Page 83 of Reading Between the Lines
“For the record, I care about your big, beautiful brain too, and the fact that you’d willingly toss me over your shoulder to save my life is swoony.”
“I should have left you behind.”
We made it to the fence unscathed, and I got too handsy, ensuring Tallus went over first. When he stumbled and fell, I cursed, giving him a hand to his feet. Clenching my fists, knowing I needed to cool off, I avoided touching him as we retraced our steps along the trail to the Jeep.
The coiling tension restricting my lungs eased as we reached the trailhead and emerged into the weak sunlight, doing all it could to warm the small town of Port Hope. Tallus aimed for the passenger side as I hit the key fob to unlock the doors.
It didn’t work. I pressed it again with no better luck. “Fuck’s sake. The batteries in these goddamn things are shit. Do you know what it’s going to cost for a new one? Fucking great. Just what I needed. To piss more money away.”
I opened the doors manually with the key.
We sat for a second, both of us staring back into the forest. I didn’t know what Tallus was thinking, but thatcrackechoed inside my head over and over, and I couldn’t convince myself it was a fucking branch.
“D, turn the Jeep on. I’m freezing.”
Tallus’s hands were pink from the cold. They matched his ruddy cheeks and nose. I jammed the key into the ignition and turned it. Nothing happened. Not a cough or a wheeze from the engine. My effort was rewarded by a singleclick.
“What the fuck?”
I tried again but had no better luck. Sameclick. The dash didn’t light up. The radio didn’t come on. Nothing.
“Is the Jeep’s battery dead?” Tallus asked.
“Why the fuck would the battery be dead?”
“I don’t know. Did you leave the lights on?”
“They’re automatic. They turn off on their own.”
Tallus glanced up at the interior light and checked the switch to be sure it hadn’t been knocked to the on position by accident. It hadn’t.
I turned the key again with no different results. “Motherfucker.” I punched the steering wheel, then popped the hood and barreled out the door, shouting, “Stay there,” before slamming it again.
But the day Tallus listened was the day roses grew out of my ass. He was on my heels in seconds, crowding my side as I lifted the hood and propped it on the strut. I wasn’t a car guy. I hadn’t grown up with a father who’d invited me to work on engines or even so much as taught me to change the oil or a flat tire. In fact, I’d learned to drive on my own—illegally—because confining my old man and me into a car for any length of time was a recipe for disaster.
I’d learned a few mechanical things over the years, but my ability to diagnose a problem left much to be desired. It didn’t take a genius to see that my battery had been disconnected. Confused, I stared at it for a long time, the pieces not clicking.
“D? Someone—”
“I know.”
Batteries didn’t disconnect themselves. Someone had tampered with my vehicle. Instantly on alert, I scanned the road and forest near the trailhead. A patch of trees behind me blocked the view of the river, but I took a moment to survey the area, goose bumps painting my flesh.
“Who did this?” Tallus asked.
“I don’t know.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
With my hand braced on the raised hood, I stared into the bowels of the Jeep. The doors had been locked. How had the person accessed the lever to pop the hood? Could that be done without getting inside the vehicle? I had no fucking clue.
An odd popping crackling noise drew me from my swirling thoughts. I jerked my head and met Tallus’s gaze.
“What’s…”
His eyes widened with a flash of terror. “Diem, watch out!”
