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"Oh. It's late, so I think I'll head home." Luca's disappointment was clear. Ro looped her arm through his.
"Come in and have a beer and a taco, please?"
"You can't really say no to her tacos," Octavius added.
"Okay, okay!" Luca threw his hands up in surrender.
* * *
While driving home, Teagan's mind wandered. She had to come up with a plan to get Evie away from her abusive fiancé. She wanted to go knock on the door, grab her, force her in the car and arrest the sleaze ball. She wanted to protect her sister, but her years of work in domestic violence taught her that she couldn't help Evie until Evie wanted and would accept her help. Teagan also knew that Sleaze had friends in the force or, at least, officers he was able to pay off or intimidate into doing his bidding. Ro had filled her in on how he had somehow managed to get off the last time. What to do? She had helped several domestic violence victims escape. Many of these guys controlled everything in their victim's lives. Cell phones often had tracking apps installed, houses had security, most of the women had no access to money, friends or family. Some of them had taken a while to get out. They would withdraw a few extra dollars, utilizing the cash back option every time they got groceries, and stored it away. The ones with children were extra complicated. They had hidden safe houses all over town, but Teagan knew that Evie wouldn't be one to hide in a safe house.
So then, what? How? They might have to kidnap her and do an intervention. Kidnapping is illegal, you moron. Yet, the idea had some merit. That wouldn't work. She had to find some way to get him to leave Evie alone. Blackmail. Also, illegal. You are supposed to be a police detective. If you don't get caught, the little devil on her shoulder whispered into her ear. If Teagan could get into the house, plant some bugs and video equipment, they could then use that to blackmail him. That meant they'd have to get him hitting her on video. Teagan's gut lurched. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to get hit again. Based on her conversation with Ro, Evie was feeling helpless and trapped. Having that evidence against him could definitely help.
Now, Teagan just needed to find some small bugs that would transmit wireless and a plan to get into the house one night and plant them and plot the escape route. Sleaze would never let Evie just leave. They'd have to sneak her out in the middle of the night for it to truly work. Teagan had a plan. Now, she would have to sit down with both of her sisters and explain and come up with some sort of signal for Evie to use when it was time to get her. Yes, that is what she would do. Teagan was so deep into thought making that she failed to notice her car slowing down.
What the hell?Teagan pushed the gas on her car. Why was the car slowing down? It stalled, sputtered and came to a complete stop. Dammit! The gas! She grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and saw the low battery warning on the screen. Are you kidding me? She rooted around for her charger. The radio was still going, so the battery wasn't dead. Where the heck was the charger? Fuck. In her office. Calling roadside assistance was out; her phone would die before she could get someone on the line.
Keep your cool, Teagan. You've got this. Figure out where you are so you can get some help.Ro lived twenty minutes away, and Teagan had found a shortcut through some backcountry roads. Unfortunately, she didn't know the name of the roads. Maybe Octavius was home and could help her. Getting out of the car, she walked around to the trunk, grabbed a flashlight and started down the road.
"Tea, what's wrong? You never call; is everything okay? What happened?" Ro asked.
"Not exactly, you know that gas light I was telling you about?"
"Oh, thank God. I mean, you just ran out of gas, right? Where are you?"
"That's the thing. I don't know. I'm walking down the road hoping to find a sign. It's one of the back-country roads between our houses."
"You're walking down the road in the dark? Go get back in your car and turn your hazards on; you'll be safe there."
"Ro, I am perfectly safe. Listen, my phone is about to die, and I don't have a charger with me."
"Teagan, your cell is going to die now, too? You're lucky you don't have a Daddy, because you would be in so much trouble right now. Seriously, my ability to sit would be short lived."
"Ro. Stop repeating everything I say and listen. My phone is going to die, and I need gas. Is Oct home? How do I get my coordinates to you?" Teagan heard Ro yell into the other room and waited for her to return to the phone. Her pulse sped up as the phone beeped its final warnings over the battery.
"Teagan, it's Octavius. Put me on speaker."
"Okay? Done." Flipping her phone in front of her face, she did as she was told.
"Now, I want you to open your map app and click the arrow in the corner. A dot should appear with your picture on the map. Do you see it?"
"Oh! I do!" The phone beeped again. "We need to hurry; my phone is dying."
"Tap on that dot. A box should show up that says, 'share my location'. Tap it. When you do, it will give you the option to message it to someone. Message it to Ro, and we will be on our way."
"Done."
"Now, go get your butt back in your car and turn on your hazards."
"What was that? Oh, sorry, Oct, my phone is…" Just like that, it was dead. Looking around, Teagan realized they would have to come up the road the same way she did. It was a beautiful but cold, early December night. She could walk to the end of the road and wait. She pulled her coat a little tighter around herself and started to walk.
* * *
"What's going on?" Luca asked after Octavius hung up.
"I just forwarded you Teagan's coordinates. She ran out of gas and is walking around on a dark country road with a dead cell phone. Why don't you leave Trident here, and I'll bring him to the office tomorrow?" That was all Luca needed to hear. He grabbed his coat off of the hook and snatched his keys off the table.
"Look who's matchmaking now," Ro said, followed by, "Ouch!" when Octavius swatted her.
