Page 23 of Jett in Jeopardy

Alistair laughed. “I’m going to call Finn to see if he can pick you up. He had a teacher conference-thing for Will tonight, so if I can’t reach him, I’ll blow off the rest of my shift and pick you up myself.”

“It’s fine.” Not knowing Finn all that well, I didn’t want the poor guy to drive out and get me any more than I wanted Alistair to blow off work and risk getting fired. “Finn’s busy, and you’re working. I’ll figure something out.”

“Believe me, Daniel won’t care if I cut out early. It’s dead here, anyway. He might even be relieved. I cashed out the only two tables I had all night, and I can only clean the same things so many times. So, either Finn or I will be there in about twenty minutes. Okay?”

“Thanks, Alistair. I really appreciate it.”

We said our goodbyes, and I ended the call. Relief from knowing he or Finn were on their way and I didn’t have to get into a car with a total stranger drained the tension gripping me like someone had pulled a plug. Twenty minutes, I thought, shifting in the seat to shove my phone into my front jeans pocket. I could handle twenty minutes—even if it was freezing outside.

There was a coffee shop still open on the opposite side of the street, just a few shops down. I could grab something warm to drink while I waited.

After buying a hot chocolate, I hurried back across the street to wait in my car. I was just past the halfway point, and the loud rev of a car engine stopped me in my tracks. I looked up in the direction the sound had come from just in time to see a car barreling in my direction.

Panic flooded my body, and I darted for my Jeep, clearing the road that had been empty just seconds ago. Instead of continuing past, the car veered to the side towards me, leaving me trapped between its front-end speeding toward me and the side of my car.

I had no time to dig out my keys and try to scramble inside. Instead, I half-leapt, half-rolled onto the hood of the Jeep, dropping my hot chocolate to the ground with a splat. I’d barely pulled myself onto the hood when the car sped past. That was so close. The engine reverberated in my chest, the deafening noise flooded my ears, the whoosh of air swept across my skin and blew my hair back from my face.

I scrambled sitting upright in time to see the car vanish into the darkness as quickly as it had appeared. My breath came fast and frantic, cold sweat slicking my skin, and the pulse in my throat throbbed quickly.

What in hell had just happened? I was nearly run over, and whoever had been driving that car had steeredtowardme.Someonehad tried to kill me! Cold gripped my throat like an icy fist, turning my breath shallow and leaving my head spinning.

I should do something. Call someone, maybe. But my brain couldn’t seem to convey the message to the rest of my body, and I stayed frozen where I was, peering down the empty street.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there on the hood of my car, staring at nothing, frozen and half-terrified the driver would come back. The sound of a car pulling up to the curb, followed by the thud of the car door closing, barely penetrated the terrified fugue swirling in my head. Even when I heard my name, I didn’t move right away.

“Jett!” This time he called my name louder, with more force. I blinked; the voice was familiar.

I finally turned my head and noticed who stood next to my car, concern etched into his rugged features.

Chapter Ten

Brody

What.The.Fuck.Had.Happened?

When I first found Jett just sitting on the hood of his car, he was catatonic. He’d been staring at nothing. His eyes were wide with a blank expression. Even when I’d called his name, he hadn’t so much as blinked, never mind actually looking over at me. When I finally got his attention, he’d scrambled over to me without a word, throwing himself at me.

He pressed tight against my chest, arms wrapped around my middle like he was holding tight to a lifeline. I felt his heart beating so fast through my coat.

“Hey.” I leaned back so I could look down into his pale face. His grip loosened enough for me to ease away a little, but he didn’t let go completely, his fingers curling into the coarse fabric of my battered pea coat. Absently, I brushed his messy waves back from his face so I could better read his expression. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

His throat jumped as if he were swallowing hard, but when he began speaking, his voice still rasped. “I’m… I’m all right. Just, someone almost ran me over.”

“Just now?” I asked. Downtown Saltwater Cove wasn’t exactly a hub of activity at nine o’clock on a Monday night. I hadn’t seen another car since I’d pulled in behind Jett’s Jeep.

He nodded and pointed across the street. “I went to get a coffee, and when I was crossing the street, a car came out of nowhere. It was going so fast I had to jump onto the hood of my car to get out of the way, or it would have hit me.”

“Do you think the driver just wasn’t paying attention?”

He jerked a shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Jett looked far from convinced. The icy wind sweeping down the street blew his hair, damp from the drizzle, into his face, and without thinking, I brushed back the soft strands again.

His wide gaze met mine. “The car served towards me. Even once I was out of the middle of the road, the car still came at me.”

Without thinking, I pulled him back against me again, and his frame went lax. I felt a faint shudder ripple through him.

Fear and rage twisted inside me like snakes. I don’t think I had ever wanted to punch someone more than I did then. What kind of person would do this? Someone too careless to pay attention? Drunk? Jett said the driver had intentionally steered for him. Had they thought it was funny? He could have been seriously hurt, or worse.

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