Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
It takes ten minutes to drive five miles. Between the hellacious rain and thick fog that’s settling in, there’s no way to go faster.
And then there’s the metal shit flapping on the truck.
It’s getting worse. I might be sleeping on the side of the road after all.
The sound of my phone ringing pulls me out of my blurry-eyed stare. Déjà vu hits me. This is exactly how this started when Beast called.
God bless. What now?
It’s an unknown number, but given the shit night we’ve had, I’m not going to ignore it.
It might not be a set of digits I recognize, but a familiar angry voice ramps up the second I accept the call.
“It’s Griff.”
No shit. I’d recognize that asshole tone anywhere .
I ease off the accelerator, an ominous feeling settling into my gut. “You’re on the way to the hospital, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s up?”
“I’ve got to say something and I’m regretting not doing it when we were face to face so you could see how serious I am about this.”
Drama much? “What, Kane? Spit it out.”
“Stay the fuck away from my sister.”
That’s out of left field.
“I’m sorry, I’m going on forty hours with no sleep, you’re going to have to explain how and why I’d have something to do with your sister who is some goddamned place in the United States.”
The phone crackles with static.
“Griff, are you there, you bastard?”
His voice fades in and out. I can’t understand a single word. But I get the tone. He’s irate.
As I’m muttering, it hits me— holy shit— Griff thinks he might die from whatever is going on with his head. He thinks I’ll be the one to deliver the news to his sister.
That’s why he’s warning me off.
The call fails, a loud beep confirms the connection has dropped.
Rubbing my eyes, I try to focus on the road. It’s much harder than it was a few moments ago. Everything is a blur of water spots and inky black sky.
My body is shutting down.
I’m going to have to sleep.
Taking my foot off the accelerator, I ease the truck off the road. The frame groans as the tires cross a small ditch. This truck is fucked, Beast is going to be nuclear that the team has killed two of Agile’s vehicles .
When I check my phone there’s one tiny bar of signal. I toss it on the console. It’s going to have to wait. Griff probably won’t die.
I guess.
Not that dying is the worst thing that can happen.
I lean the seat back. Shut my eyes and fall away into the blackness.