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“And the rest is history?”
“Well, after he wrestled with his conscience for a while, yeah.”
Omar sighed. “I hate to get gooey, but I’m glad you’re together. I think you’ll be good for each other. But, I’m serious, Leilah. Don’t hurt him.”
She treated him to another dramatic eye roll. “We’re not teenagers. We’re fully grown adult humans with the maturity to be honest and authentic. Nobody’s getting hurt.”
“Good.”
She mused, “Do you know what I really like about him? He’s reliable. He said he’d call me in the morning, and I don’t have to wonder if he really will. I know he will.”
He scrunched up his face. “Okay, that’s enough talk about your love life.”
“Great, let’s talk about yours. When are you going to ask Marielle out?”
He switched on the radio and turned up the volume. “What’s that? I can’t hear you over the music.”
She laughed, then decided to let him off the hook. She closed her eyes again. Later, she’d wonder if they’d have heard the detonation if the radio had been off. Or if she’d have glimpsed the fireball in the sky had her eyes been open.
But, at the moment that Ryan’s car exploded, she was half-asleep, daydreaming about seeing him in the morning. She had no way of knowing that Ryan Hayes was about to ghost her.
3
The roadside standgave new meaning to the word ‘dilapidated.’ But Ryan was profoundly grateful for the structure’s protection and shelter. Hidden inside the shed, shielded from view by its rotting walls and collapsing roof, he felt safe. His sense of safety was, he knew, nothing but a mirage. A false promise. The person or persons trying to kill him wouldn’t be thwarted by a decrepit shack.
All the same, he indulged his feeling of security. His day had been long and harrowing, and the dark, quiet haven soothed him enough that he closed his eyes and rested his head against the splintered wood of the wall until he heard the rumble of Jake’s engine approaching. He opened his eyes in time to watch Jake pull off the road, navigate the Jeep across the shoulder and up a bumpy dirt path, and bring the vehicle to a stop directly in front of the busted door, which hung lopsidedly from its hinges.
Jake leaned across the interior compartment and pushed the passenger door open. “Get in.”
Ryan slipped from the shed and into the Jeep in one fast, liquid movement. Jake was already driving down the berm when Ryan pulled the door closed and fastened his seatbelt.
“As your lawyer, I strongly suggest you tear down that stand before it collapses on a small child or a group of nuns.”
“Noted,” Jake said with a grin. “It’s a legitimate concern given all the preschools and convents around here.”
“So what’s the plan?”
Jake’s grin evaporated and he got down to business. “I’m taking you to my cabin. Chelsea’s getting you a go-bag ready. We’ll feed you and pump you full of coffee. Then you can take her car and get the hell out of Dodge.”
“Cut and run? That’s the plan?” He frowned. “I’m no logistician, but how am I going to get to the bottom of this if I’m on the run?”
“How do you plan to get to the bottom of this if you’re dead?” Jake countered.
Ryan nodded and stared out at the dark farmland rolling by. He didn’t like it, but Jake was right. They drove in silence for a long while, then he said, “Okay. What about the cops?”
“What about them?”
Ryan eyed his boss. “We probably should have reported the break-in at the storage facility, and we definitely need to report the bombing.”
Jake palmed the wheel as he turned off the highway and onto the steep, narrow road that cut through the side of the mountain and led to his cabin. “I hear you. But until we know who we’re dealing with, we need to limit local law enforcement involvement.”
A frown creased Ryan’s lips. “I know you had your differences with Joe Markham, but the department cleaned house after his death.”
“Differences. You’re hilarious.”
Chief Markham had tried to kill Jake and Chelsea and had been buried alive in a collapsing cave for his efforts.
“Strongdifferences. You think the department’s still dirty?”
