25 Panic in Detroit #2
“How is that possible? Reopen them!” He comes to an abrupt halt and drops the hand from his hair. “What do you mean you can’t? Who reported them stolen? I don’t care what your system says, I didn’t—” His eyes widen, and his breath stills. “I’ll call back later.”
He disconnects the call and turns his back to me as he dials another number.
“You crossed a line this time,” he growls into the phone, his body trembling with suppressed rage. “You had no right! Those belong to me! I pay the bills, not you!” The vein in Dash’s neck pulses as he works to keep his emotions contained. “I told you, I made a promise!”
Dash stops pacing, and a dark laugh rolls up his throat.
My stomach plummets.
“No, Dad. I never promised you anything. I said I would consider your offer, but I needed time. You agreed to give me the summer.” His nostrils flare as he goes back to pacing. “The whole summer!”
The urge to go to him is so strong, and I grip my tote with both hands to keep from reaching out. Even arguing in hushed tones, his voice echoes through the night air as he lights into the person on the other end of the line.
“That’s extortion! You wouldn’t ...” The color drains from Dash’s face, and he comes to an abrupt halt again just a few feet away. “That was a gift! Hello? Dad? Damn it!”
For half a second, I expect him to hurl his phone into the dark abyss. Instead, he pockets it and grabs my hand, pulling me down the sidewalk.
“Slow down!” My pulse skyrockets as I struggle to keep up, tripping over my feet every few steps. “Talk to me.”
“We need to hurry.” Dash picks up his pace, dragging me into the parking garage.
“Why?” My voice echoes through the dark space. “Dash, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
“Stop!” Dash’s panicked voice turns my blood cold. He drops my hand and runs toward a man standing at the back of a tow truck. “Please! You can’t do this!”
“Sorry, man.” The guy doesn’t bother to make eye contact as he finishes securing the Tesla to the flatbed. He double-checks the cables and climbs into the cab. “I’m just doin’ my job.”
Dash stands frozen on the concrete as the truck growls to life and slowly pulls away. I want to scream at him to do something, but I’m as paralyzed as he is. Once the taillights disappear around the corner, I notice our bags sitting in the empty parking spot like abandoned orphans.
“How could your father do that?” I release a juddering breath. “Does he realize he’s stranded us in downtown Detroit? At night?”
Dash turns to me, his face deathly pale in the eerie overhead light. With his hollow eyes shimmering, he reminds me of a lost child. “I don’t think he cares. As far as he’s concerned, he gave me fair warning, and I didn’t fall in line.”
“He told you he was going to have your car towed?” My voice comes out like vapor, dissipating into the shadows.
“Everything with him comes with strings. But I didn’t think he’d actually do it.
So much for my graduation gift.” Leaning against the concrete wall, Dash deflates and slides all the way down until he’s sitting in the empty parking stall.
After a long moment of silence, he gazes up at me, his expression anguished. “I’ll fix this, I promise.”
“How, Dash?” A wave of panic threatens to drown me. “How will you fix it?”
He lowers his eyes. “I don’t know yet.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as guilt chases the fear in my veins. This is all my fault. If Dash hadn’t been helping me, this would never have happened.
“No.” He squeezes my hand, flashing a sad smile. “You have no reason to be sorry. This is my fault. I’m the one he’s angry with.”
“But if you weren’t here with me ...” I swallow a sob.
I really am a magnet for disaster.
“Hey.” He pulls me down beside him until we’re hip to hip on the cool concrete. “There isn’t anywhere I’d rather be.”
I rest my head on his shoulder. “I heard you on the phone. This happened because of me. Because you promised—”
“Zoey, no.” Dash wraps me in a tight hug. “None of this is your fault. If you’d said no to my offer, I would’ve found another way to tag along on your adventure.”
“But what if your dad—”
“Does what? Has me evicted from my apartment? Even if that’s possible, I can’t do anything about it until I get back.
And ...” Dash scans the deserted parking garage.
“At the moment, I’m more concerned about being swallowed by the bowels of Detroit if we don’t find a safe place to shelter for the night. ”
I straighten my spine and tug my tote into my lap. “Hotels cost money, and we don’t have a single working card between us. You heard Cruella. Even if we booked and paid online, we’d still need a card to check in.”
“So we find a place that accepts cash.” Dash digs in his pocket and pulls out a stack of wrinkled bills. “I have twenty-seven dollars. What about you?”
I do a quick calculation in my head. “Maybe twenty. And a few more in loose change.”
“So, fifty?”
“About that. But there’s no way we’ll find a decent hotel for less than a hundred.”
“Sure we will.” Dash forces a smile. “You’ll see.”
“I doubt we could take an Uber across town for fifty, but if you say so.” I rest my head on his shoulder.
“I wish Hicksville wasn’t so far away. The Betty should be ready by now.
” Thinking of G-Lo’s car sparks a fresh idea, and I fish my phone from my pocket.
“I’m gonna call my grandma. She offered to send me money the old-fashioned way.
I think it’s time to take her up on that. ”
Dash laughs. “Old-fashioned? Like mailing a check to the parking garage?”
“Western Union? MoneyGram?”
His blank stare speaks volumes.
“Come on.” I gape at him. “You’ve seriously never heard of MoneyGram?
Where I’m from, there’s one in every Walmart and CVS—surely you’ve seen the big-ass sign in the window.
And even small towns have Western Union kiosks at just about every grocery store.
A big city like Detroit must have at least one location open late. ”
“I’ve never been much of a Walmart or grocery store kind of guy.”
I roll my eyes. “Sounds like it’s time to check your privilege, Dash. Must be nice having rich parents.”
“Hold that thought.” Dash’s eyes light up, and he presses a quick kiss to my lips before jumping to his feet and pulling me to mine. “I need to make a quick phone call.”