Page 107 of Play Dirty

The parking lot was already dusted white by the time we stepped outside.

“Shit,” Sebastian muttered, glancing up at the sky.

The snow wasn’t falling hard yet. But it was steady. The flakes came down fast. I’d been up here long enough to know what that meant.

“You drive,” Grayson said, tossing Ares the keys.

Ares caught them without looking.

We stopped in front of Mercer’s truck… and by ‘truck’, I mean relic.

Square body. Bench seat. Manual everything. It looked like he’d bought it used, in high school. The kind of vehicle that had survived at least two recessions, and a minor war.

“Is this thing legal?” I asked.

“It builds character,” Grayson said, already opening the passenger door.

Metal hinges screamed. Sebastian covered his ears.

“That thing has carburetors,” he muttered.

“Plural?” I shot back.

Ares opened the driver’s door like none of it mattered.

“Does it even have airbags?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Zack laughed from behind me. “They’re called your face.”

We piled inside — gear shoved in back, shoulders brushing the tight space. I ended up in the middle of the bench seat. Between Ares and Grayson.

The engine turned over with a low, stubborn growl, headlights cutting through the growing haze of white.

“Still think we’ll beat it?” Sebastian asked.

No one answered right away. I looked out the windshield and watched the snow thicken. It came down even faster, now. Heavier.

“No,” I said quietly.

The heater kicked on with a sound like a dying animal. Then, miraculously, warm air followed.

Ares shifted the car into gear.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said.

And then we pulled out into it. The storm swallowed us almost immediately.

And somewhere behind us—

The rest of the team wasn’t moving.

~ 35 ~

HAVEN

The storm didn’t just hit, it slammed us from all sides. One minute it was snow.

The next, it was everything.