"What do you think I did, Sarah?” He gave her hand on his arm a pointed look and she dropped it with a murmured apology.
He strode away once again and she raced to catch him again. “You might as well slow down, damn it,” she complained. “You're not going to leave me here and you know it."
He ignored her, standing at the open truck door and waiting impatiently as she clambered up and slid to the middle of the seat. Apparently Raj was angry. What a novelty. If they'd been alone, she might have demanded to know what the problem was this time, but Danny and Cervantes were listening to every word, so she bit her tongue and said nothing.
Raj yanked the door closed and snapped at Danny to “Get the f**k out of here.” Maybe Danny knew what the problem was, because he spun the truck away from the curb and took off with a squeal of tires.
It was a silent ride back to the warehouse, but instead of going inside, Danny pulled the SUV into the parking lot and looked over at Raj, his eyebrows raised in question..
"You two check in with Em,” Raj ordered, opening the door on his side. “Take one of the blood houses. Sarah's going with me."
Sarah jerked around to stare. She wasn't sure she wanted to go anywhere with him in this mood, or any other, for that matter. But neither Danny nor Cervantes seemed to care what Sarah wanted. The truck's taillights were already disappearing by the time she'd processed the fact that they were leaving.
"Get in the car,” Raj said, beeping the locks open on his car.
"Maybe I should—"
"Get in the car, Sarah,” he said, staring at her over the gleaming black roof of his BMW.
"Where are we—"
"Get. In. The. Car."
Sarah took a deep breath and looked around. She was in the middle of an empty parking lot, on a dark street, miles away from anyone or anything, with not even her emergency twenty dollars in her pocket. The warehouse was right behind her, of course, but somehow she doubted they'd let her inside, even if anyone was there. And she really didn't believe Raj would hurt her. She sighed, opened the car door and slumped into the seat, thankful that at least she didn't have to climb five feet straight up to get there. Small favors.
Raj brooded as he sped down dark streets, not sure where he was going. Sarah sat next to him, silent for once, not demanding to know what he was doing or where they were going or any of the myriad explanations she was always insisting upon. She probably thought he was angry. Which he was, although not at her. What made him furious was what he'd discovered inside Regina Aiello's head.
Making a last minute decision, he took a hard right turn onto the thruway, the rear end fishtailing behind him on the slick surface. He caught the jerk of Sarah's hand as she grabbed for the armrest and smiled in satisfaction.
"What happened, Raj?” Sarah said suddenly, in a low, tense voice. “Please tell me."
So much for her silence. When he didn't say anything, she continued. “I know you got inside Regina's mind. I'd like to know what you found there."
"Why? So you can be certain I didn't rape her?"
She flinched away from him so hard her head bumped against the window. He could hear the tears in her voice when she said quietly, “I tried to call you. I left messages."
Raj ignored her and kept driving.
"I spoke to Jennifer,” she added.
"I know. She told me."
"You talked to Jen? But—"
He glanced over and saw the hurt in her eyes that he'd called Jennifer but not her. But then Jennifer hadn't accused him of being a r**ist, had she?
"I said I was sorry,” she said softly. “I know you wouldn't . . .” She looked away from him and swallowed hard. “You have to understand what it's like for me. What it's like for them."
He gave her a sideways glance. “Them?"
"The women in my dreams, my nightmares. I'm inside their heads. I feel everything they feel—the pain, the terror, the awful, awful hope that someone will come in time.” She shook her head and turned away from him, staring out the window. “Please drop me off somewhere,” she murmured desperately. “I don't care where. Drop me at a phone. I can—"
"Running away again, Sarah?"
She swung on him. “How dare you—"
"Accuse you of something like that? Is that what you wanted to say, sweetheart?"