CHAPTER 12
Maya
“NO,” I SAID. “WE ARE NOT SLEEPING IN THE CAR overnight. There has to be a way out of here.”
“You think I want to sleep here in this?” Sebastian gestured at his drenched clothing. Dark sludge coated the bottoms of his jeans, and his shirt and jacket were soaked through. “If you have a brilliant solution, I’m all ears.”
What was the point of an emergency line if you couldn’t get through to them during an actual emergency?
“The lines are probably jammed,” Sebastian said, cutting the engine. We couldn’t keep the car running all night if we wanted it to have enough gas in the morning. “I bet there are a ton of accidents due to the storm. Even if you get through to them, we’ll be low on their priority list.”
My parents hadn’t raised a quitter, but even I knew when to admit defeat.
I slumped against my seat, my goose bumps multiplying as the rain intensified again. It was so thick I couldn’t see two feet in front of me.
Were there wild animals in these woods? Or, worse, humans? It seemed like the type of place and night where serial killers flourished. Maybe there was one standing right behind our car, waiting for us to lower our guard so they could hack us to pieces.
I shuddered. That’s it. No more true crime podcasts.
“We should’ve stuck to the highway,” I said. “This would’ve never happened if you hadn’t insisted on taking the scenic route.”
“The scenic route?” he sputtered. “You agreed to do this! Don’t act like I forced you. Also, you were in charge of navigating and decided we should turn into the fucking woods. So if there’s anyone to blame here, it’s you.”
“I didn’t decide anything. That’s what the app told me to do!”
“Apps aren’t always right!”
“Easy for you to say in hindsight! You’re the driver. You didn’t have to turn in here. So don’t go trying to pin this on me.”
We glared at each other, our chests heaving. A dim splash of light cast shadows over the stubborn set of his mouth, and I was tempted to… to…ugh.
I tore my eyes away from his and tried to calm the furious beats of my heart. I was getting bombarded with a thousand emotions at once, and while it would feel so good to unleash them all on Sebastian, I knew deep down this wasn’t his fault.
It was neither of our faults. We got hit with bad luck, and we just had to ride it out.
Sebastian must’ve reached the same conclusion because he didn’t say anything else.
We fell silent, our burst of hostility softening into disgruntled acceptance.
The fact of the matter was, we were stuck together for the night. I didn’t want to spend it fighting with the only company I had.
When I glanced at Sebastian again, he was staring straight ahead, his jaw tight. His clothes had dried a bit, but still, he must’ve been freezing.
His posture was unnaturally rigid, like he was forcing himself not to move, but one tiny shiver slipped through.
I pressed my lips together. Don’t. Mind your own business.
If he wanted to stay in damp clothes all night, who was I to stop him?
Another shiver betrayed him, and I released a frustrated breath. Sometimes, I really hated myself. “You should change, or you’ll get sick,” I said.
“I’m fine. My clothes have mostly dried.”
“Damp is not the same as dry. If you sleep overnight in that”—I gestured at his outfit—“you’ll catch pneumonia.”
He flicked a sideways glance at me. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Your concern is touching.”
I blushed. “I only care because I don’t want to be stuck with a frozen corpse in the morning,” I said loftily. “Body disposal is not on my bucket list of experiences.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Sal.” But after a moment’s hesitation, Sebastian opened the door and ducked out into the rain. He came back a minute later with his duffel bag in hand and water dripping from his hair.
I reached over and started the engine. Heat blasted through the vents. “We can turn it off once we’ve warmed up.”
Sebastian looked at me again. This time, his expression was inscrutable, but he retrieved a pair of sweats and tossed his duffel in the back seat without responding.
A beat passed before he said, “Are you going to turn away, or do you want to watch me strip?”
My blush erupted into a full-blown wildfire. “Hardly. This night is awful enough without having to see your… your…” I floundered, trying to come up with something negative to say about his physique. Unfortunately, it was sculpted like a fucking Greek statue.
His smile turned devilish. “My…?”
“Oh, just shut up and change,” I grumbled. I stared out the window, ignoring his low chuckle.
But the car was only so big, and I caught bits and pieces of his reflection in the rain-splattered glass.
The broad span of his shoulders. The flex of his arms as he pulled his shirt over his head. The careless confidence with which he moved.
Awareness curled low inside me. Every rustle of clothing sounded abnormally loud in the contained space, and the more I tried to ignore it, the more my muscles tensed.
I stared fixedly at a water droplet sliding down the glass. I was so determined not to pay attention to what was happening behind me that I nearly jumped out of my skin when Sebastian spoke again.
“You can turn around.”
I swallowed. I smoothed my features into what was hopefully a neutral expression and peeked at the driver’s seat.
Sebastian was fully dressed in a black hoodie and sweatpants. His hair was still damp, but his skin had regained its healthy color.
He shoved a sweatshirt toward me. “Put this on.”
“I don’t need it.”
My fitted turtleneck and jeans weren’t the most comfortable sleepwear, but the silk pajamas I’d packed for the trip weren’t exactly made for extreme weather.
“That flimsy little sweater won’t be warm enough once we turn the heat off,” Sebastian said.
“I have a coat.”
“You’re going to sleep in Max Mara cashmere.” He sounded skeptical.
“No. I’ll use it as a blanket.” I draped the coat over my torso. “See?”
Sebastian released a sharp exhale. “Maya,” he said. “Put the damn sweatshirt on.”
I looked down at my wool turtleneck. Then I looked at the thick, oversized-on-me hoodie in his hands.
Dammit.
I took his offering without another word and slipped it over my head. Warmth cocooned me, and I almost sighed in bliss. I hadn’t realized how cold I was until I’d added that extra layer.
The sweater smelled like him, crisp and clean with just enough spice to tease my senses. I resisted the urge to bury my face in the fabric.
“Did you bring any snacks?” I asked. Now that we were out of imminent danger, my stomach took center stage again. As if on cue, it released another angry growl. “I only have two protein bars and a bottle of water.”
I usually packed a bunch of snacks when traveling, but since Sebastian picked me up straight from Vivian’s building, I only had what was in my purse.
“I have some Gatorade and pretzels, but that’s it,” he said.
I forced myself not to think of the pizza and fries I’d planned to order from room service as we split the bag of pretzels and a protein bar. We saved the second bar for breakfast, and I was about to wash my food down with a sip of water when an eerie howl pierced the air.
I froze, my pulse skittering. “Did you hear that? What was that?”
“Probably just the wind.” But Sebastian double-checked to make sure the doors were locked before he cut off the engine again.
Ominous silence fell. There was another howl in the distance, followed by a loud clatter that I had no interest in investigating.
I sank deeper into my seat and pulled the hood up over my head.
This was going to be a long night.
Despite the temptation to stay awake until morning so I wouldn’t get murdered in my sleep, exhaustion won out.
I didn’t remember falling asleep, but when I woke up the next morning, I was lying across the back seat of the car. How did I get here from the passenger seat?
My coat was draped over me like a blanket, and a folded men’s sweater served as my pillow. Sebastian’s duffel sat on the floor, partially zipped.
I propped myself up on one elbow and blinked the grogginess out of my eyes. It took me a second to orient myself and remember what happened last night.
Thunderstorm. Faulty GPS. Stuck in the woods.
I groaned, wishing I’d had the foresight to hire a professional car service instead of road tripping with Sebastian.
At least it’d stopped raining. The sky was bright and sunny, and I could even hear a few birds chirping outside.
I sat up all the way and leaned forward. “Seb, did you…” My sentence trailed off when I noticed both front seats were empty.
Sebastian was gone.
My stomach clenched as I frantically scanned the area around the car. Nothing.
Where was he? Had he left me to fend for myself, or had an axe murderer dragged him away and butchered him while I was sleeping?
I threw my coat on and scrambled outside. My feet sank into the squishy mud surrounding the SUV as I searched for a familiar head of dark hair.
“Sebastian?” My voice echoed amongst the trees. “Where are you?”
No response.
Okay. That was fine. This was fine. Everything was just fine.
Think, Maya, think. I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes in an effort not to freak the fuck out.
Sebastian had the keys, so I couldn’t drive anywhere even if I managed to get the car unstuck.
A quick check revealed my phone was dead, and I couldn’t charge it because, once again, I didn’t have the keys to turn the engine on.
That ruled out calling for help, even though cell service was probably still nonexistent.
“Seb!” I called out again. An image of his mangled body flashed through my mind, and my throat tightened. “This isn’t funny!”
Still nothing.
Tears prickled my vision. I blinked them away, furious at myself for getting emotional when I should have been brainstorming a solution.
If Sebastian was gone, he was gone. Me yelling for him wouldn’t change things, yet I couldn’t bring myself to give up.