Page 48 of The Breakdown

June opened her mouth as if she was going to argue, but seemed to change her mind. With a single nod, she headed out to their other, older truck, and unlocked the doors. Natalie followed, climbing into the passenger side. The first thing June did when she got in behind the wheel was to reach back and grab the shotgun from the gun rack. She popped it open, checked to make sure it was loaded, and returned it to the rack.

“Do you think we’ll need that?” Natalie asked, her tightening stomach now feeling downright sick, making her feel like she was going to throw up.

“I hope not. But you never can be too careful.” She started the old grumbling engine and they took off after Vaughn, following her trail of dust. Ahead, to the south, dark clouds were beginning to build, and Natalie hoped it wasn’t an ominous sign of things to come.

“Do you know where she may be headed?” She saw Vaughn’s truck leave the drive to the ranch and turn onto the private dirt road. But there was no telling if they’d be able to keep up with her. Especially once she noticed she was being followed. Natalie got the sense that Vaughn wanted to do this on her own.

“I don’t. But I’ve got this.” She tossed a cell phone onto Natalie’s lap. “Vaughn bought it for me last week. Said there’s something on it where we can always find our phones if needed. I can see hers and vice versa. Maybe you can figure it out.”

Natalie woke the phone and found the appropriate app. Sure enough, she could see Vaughn’s movement. “Got it,” she said.

June slowed a little. “Good. We’ll just fall a ways back then.” They rode in silence and lost sight of Vaughn quickly. Natalie watched the phone and told June which way to turn when needed, and soon they were back in town, back in north Phoenix and driving through an industrial area.

Natalie pointed as June made a turn off Deer Valley Road and slowed. “She’s come to a stop over there, behind that building.” There weren’t many cars around, very few in the parking spaces. The area seemed to be quiet, desolate, the buildings warehouse-style structures and vacant office spaces.

June slowly drove the truck to the side of the long, one-story building. She crept along the edge, easing the truck forward until they could peek down the other side of the building. They spotted Vaughn’s truck parked along the side and Vaughn was walking up to a closed garage door. They watched her try to lift it again and again with no luck.

“I wonder why she wants in there,” Natalie said.

“I don’t know, but it must be important.” June turned the wheel and drove the truck toward Vaughn. Natalie said nothing, not even when Vaughn spotted them and walked up to the window.

“You followed me?” she said.

“Looks like you could use some help,” June answered.

“How are you going to help me?”

“I gotta jack in the back. That’s how.”

Vaughn raised a brow. She walked to the rear of the truck and lifted out the heavy looking jack. She carried it to the closed garage door as Natalie and June climbed from the truck to join her.

“What is this place?” Natalie asked, glancing around.

“Pedro, one of the idiots, mentioned this garage one day when we were talking about auto repairs. He said his father had a garage he was letting him lease for free to work on his truck. And I happened to remember where it was today.”

She managed to lift the door up a couple of inches, enough for June to slide the jack under. Vaughn cranked the jack and the door began to lift. She got it up about a foot and a half and went down on all fours to look beneath it.

She came back up in a flash. “She’s in there,” she said. “Goddamnit.”

June looked to Natalie. “Call the police.”

Natalie did as instructed and June took the phone from her to speak to the operator. Vaughn got down on her back to slide under the door. “It’s warm in here. She’s probably in bad shape.”

“Oh, no,” Natalie said, getting down on her back with her.

“No, you stay out here,” Vaughn said to her as she slid inside. “This could be dangerous. Besides, I need someone to flag down the police with June.”

“But you might get hurt,” Natalie said as Vaughn made it all the way inside and pushed to a stand.

“I might. But no sense in you getting hurt too.” She looked down at her. “Please. Go.”

Natalie maneuvered back out and stood. June was on the phone but lowered it as a truck came barreling toward them, loud engine revving. June quickly handed the phone to Natalie and climbed inside her truck to retrieve her shotgun. She stood next to her vehicle with it aimed at the oncoming truck. Natalie reported what was going on to the operator, terrified that this was not going to end well. The operator told her to take cover and to stay on the phone. Natalie kept her on the line, but she didn’t take cover. She didn’t have time.

When the truck pulled up next to them, it slowed, and the two men inside gave them a hard look, saw June with the gun and the partially opened garage, and then sped off.

June lowered the gun and sighed.

“Was that them?” Natalie asked as she put the operator on hold.

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