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“Because we come from the middle of goddamn nowhere, Lele,” he said. “There’s no one driving on this road unless they want to get to Badger Creek. And because I see they carry their guns like city boys.”
“Still. . .” I said, not wanting to believe it.
“And,” he continued, his thumb pulling down my full lower lip, “because if it was me, I wouldn’t let you go.” He paused, his eyes squinting back in the rearview mirror, then he continued, “I wouldn’t send a bunch of security guards after you, though. Pussy motherfucking move. I’d come get you myself and drag you back to me. Now open your mouth.”
I opened my mouth obediently as my heart started to beat faster.
“Suck on my fingers,” he said, and I did, the taste of my brother sharp and smoky in my mouth.
I looked over at him, the wind ruffling through his dark hair. My heart gave a lurch and I could feel all my doubts spiral away on the breeze, under the taste of his fingers.
It was wrong. But out here in the jagged peaks, the dense redwood forests, the sharp sea breeze, who gave a shit?
I heard a noise from behind us, and the Jeep was moving closer now.
“What should we do?” I asked, but I was surprised that I didn’t feel particularly afraid.
“They don’t know these mountain roads like I do,” Torin said, his other arm resting casually on the steering wheel. “That’s their first fucking mistake.”
“Do you remember after being gone so long?” I asked curiously.
“Sister, I remember everything about the mountains,” he said, his lips curving up as he looked at me.
His smile got broader as we crossed the county line and I knew what it meant.
There was a lot of space out here in the mountains. A lot could go unnoticed out here.
People could disappear out here.
Dirt and stones spat up and pebbled our truck’s windshield and sides as Torin maneuvered the car around the tight mountain curves, the bigger Jeep having to jerk and swerve to keep us in view.
“Hang on, Lele,” was all the warning I got before we spun around a switchback, the ground opening up dizzyingly beside us, but Torin kept the truck on the narrow pathway.
The Jeep behind us took the curve at the same speed, but it was following so closely, and the switchback was so unexpected, that it plunged off the road and down the steep hill, the big vehicle landing with a sickening crunch and rolling sideways down the slope.
That wouldn’t be enough to kill them, and Torin pulled down the road a little, then off the road a bit, the truck mostly hidden under the sweeping overhang of the trees.
“Stay here,” Torin ordered and then hopped out of the car, slamming the door behind him.
“What are you going to do?” I yelped, but of course he was gone, the controlling asshole. And had he gone out without even a weapon?
I gritted my teeth, my heart starting to pound panic through my body.
I opened the glove compartment. I had something in here, didn’t I? I scrabbled impatiently through the papers, the Kleenex, the neat and tidy organization, my fingers finally closing on a heavy flashlight.
I tried to get out of the car on my side, but I was blocked by the dense layer of trees.
Of course.
I crawled over the stick shift and over Torin’s seat, the truck parked so crazily I pitched forward and out the door.
I could see Torin stalk toward them. The Jeep was still upright, but the front windshield was smashed and one of the doors hung crazily open.
As I watched, one of the doors was kicked open and a big man in all-black came out, holding a gun and shaking his head.
My brother was on him in a moment, moving silently in those big boots, then his hands were on the man, choking the life out of him with both big hands. It happened terrifyingly quickly, Torin flinging his body aside as two other men got out of the car.
One was still fumbling with his gun when Torin slammed him up against the side.
