I still didn’t like having her uncomfortable.
That made no sense, considering she’d tried to take my knee off less than an hour ago.
She lifted her hands a few inches. “Are we going to county, North Fork, or a secluded second location where the podcast people will find my earrings in season two?”
“You’re going to live long enough to make terrible jokes tomorrow.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“It answers the important part.”
“You think I’m going to trust the man who ran me up a mountain?”
“I think you’re going to sit there and keep your boots off my dash.”
Her boot moved an inch closer to the dash.
I glanced at her.
Crystal lowered it, smiling like she’d won something.
She was going to be a problem in every room I put her in.
The county intake would’ve been the clean answer if the night hadn’t already gone sideways. The nearest handoff point was a long drive past two bad stretches of road and one pass that liked to hold fog after dark. I had a hostile skip, a busted headlight indicator blinking at me, a disabled sedan behind us, and enough adrenaline bleeding out of my system to make fatigue feel like a delayed punch.
I could drive tired with a cooperative prisoner.
Crystal Kemp wasn’t cooperative in any language.
My thumb found the leather cord at my throat before I thought about it.
The old crucifix rested warm beneath my shirt, the edges worn smooth from years that hadn’t belonged to me first. Cade used to hook one finger under it when he was lying, praying, or trying to look braver than he was. Sometimes all three.
I let go of the cord and reached for my phone.
Crystal’s gaze dropped to my hand. “Calling in backup?”
“Calling in logistics.”
“I knew this date needed a chaperone.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“I have to. You’re busy pretending not to.”
I hit the after-hours line and put the call through the truck speakers.
A male voice came on after the second ring, rough with sleep and static. “North Fork.”
“Tolliver. I have Kemp secured. Her car’s disabled off Old Quarry Road near the locked Forest Service gate. I sent the coordinates and plate photos. I’m holding overnight at Pine Shadow and transporting at daylight.”
Crystal froze beside me.
The voice on the speaker sharpened. “You need county tonight?”
“Not unless she gets creative.”
“I resent the lack of faith,” Crystal said.
