Page 18 of The (Maybe) Murderer Who Knocked Me Up

I nod. “Okay.”

“I bet your brothers aren’t up yet. You could probably get back in bed, and they won’t notice you’ve been gone.” She winks at me conspiratorially.

A part of me wants to tell her everything. Mentioning that I’m serious with Slade is different than saying I put my paws on him. But I like the idea of retreating off to my bedroom and waking up with my brothers one last time. Once they’re gone, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to sit down with Mom and explain what happened.

I shrink down to my raccoon form and shake off the pink nightgown. Everything will be okay. Putting my paws on Slade last night was a little impulsive, but Mom seemed open to the idea of me dating him, and now that he’s agreed to be with me, we can take things slower.

I scamper off to my bedroom and get back in the hammock before any of my brothers wake up.

9

SLADE

The next two days feel eternal. I like my boss and the little apartment above the shop, but it’s harder to be away from Quin than I expected. He sends me photos and little audio messages throughout the day, which helps. I think he can feel the connection between us too. That’s nice. It gives me hope that we can make this work.

On the second night, I walk the steps up to my new apartment in a daze. I barely notice the buzzing in my pocket until I stretch out on the bed and close my eyes. In the silence of my new apartment, the sound is almost loud. Buzz buzz buzz. Someone is calling me. It’s probably Georgina. She’s the only one in my life who’s old enough to call instead of text. Or maybe it’s my boss.

I pull out my phone. Jake’s name is on the screen, along with his photo. It’s one from last Christmas, when Georgina arranged for him to spend the day with us in her trailer. He’s grinning at the camera in the pajamas I bought for him.

Why is he calling me? He never calls.

“Hello?”

There’s no response on the other end. Just silence.

“Jake? Are you there?”

Someone breaths into the phone.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

There’s a long pause, and then I hear someone whisper. At first, I can’t make out what they’re saying. Then I hear a quiet, “Help.”

“You need help? Where are you?”

There’s a long, ragged breath on the other end. Something is wrong.

“Jake, tell me where you are. Or if you can’t talk, you can call 911. They can track your location.”

“No,” Jake whispers. “No cops.” He wheezes, gasping for breath.

“What is going on? Where are you?”

“Warehouse. 9200 Blue Centre Boulevard.” He barely gets the words out.

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

I don’t know how I’m going to get there. I jump out of bed and unbutton my coveralls. If Jake is in a situation where he doesn’t want cops involved, I can’t show up with a uniform that says my name on it. I bound down the stairs and burst into the garage. My new boss is standing by his desk, reading a clipboard. He glances up at me as I rush in.

“What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“My brother is in trouble. Really bad trouble. I think he’s hurt. He’s at this warehouse about fifteen miles away from here, and I…” I drag my hand through my hair. There’s no way this guy is going to give a stupid kid like me a car to drive. But I can’t exactly take the bus. It could take me an hour or longer to get there.

My boss reaches into his pocket and pulls out a set of keys. “You can take my truck just this once.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will make this up to you. I’ll clean the garage or your house or?—”

He tosses me the keys. “We can figure all that out when you get back. You go take care of your brother. It’s the red Ford out front.”

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