It doesn’t take us long to reach the garage. The space is easily large enough to house a small fleet. There’s a whole row of SUVs parked in neat lines, along with a few other vehicles. I spot a ride-on lawn mower in the corner, some ATVs, and what looks like a utility truck.
Grim walks straight to a metal panel mounted on the wall near the entrance. Inside are rows of keys, each hanging on a numbered hook that corresponds to a parking spot.
“Let’s hope one of these works,” he mutters, scanning the options.
He grabs a set labeled “7” and heads to the corresponding SUV. It’s a dark gray vehicle, similar to the one he drives for work. He climbs into the driver’s seat and turns the key.
Nothing.
The engine doesn’t even try to turn over.
“Shit,” he growls, climbing back out. “I think they disconnected the battery.”
He pops the hood and props it open, leaning over to peer inside. I move closer, watching as his hands disappear into the engine compartment. Even watching him do this is sexy. The way his muscles flex as he works. The concentration on his face. The confidence in his movements.
I shake my head. I need to stop thinking like this.
Our sole focus needs to be on bringing those bastards to justice. Exposing whatever it is that’s going on. I have to do it for Sally. Probably for Ethan, too. I even need to do it for the anti-vaxxers who didn’t deserve what happened to them. It was clear at the end that they never planned on actually hurting us. They certainly didn’t deserve to die for what they did.
“Try it now,” Grim calls out.
I climb into the driver’s seat and turn the key. The engine roars to life, purring smoothly.
“It worked,” I yell over the engine noise.
Grim slams the hood closed and walks around to the driver’s side.
I slide over into the passenger seat as he gets there, and he climbs in. But instead of putting the SUV in gear, he turns the engine off.
“What is it?” I ask, frowning.
“I’ve been thinking it over, and I think I should give Drake a call before we leave.” He’s already getting out of the vehicle. “If I make it really quick, they won’t be able to trace it. Then we can hightail it out of here just to be safe.”
“That’s a good idea,” I agree.
We head back inside, making our way to one of the offices. Grim picks up the phone on the desk and dials quickly, his jaw tight with tension.
Drake answers almost immediately.
“It’s Grim,” he says, his voice a hard rasp. Then he falls silent, listening.
I watch his face, trying to read his expression. His eyes narrow. His jaw clenches. He makes small noises of acknowledgment.
“I should be able to find it,” he says after a few seconds. “We’ll be there.”
Then he ends the call, his hand hovering over the phone for a second before he pulls it away.
“What happened?” I ask, anxiety creeping up my spine. “What did he say?”
“Let’s get out of here.” We start walking. “He’s asked us to go and meet with him to talk. It’s somewhere remote.” Grim rubs his chin. “I hope I can find the exact meeting place. I only went there once, and Drake was driving.”
“But you think you can find it?”
“I’m pretty sure I know where it is. I wasn’t there that long ago.” He turns to look at me, his expression serious. “I have a good sense of direction. Drake says he has news for us. We couldn’t get into it because our time was up. He didn’t want to risk the call being traced back here to the Academy.”
My heart pounds harder. “What kind of news?”
“I don’t know. But it sounded important. I’m sure it has to do with the clinic and the manhunt underway for me. I’m sure they’re saying I abducted you, or some such bullshit.”
