Page 86 of I Can't Even

I was already nodding my head, tears leaking into my eyes at the sound of Quaid’s hollow voice.

Lord, please let Quinn be okay.

“I’ll go straight home,” I promised.

Except, it didn’t work out quite like I expected it to.

We got onto the road, heading back toward Quaid’s home, and got caught up in traffic.

We sat there so long that my gas light came on, indicating I had forty miles until empty.

I looked at the GPS that showed red as far as the eye could see, and then the temperature on the dash that read 108.

Grimacing, I started to search for the closest gas station, knowing I had no other choice.

We’d been on the way to fill it up when the call about Quinn had come in, and well, it hadn’t happened.

I was considering pulling over and leaving my car in the closest parking lot when I looked back to see Assman’s patrol car jolt forward.

“Oh, shit,” I said as I watched the patrol car jerk, then, fuck, tip over!

I gasped, ready to pull over myself, but thought better of it after I saw what felt like hundreds of people hop out of their car and head toward the downed cruiser.

In my rearview, I watched as he hopped out of the cruiser, angry as hell and throwing his hands up in the air.

Knowing he was in good hands, and not wanting to block traffic even more now, I made the stupid decision to leave him behind.

I moved up until I could take the next exit, then sent a quick text to Quaid to let Assman know where I went.

Quaid called immediately, but when I went to answer it, the call dropped.

I looked at the signal and groaned.

If this wasn’t the worst possible scenario…

I went to the most well-lit gas station, pulled over, and took a look around.

There was no one in sight.

In fact, for it being a brand-new gas station, I figured it’d be hopping.

But then I got a look at the price of the gas and realized why no one was here.

It was well over thirty cents more than the one across the street.

“Oh,” I groaned.

I hated paying more for gas…

But at least I was being smart about this.

Getting out, I lifted up the center console to make sure my gun was where I’d left it.

The entire Carter clan had given me lessons in shooting, and I was proud to say, I was a pretty decent shot… as long as the target wasn’t moving.

Hitting Apple Pay, I typed in my pin code then got the pump to pumping.

Buzz. Buzz.

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