Page 175 of The Night Shift
“— could you please be a bit more careful?”
She glances down, then back up at me. “Oh, fuck.” With zero remorse, she dusts the crumbs onto the floor and I’m pretty sure my left eye twitches.
I start the engine. My uninjured hand grips the wheel as I pull us out of the petrol station and onto the empty stretch of freeway ahead. The snow has let up slightly, but the road is still slick in places. A sharp twinge radiates from my wrist up into my forearm. I flex my fingers, trying to ease the ache, biting back a curse.
Holly watches me. “Why are you whining?”
“I am not whining.”
“Is your hand hurting?”
“It’s just a cramp.”
“You’re whining because of a cramp?”
“Not everyone is as tough as you, my love.”
She rolls back over, facing me again. “Stop the car.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Pull over.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
I slow down, easing us to a stop at the side of the road.
“Good. Now get out.”
“Because you want me to fuck you on the hood of the car?”
She scowls. “Because I’m going to drive the rest of the way.”
I laugh out loud.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“You do realize that you don’t know how to drive, right?” I reach up with my good hand and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Her jaw tightens, but she doesn’t smack my hand away. Progress. “I have my license. I just haven’t used it since I got it.”
“And when was that? The Ice Age?” I twirl another piece of her hair between my fingers, testing my luck.
Her palm cracks against the back of my head, sharp and sudden. I wince, more for dramatic effect than actual pain.
“Holly, there’s no way I’m letting you drive. You might have a license, but you’re shit out of practice.”
“It’s anemptyfreeway. How hard can it be?”
“Do you want me to answer that now, or after we crash into that tree up ahead?”
She just stares at me, blank and unimpressed. “Are you trying to be funny?”
“Just mildly.”
“You know what, fuck it.” She turns away with a huff. “I was just trying to be nice, but if you want to be a raging dick about it then, go ahead. Drive us straight into that tree. If all goes well, I’ll get to see your torso impaled on it.”
