Deserted - Cara Dee Page 0,113
tomorrow evening.”
It was Gray’s turn to hesitate. He knew how fragile his mind had been right after he’d been rescued, and he didn’t think it was wise to leave Jackie alone for an entire day. It meant several hours where a single breakdown could have horrific ramifications.
Darius appeared to be on the same page. “I think I know how we can solve this.” He rose from his position and pocketed his smoke. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna make a quick call.”
“Bring a chair with you,” Gray requested.
Only Darius could sleep that night. Completely unaffected, he got five hours of sleep on the couch in the living room, about four feet from a dead man.
Gray and Jackie stayed on the porch and drank too much soda, listened to the coyotes, and talked.
It’d finally dawned on Jackie that he was free. That he was going home. And he wouldn’t stop talking about everything he wanted to do, which mainly consisted of spending more time with his mom, going to more games with his dad, and perhaps not annoying his sisters as much as he used to.
The roller coaster had begun. Jackie could chuckle his way through a funny memory about his sisters, only to cry five minutes later with how much he missed them.
Gray did what he could to comfort, reassure, and, most importantly, prepare Jackie. It was gonna be a rough few months ahead of him, and he couldn’t stress enough the importance of taking it slowly. Then he told Jackie about the period when Gray left his family behind because he felt out of place. Like he didn’t belong anywhere.
“But it gets better,” he promised. “You’ll get through the anger, the grief, the pain. All of it. And you won’t be alone.”
Jackie managed a wobbly smile. “You and your friend are my heroes forever. I swear.”
“Just…don’t quit, okay?” That was Gray’s biggest fear. “If you crash sometime—if you feel like there’s no point in anything—call us first. Promise me that.”
Jackie sobered and nodded. “I promise.”
Good.
Darius woke up shortly after, an hour or so before the sun would rise, and he stepped out onto the porch as he stretched his arms over his head and yawned.
“Mornin’.”
Fucking hell, he was hot.
“Good morning.” Gray found it amusing how freaking unruffled that man could be. Could there ever be a crisis that made him panic?
“Y’all ready for today?” Darius’s question was mostly aimed at Jackie. Gray’s work was pretty much done, and he’d hopefully get some sleep when they began their journey back to Washington.
“Yes, sir,” Jackie replied. “Would you like me to give you a rundown of everything? Gray helped me memorize all the steps, including the changes.”
Maybe it was weird for Gray to feel a little proud of Jackie, but nevertheless. The guy was handling this well, he thought. Even after Darius had gotten off the phone with Ryan and revealed some last-minute tweaks.
One of the corners of Darius’s mouth curled up, and he came over to the table and took a seat in the empty chair. “I think that sounds like a good way to start the day. Hit me with it, kid.”
Jackie sat a little straighter. “After you leave in a couple hours, I will wait out here all day. If I get anxious, I will remind myself that your brother is watching over me, and he will report to you.”
Gray slid an apple across the table to Darius. He needed to eat.
“Then when it gets dark,” Jackie continued, “I will go out front—and stay hidden—and I will check for cars. When I don’t see any, I’ll start the fire. Then I will hurry to the driveway where you will have left a rag soaked in gasoline that I will rub over my arms and stuff. And before I leave, I will make sure it gets thrown into the fire too.” He took a breath, all while Darius’s eyes warmed up. He was impressed too. “I’ll go that way—” Jackie pointed to the west, toward Twentynine Palms “—and if I get scared, I’ll remind myself again that your brother is watching me from a distance the whole way, and when I get to the town, I will stop someone and ask for help.”
Darius didn’t hide his approval. “You’ll handle this great. And remember you can signal to my brother if it’s an emergency. Just show a thumbs down toward the mountains back there, and he’ll be here.”
The gratitude Gray felt for the Quinn brothers hit him with indescribable force,