more monotonous reach-and-stabs towards buttons and screens than there were hands searching out other hands. The gambling floors milled with people but seemed entirely void of life. It took Boyd all of an hour to decide he’d seen enough. He grabbed a coffee—his plan to drive out of the city for an hour or so, then pull over and sleep in the back seat—and was heading back to the street when he saw the boy.


Chapter 5