Outskirts of Tolar, New Mexico—180 Miles to Albuquerque
It was a low growl, faint at first, echoing through the desert.
The two women froze and turned their faces toward the sound.
A pair of headlights swept into view.
“Do you think it’s—”
Cait shook her head. “I don’t know.” The headlights were coming up fast, but she couldn’t see yet what was behind them. Whatever it was, it was big.
“It’s a truck.” Rebecca’s voice was tight. “I think—it must be—”
The headlights grew brighter. The engine was a roar. Cait shook her head. “It’s bigger than a pickup.” She caught a glint of chrome coming off a pair of exhaust stacks. Her heart leaped. Cait scrambled back inside the Jeep and emerged clutching something lit up in her hand. An emergency flare.
Rebecca reached out to stop her. “No! Cait, don’t!”
“It’s an eighteen-wheeler. He’s bound to stop.”
“But we don’t know who’s driving it!”
Cait stared her down. “We don’t have a choice.” She arced the flare above her head and paced out into the road.
“You just said someone might have tampered with the gas tank! How do you know it’s not whoever’s driving that truck?”
Cait shook her head. “If somebody did drain the tank—and I’m not sure they did—it would have happened back at the IHOP. You’re hearing that engine for yourself now. There’s no way whoever was driving that thing could have sneaked into the parking lot, tampered with the gas tank, and gotten away without us hearing it.”
“Maybe he switched vehicles.”
Cait twisted her mouth. “Maybe. But I don’t think so. It’s hard to stash an eighteen-wheeler.” She clocked the look of doubt on Rebecca’s face. “It’s fine, I promise.” It wasn’t, not really, but it was the closest to fine they were going to get. The truck was close now, only a couple hundred feet away. She could feel the vibrations underfoot. She waved the flare higher in the air.
The truck hissed to a stop. The door swung open and they watched a man step down from the cab.
Cait felt a twist of fear when his boots hit the ground. What if Rebecca was right and the guy was a total lunatic? She shook the thought from her head. Lunatic or not, he was the best shot they had. Besides, there were two of them and one of him. They’d be fine.
It was hard to tell his age from where she was—he could have been anywhere from a bad thirty to a good fifty. He was wearing a checked shirt and jeans and a Rangers cap with the brim peaked and pulled down low over a pair of light brown eyes. His skin bore the pockmarks of teenage acne, but she could see now that he was handsome in spite of it.
His eyes swept past her and landed on Rebecca. Something pinched at the base of Cait’s spine. She knew that look, and she took it as a warning. The smell of his cologne invaded the air around her, something musky and synthetic that reminded her of junior high dances.
Cait pushed herself toward him. “Thanks for stopping. We’re in kind of a jam.”
His eyes were slow to find hers. “I guess that’s right. What’s happened—it break down?”
“We ran out of gas.”
“Out here, at this time of night?” He let out a low whistle. “That’s some poor planning, that is.”
“Yeah, well. I don’t suppose you have a spare gas can in your truck?”
“She runs on diesel,” he said, nodding toward the truck. His eyes trailed across Cait back to Rebecca. “There’s a gas station about fifteen miles up the road in Fort Sumner. I could give you ladies a ride.”
Rebecca stepped forward. “We don’t want to impose.” There was a smile Cait hadn’t seen on her face before, sugar-sweet and dimpled. “I’m sure you must be on a tight schedule. Maybe you have a cell phone we could use to call a tow truck?”
He shook his head. “No reception out here, and even if you could get it to call one, a tow truck likely wouldn’t make it out here for a good few hours. I run this route pretty frequent. It’s all just mom-and-pop mechanic shops, and they’re all tucked up in bed like good little boys and girls.” He shot her a wolfish smile. “Not like us night owls. I’m Scott, by the way.”
The two women looked at each other, questioning. The truck driver saw their hesitation and laughed. “I don’t bite, I promise. I’ll get you back here safe