“That means nothing. Speak civilian.”
He grins for a flash. “I knew something like this could happen. I had plans in place.”
I look away. I can’t take this. None of it. Being in his arms, knowing he planned to take care of Shasta before anything bad even happened…
It blows my heart up.
“Are you going to let me go now?”
He sighs, a big rise and fall of that brick-wall of chest. “If by letting you go, you mean moving to the passenger seat.”
“I won’t try to get out on the side of the road in the dark. Okay? Does that make you happy?”
Shaking his head, he says, “Very, only I sense abutin there.”
“Just don’t act like a dick.”
He lifts me like I weigh nothing, placing me back in the passenger seat where he buckles me in.
“That’s hard, sweetheart. Because I am a dick. Like I said earlier. You run. I chase. The results aren’t going to make you happy.”
I’m shaking my head, looking out the side window when he starts the truck and pulls back onto the road.
That’s when I see the blue and red lights in the sky. “Diesel… I think maybe there’s a drone following us.”
“Dammit. Where?”
“Off to the right, now it’s a few car lengths behind.”
Diesel whips a U-turn that nearly gives me brain damage.He guns the engine as he reaches into the center console for something.
“Take this.”
I have no idea what he’s just passed to me. “What do I do?”
“Power it up.”
Diesel checks the mirrors, leans forward and looks out the window. He takes another hard turn as the handheld machine is starting up. We’re on dirt now, the road growing rougher under his tires.
“Okay, it’s on.”
“Enter this code. 33775715.”
I strain my brain to remember the code. “Okay, I think I got it.”
Diesel’s driving too fast. Or maybe it’s my heart that’s going too fast. Or maybe both. “What now?”
“Look for the signal. You should see a blue dot when it connects.”
I sway as the road curves, trying not to pay attention to the landscape that’s flying past. He’s driving. I’m doing… whatever. Division of labor.
“Okay! Got it. What now?”
He reaches over and taps the Activate button. For the next few seconds he scans the inky sky, the mirrors, and the road in front of us.
“What’s happening?”
“I’m killing it.”
