Excerpt of Fire and Ermine by Andrew Grey

The sun climbed higher in the sky as Reynard flew down the highway, satellite radio playing Handel’s Water Music, which only added to his joy. Mile after mile passed behind him. He had no specific destination in mind. He thought about Pittsburgh, but he bypassed the turnpike because of the tolling and cameras. Instead, he took I-78 toward I-81, figuring he could head down into Maryland and eventually Virginia. He had plenty of options, and he could choose as he wanted.

At about Allentown, he figured Langley and Louis were discovering that he was gone. The first thing Langley would do was call him. Reynard smiled at the thought of him following the ring to the bathroom, where he’d left his phone. They would have no way of tracing him. Louis would be almost as much in the dark as Langley, which would give him deniability, and that was all Reynard needed. Though he wouldn’t want to be the security men assigned outside the room. Reynard was going to have to go to bat for them… eventually.

Around ten, he approached Harrisburg. He got gas off the freeway and continued on, passing south and west with the cruise control set. He was happy and content, his breathing growing easier the farther away from New York that he got. Reynard contemplated picking up I-70 when I-81 intersected it and going west. He could keep going to Denver and maybe up into Wyoming to Yellowstone. He’d always wanted to see the American west, maybe find a cowboy. With that thought, he switched stations to country music and began to sing along. He didn’t know any of the words, but he sang anyway just because he felt like it.

Cowboys were sexy, and Reynard needed a little of that in his life. Well, maybe a little sex… okay, hot sex, and as much of it as he could get. The idea sent heat running through him. No one knew who he was out here. He was just another guy. He could see who he wanted and not worry if the guy sharing his bed was going to sell the story to someone the following week. Damned Bernard. That had been the reason he had been sent on that stupid dog-and-pony show in the first place. Get him out of Veronia for a while so the heat of the bombshell that Reynard was gay could settle down. That thought was more effective at dousing his libido than a bucket of cold water.

Lights came on behind him, blue and white, flashing in his rearview mirror. At first he didn’t give them any thought. He was used to police escorts, and in Veronia, no one pulled him over. He could drive as fast as he wanted.

Except the lights were for him, and he wasn’t in Veronia. “Shit,” he muttered to himself as he slowed and pulled to the side of the road. “Great… just great.”

As he pulled over, he realized he had been going too fast.

Once he came to a stop, lights lit up on the dashboard, and the engine sputtered before going silent. He tried starting it again, but the engine whirred and then the lights went dark. Great—not only was he going to have to face an American police officer, but the rental car was dead and he was stuck.