I needed…something.
A reflection in the rearview mirror caught my attention. My gaze narrowed as the bumper of a truck edged around a corner behind me, disappearing as I took another corner.
I was almost half way to the bungalow and hadn’t passed a single car since turning off the highway. No one lived down that road. Aside from the occasional hunter or wandering stoner, no one drove down it either.
I shifted my focus back and forth between the rearview mirror and the road ahead of me.
I slowed.
Look closer…Briana’s words echoed in my ear.
I peered in the mirror.
Look closer…
And then I saw it, the dented hood of Darby’s truck.
Dammit.I wasnotin the mood to deal with the kid. The rookie who was following me and didn’t have the balls to tell me why.
I gassed it, sending Max stumbling backward, clawing at the seat. I pulled a U-turn, my tires spinning out as I skidded back onto the road and hit the gas. Beams of the setting sun blurred the truck just ahead of me. My jaw clenched as I accelerated, lining up for a perfect head-on collision. A cloud of dust burst into the sky suggesting Darby had slammed his brakes. A horn blasted through the air.
I kept on the gas, faster, faster, until finally slamming the brakes and skidding to a stop an inch from Darby’s hood.
“Stay,” I growled at Max as dust blurred everything around the Jeep.
I climbed out, my heart pounding. I pulled my gun from my holster as I hurled myself onto the hood of his truck and threw myself over because there wasn’t enough room between the vehicles.
“Out.”
Dust swirled around us.
When the door didn’t budge, I reached through the open window, grabbed Darby’s shirt collar and dragged him onto the dirt road. I dropped him, sending him stumbling away from me.
I slammed the truck door and squared off with him, gun in hand.
“What the hell are you doing, son?”
Beads of sweat rolled down the side of my face, but that was nothing compared to the flush of heat on the kid’s cheeks.
“I… uh…” His gaze remained fixed on my gun. “Put down the gun, dude.”
“Not until you tell me why you’ve been following me.”
Darby ran his fingers through his oily hair, muttering something under his breath.
“You have two fucking seconds, Darby.”
“I was told to, alright?” He blurted. “Colson asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“Why?”
“Because he thinks you’ve gone over the edge. That you’re a loose cannon. Wanted me to keep a bead on you, that’s all.”
Loose cannon.
“I promise,” he stammered. “That’s all.”
I holstered my gun. “Well, you failed him, kid. I saw you the moment I walked into Frank’s the other night. Seen your every move since.”
