Page 13 of The Brat Tamers

5

PORTER

“Should we follow them?”

Lee curses. “If we do, and they’re just some random couple out on a joyride, we’re not only wasting time and scaring the shit out of some townies, but we leave her exposed for longer than necessary.”

“They have a giant antenna on top of their van. They’re not some random couple on a joy ride,” I say, aggravated that we aren’t going after them.

“Lots of people use hand radios out here. There isn’t a cell tower within fifty miles of the cabin, and we’re getting close.”

“We know this ex-IT chick placed a tracker on Epi once. Who says there’s not more?” Case points out.

“Fuck.” Lee stares down the road, and I know he’s dying to chase them down, too. Now’s the time to do it. In another thirty minutes, the sun will duck below the horizon and visibility will be diminished. If Epi wasn’t in the car, we’d already be nudging them off the road with a couple of strategic taps to their bumper. “All her shit is in my vehicle, so we move her to yours. If there is a tracker in her stuff, I’ll take them on a wild goose chase while you secure her in the cabin. Are we sure Soren fixed her phone?”

“I have a log of her activity on my phone, and she hasn’t gotten one reply, which I bet is annoying the shit out of her,” Case says.

“You have no idea.” Lee rolls his eyes and then looks over his shoulder as the locks on the vehicle click like they do when someone attempts to open a locked door.

“I’m surprised she hasn’t jumped out of the car yet to join us,” I say with genuine curiosity. It’s not like she’s followed any of our other direction so far, so why would she heed this one?

“I engaged the child-safety locks and locked her in after I got out of the vehicle,” Lee grumbles.

“We should probably frisk her, just in case there’s a tracker sewn into her clothes or tattooed on her body.” I grin, trying to lighten Lee’s mood.

He gives me a look that tells me he’s not amused. “I can’t wait for you to spend a couple of hours with her.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Case snaps his fingers. “Let’s say this side adventure hadn’t happened, and we made it to the cabin without issue—”

Lee runs his hand down his face, tugging at his short beard. “Yeah?”

“Would you have needed to take a walk—you know, grab a few minutes alone—as soon as we arrived?”

“I had every intention of parking the truck and taking a long fucking hike into the woods until I found a cliff to jump from. Why?”

Case smiles at me. “You owe me two hundred bucks.”

I shake my head. “Nope. Hypotheticals don’t count. Bet’s off.”

“You two bet how crazy she’d make me?” Lee takes in a deep breath.

Case nods with an even bigger smile on his face, not giving a fuck if he’s pissing Lee off. “Yep, and I won.”

“Fuck you guys. Let’s get this over with.”

I’m laughing as I approach the back passenger door, tugging at the handle when the locks disengage. Offering her my hand, I lock gazes with the sexiest woman I’ve ever met. It’s crazy, not because she isn’t beautiful—because she is—but her attitude does things to me that make her even hotter in my eyes. “Ms. Krushner, if you’d come with me.”

“Where are we going?” She jumps out of the back seat, annoyance dripping off each word.

“We’re transferring you to our truck for the rest of the trip.”

Staring at me for a minute, she finally sighs and reaches for her bag. “Fine.”

“Leave it.” I tell her, my eyes assessing her outfit. I was joking about frisking her—kind of—but now that I really look at her, I wonder. “How old are your shoes?”

She glances down at the trainers on her feet. “A month, maybe.”

“Where did you get them?”

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