Page 34 of No Place Left to Hide

All my attention is on the vehicle behind me.

I will the driver to turn off into one of these businesses or driveways or take a sharp turn onto a side road and prove Jena right. They don’t. And the longer they stay on my bumper, the tighter I grip the steering wheel.

Fingers snap in my face and I jump.

“Brooke,” Jena says. “Would you snap out of it? Nobody’s following us.”

Tell that to the car on our ass.“I know.”

“Then what’s your problem?”

The Bronco inches closer and I fight to keep my voice even. “Nothing. I’ll be fine as soon as I get home.”

Or as soon as I get this guy off my ass. Whichever comes first.

I spot the sign for Devil’s Lake up ahead. It’s a little strip of water surrounded by vacation houses, but the turnoff is one of the last big intersections before it’s nothing but forest and farmland for miles.

The turn looms and I make a decision. If the car is following me, they’ll turn. If they’re not, they’ll keep going up the highway.

God, I really hope Jena’s right.

I turn at the last second—best not give any notice with a blinker, just in case. Jena grabs for the door handle as I take the corner like we’re in a Fast and Furious movie.

“Where the hell are you going?” she shrieks. “Are you out of your mind?”

I ignore her, and as soon as the Subaru is straightened out again, my eyes are glued to the rearview mirror. The Bronco continues down the main highway in a flash of white and then it’s gone.

They didn’t turn.

My entire body feels weightless with relief. “Oh, thank god.”

“Did you seriously pull off the road because of that stupid car?”

I shrug, looking for a driveway to turn around in. Now that the Bronco didn’t follow us, her mocking feels more justified than it did a few minutes ago. “Maybe I don’t want to be tailgated the whole drive back. Ever think of that?”

“So you turned off the highway like a madman?” she asks.

Our eyes meet in the dim console light. “It worked, didn’t it?”

I pull back up to the intersection on the main highway and, seeing no cars in either direction, I hit the gas. The empty road soothes my nerves. What did I think was going to happen? This highway is full of impatient drivers. Nobody is content going ten over the speed limit on a mostly deserted road. Well, not until they get pulled over by one of three cops that hang out along this highway. Did I really think it was more than that? All because of some stupid voicemail?

God, I need to calm the hell down. It’s not that serious.

My headlights cut across the pavement as I get the car back up to the speed limit. I reach to turn up the music—the near silence in the car is suffocating.

And apparently intentional. Jena smacks my hand away from thevolume knob and turns her whole body to face me again. “Absolutely not. You need to tell me what’s really going on.”

“Nothing is going on. I told you—”

“Don’t give me that. I’m not an idiot, Brooke. You’ve been jumpy and off ever since Brandon crashed that party.”

“No mood of mine has ever been impacted by Brandon Heck. For better or for worse.” I gesture to the phone. “Feel free to change it to another playlist. We don’t have to keep it on the coffeeshop one the whole drive. I know indie isn’t your thing.”

“Is it because of Claire, then?” she asks, undeterred.

I force my jaw to unclench so I can speak. “What about Claire?”

The dash lights illuminate the frown on her face. She looks down at her lap. “I don’t know. Do you ever think about her?”

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