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Chapter Fourteen
Igripped the wheelharder and turned into the skid, trying to regain control. The car came to a crooked stop at the side of the road.
The entire thing only took a few seconds, but it shaved years off my life. I turned down the radio, only to be inundated by the sound of my pulse hammering in my ears.
I took several deep breaths to calm myself, then climbed from the car to see what had happened. My back right tire was a shredded mess of rubber that barely covered the rim.
Blow out. Wonderful. But this was something I could act on, and that was more comforting than it should be.
Spare was in the trunk. I knew how to change the tire. I’d be back on the road in twenty minutes.
And eighteen minutes later, as I lowered the jack with frozen fingers, I was feeling pretty smug.
Until the spare tire hit the pavement, and then dropped another few inches, the bottom looked like a rubber pancake. My spare was flat too.
“Fuuuuuuuck.” I let the day’s frustration fill my scream into the air. Then shouted again and again until my voice was hoarse and my lungs begged me to stop.
Okay, I could do this. No big deal. I probably couldn’t get an Uber out here in the middle of nowhere. Would the app even let me entermile marker 38 on I-80?
I hated to call my friends while they were working, but I couldn’t afford tow truck fees if I had to get my tires replaced. I dialed Lyn first, then Anne, and wasn’t surprised to not get answers.
Chase picked up. “I’m heading into a client meeting. Can I call you back?”
“Yeah.” I’d find someone else.
“Sadie? What’s wrong?”
If I told himnothinghe’d pry until he got an answer, and that would waste everyone’s time. “I got a flat, and my spare is flat too. But I’ve still got people to call. Don’t worry about it.”
“Where are you?” His hurried brush off had vanished behind concern.
I gave him the closest location I knew of. “But don’t miss your meeting for me.”
His conflicted growl almost made me smile. “Fine. But this won’t take long. Text me if you find anyone in the next fifteen minutes. If I don’t hear from you, assume I’m on my way.”
“All right. And thank you.”
Before I could make another call, my phone buzzed with a text from Chase.Help is on the way.
I hoped he didn’t ditch his clients for me. I settled back in my seat and pulled my coat tight around me. I was at least forty-five minutes away from any help, and while I had a full tank of gas, I wasn’t going to keep the engine running the whole time. I needed to strike a balance between not freezing, and not burning through my gas. Why had I grabbed the fingerless gloves instead of the full-blown fuzzy mittens?
Out here, away from most of the city lights, it seemed to get dark faster. It was kind of eerie, watching everything vanish into the creeping night.
Headlights flashed in my rear-view mirror, then pulled up behind me on the shoulder. Please let that be Chase, or a good Samaritan, and not some creepy creeper.
They didn’t turn their lights off, so I only saw a silhouette approaching. When Jax knocked on my window, I yelped. I was such a dork sometimes.
I grabbed my purse and keys and opened the door.
“You ordered one knight in shining armor?” He grasped my fingertips and helped me from the car.
