Chapter 15

Later that evening, after Jim had left, Bill and I made love; slow, passionate love. Afterwards, as we lay in bed, holding each other in a lovers embrace, Bill whispered into my ear.

"Gail, I love you so much. It's not just the sex - which is fantastic - it's everything about you; your strength, your personality, the way you care for me, the way you handle tough situations. I'm totally and hopelessly in love with you."

The tears began to run down my cheeks, as I hugged him tightly to my body.

"You don't know how much I wanted to hear that from you. I love you, too. We're going to have some rough times ahead of us, but I know we can work through them."

"Gail, I'm not sure that I want you to get involved with those two. You could get seriously hurt. Maybe I should just move somewhere else, go to some other school. I could get lost for a time. After I turn 21, my trust fund terminates, and the money is mine. My sister would no longer have any claim to it, so my life would no longer be in danger."

"Running away won't solve your problem. You'll be looking over your shoulder for the next four years. That's no way to live. Besides this should be the best time of your life; don't let them take that away from you. I'll be careful. We'll get through this together."

Sunday evening we got a call from Jim.

"Everything is set. I spoke to the Captain; he agreed to let Billy stay with you, as long as you keep in touch with me. I called my friend in Tucson and although he doesn't like the idea of using the two of you as bait, he agreed that it's the only way to catch the two of them and put them away for a long time. I told him that we'd finalize our plans in a couple of weeks."

"That's all we could ask for. Thanks Jim, thanks for everything."

"Gail, you take care; don't forget to call me. Good Luck."

Monday morning we started our east coast run, this time with Bill in the front seat, except for the time when we picked up our load. During the next three weeks we made the round trip twice, making love in the back of the cab when and where ever we stopped for the night. We called Jim every day at noon his time. I also made arrangements with my boss to take a couple of weeks off starting on August 20th, the first day Bill would be allowed to move into his dorm.