“I won’t be able to help Hayden with a broken neck.”
But we did end up riding faster, fast enough for me to fear I would fall, yet I stayed steady on Storm, hanging onto the pommel and smiling broadly despite how bleak my world was.
When we returned to the house, I dismounted on my own and stroked Storm’s neck in gratitude. Tammy walked out, shaking her head at me. “You’re going to smell like a horse.”
“I’ve smelled worse.”
“Are you still driving like a snail?” Ben asked her.
“Yes,” I answered instead, which granted me a glare from Tammy.
“Let me fix you some food for the road.”
Twenty minutes later, we were back in my car, leaving the dirt road behind in favor of the smooth highway. I tried asking Tammy about her private conversation with Ben, but she just turned up the radio.
I sighed and leaned my head against the window, watching the world pass by while thinking of a young man named Elijah.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“One room for two people? Sure thing, we have one available,” the receptionist said cheerfully, her curly, dyed blonde hair smelling of hairspray. Her name tag read “Cherry,” with a smiley face doodled beside it. She typed on her keyboard and asked, “How long would you be staying?”
“Three nights should be enough,” Tammy said. “My son and I might want to extend our stay, but we’ll be sure to check with you first.”
“Oh, that won’t be an issue—it’s rather dead here this time of year. How did you hear about us, by the way?”
“We decided to be spontaneous and stop somewhere in the area,” I said. Since they were keeping a low profile online, we weren’t likely to find them through a regular search. I gave Cherry a once-over, trying to detect anything out of the ordinary about her, but this middle-aged bundle of perkiness didn’t strike me as a collaborator of The Society, though it made sense for her boss not to share such information with his employees.
“Okay, super,” Cherry said. “I’m putting you in one of our best cabins. You’ll have a bit of a walk to the swimming pool, but it should be quieter—not that it gets noisy out here.” She handed Tammy two keys. “There you go. Have fun!”
We thanked her and stepped into the cool desert evening air.
“No one’s around,” Tammy said as we walked past dark brick cabins, coyotes howling in the distance.
“She said it was dead this time of year.”
“What’s so special about this time? It’s spring. This should be their busiest season.” She eyed me. “It’s a sign we’re in the right place, but it also makes us stand out.”
We reached our cabin, which was indeed farther from the rest but closer to the parking lot. Tammy unlocked the door and flicked on the light. The room was simple but clean, with two single beds and an old-looking television. Tammy put her bag on the floor and went to check on the sliding door leading to the patio out back. She tested the strength of the lock until she was satisfied.
“Which bed do you prefer?” I asked.
“I’ll take the one close to the window in case someone tries to break in.” She sat on the bed, stretching her neck and yawning. It wasn’t late, but we had been on the road for hours.
“I’m going to take a shower,” she said. “Hide your gun underneath the mattress, but make sure you can easily pull it out.”
“Okay. I’ll go over Ben’s file out back.”
“Don’t lose yourself in what’s there.”
“Meaning?”
“Nothing you’ll see there is personal—just facts. Treat them as such.”
Before I could reply, she walked to the bathroom.
I hid the gun underneath my mattress, put a jacket on, and stepped outside with the folder. The light on the patio was weak, but I angled the chair so I could read. It was fully dark by now,not even streetlights in the distance. It felt like being stranded in the middle of an endless sea. I watched the stars for a while, glittering brighter than they did closer to LA.
My phone showed bad reception, but I still sent Jenny a message to tell her I was okay and had taken a few days off to clear my head.
