Coughlan lit the end of a Lucky Strike cigarette and exhaled out through the window. "You driving me will get us both killed. I know my folks are gone. There's no use in going back." He looked across at the police officer. "What happened to your little girl?" It's not often that Michael Coughlan feels compassion for another human being, but this lady stopped to pick him up and he couldn't really help himself.

"I ain't gonna sit here and lie and say that I trust you. I don't, not yet. But I'm willing to help you out, since you were so kind as to help me out back on the road." Michael took another long drag and exhaled through his nostrils. "And to top it all off? You're looking past what I did before everything went to shit, same way I'm looking past your former occupation."

[@Love Me Dead]