I don’t know if Farrow sees it, but I’m not going to tell him. It’s not following him.
Windows down, I lean my head back, feeling the breeze cool my scalp.
Farrow’s tires roll over the drainage vents, telling me we’re on the bridge, and I reach over and pick out a penny from the cup holder in Farrow’s truck. He watches me fling itout the window.
I’d blown it off several times since I moved to Weston, and I don’t believe that’s to blame for everything wrong right now, but it certainly hasn’t done me any good to ignore the tradition, so… At most, it won’t even cost me four dollars a year. I’ll grab some for my own supply when I close out the register tonight.
After about eight minutes of speeding, Farrow races past my Jeep sitting at the curb in front of the shop and turns down the side street.
“No!” I blurt out. “Park in the front.”
I don’t want him going into the alleyway.
He throws me a look.
“I have to come out that way anyway,” I explain.
That’s where my car is.
Plus, I don’t want him to see the broken back door. He’ll want to come inside, and I won’t be able to get into the hideout if I need.
Making a U-turn, he drives back to High Street and pulls in behind my Jeep. I unbuckle my belt.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell him, opening the door and jumping out.
“He said to stay with you!”
“The place is locked,” I lie, digging out my keys for the front door. “I’ll bring you a Monster cookie.”
“Three!” he barks.
I unlock the door and slip inside, quickly shielding myself behind the blinds as I watch the windows.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty…
The Dodge doesn’t appear, and I was too lost in my head to keep an eye on it on the way here. I’m not sure when we lost it, but I know it’s close. It always is.
My keys are in the kitchen, and I twist around to go grab them, but the mirror is open.
Again.
Dread coils my stomach, and I try to think. Did we leave it open?
We could have.
Or maybe Hawke came back?
But deep down, I know it’s not likely. I always close it because I don’t always enter the place alone. I wouldn’t want Hailey, Noel, or Codi to know it’s there.
And I seriously doubt Hawke would ever be that careless. He kept it a secret from me for years.
I should get Farrow, but I don’t want him to know about the hideout. I’m not ready to make that decision.
I could just leave, ignore it for now.
