Page 28 of Dirty Gambit

“I’m serious. The only way we’re getting out of here is if someone tows us out or one of us gets out and pushes.”

Lena thought about it. “Do you think you can push it?”

His barking laughing answered that question before he could. “You want me to push this car all the way back to the main road? I know I look incredibly fit, but even I’m not capable of such miracles.”

“Well, we can’t just sit here all night.”

“Call a damn tow truck.”

“I can’t.”

“I don’t think this is the time to worry about getting caught when there’s a good chance we’re going to get electrocuted.”

“That’s not it.” She stared hard at the waterfall cascading over the windows, creating a thick wall between them and the world. “I don’t have a phone.”

His silence intensified the sound of pounding on the roof, the roar of nature washing itself clean. It drew attention to the muffled ticks of her watch and the disbelief coming off him as heavy as the storm outside.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

Although calm, Lena winced at the tone. “Phones can be tracked,” she justified simply.

“Then you take the battery out!” he blurted, outraged. “You don’t cross a whole country with a baby and a shit hole car without a damn phone. This isn’t the nineteen hundreds. You get a disposable. I can’t believe I have to tell you how to be a proper criminal.”

Lena fought to feel anger or even annoyance, but all that rose up inside her was guilt and shame over the fact that he was right. She should have had some kind of link to the outside world in case of an emergency. Not having anything just seemed so stupid in the face of their current situation.

“Well, that doesn’t solve our problem now, does it?” she said instead. “We need to get out of here.”

“What’s the plan?”

Not having one, Lena stared through the windshield at the dark world beyond the glass and decided there was only one option.

It wasn’t an ideal decision. It was actually a very bad idea given the situation, but she wasn’t going to risk Jessie’s safety. Getting caught would seriously suck, especially the part where she’d get arrested, or worse, killed if caught, but Jessie would be safe.

“I’m going to go get help,” she stated, fingers fumbling with the seatbelt.

“How do you expect to do that?”

“By finding help,” she repeated. “There has to be a farm nearby, right?”

Even in the shifting shadows, she could see the widening of his eyes and horror reflecting in the lines of his face.

“You are not going out there. Are you crazy?”

Refusing to be swayed, Lena unbuckled her belt and pulled the keys from the ignition. “Well, based on your past testimony, yes, apparently, I am crazy.”

“Lena—”

She turned in her seat to see him better. “Are you seriously okay with putting Jessie in danger if I do nothing?”

His mouth clapped shut with enough indignation to create creases around his narrowed eyes. “Of course not!”

“Good. Neither am I. So, I am going to get help. You are going to sit here and make sure she’s okay.”

“There has to be another option.”

“Well, if you have one, I’m all ears, but from where I’m sitting, this storm isn’t going to be dying down any time soon and when it’s this bad out here, it’s followed by lightning, which means we are sitting ducks in a metal rotisserie.”

“We’re safer in the car,” he argued. “The tires are rubber. The lightning will travel around the frame—”

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