that tomorrow they'd owe her twenty bucks.
He pulled the Mercedes over on the side of a dark road. Mission, she thought, but she wasn't sure. A crumbling streak of asphalt marched off into the night, scrubby trees and barbed wire on either side like scar tissue.
Her companion's name was Frankie. That's all she knew. The name made him seem younger, though he had to be at least a few years older than she.
He put the car in park and looked up at the stars. The Big Dipper, Orion, a bunch of other constellations she couldn't name.
"Pretty," she said.
He didn't respond.
"So . . . you bring many girls out here?" She meant it to sound teasing, but when he looked over, the darkness in his eyes scared her.
"A couple," he admitted.
She shifted away from him, just slightly. Already planning exit strategies. She would tell him she still had an early exam tomorrow. No . . . she'd already told him she was done for the semester. What else would work? That her friends were expecting a call, maybe.
"My father used to come here," he murmured.
"Your father?"
"He used to bring women here. It killed my mother."
This was getting creepy now. Whatever Julia had been reaching for, this was not it.
"I'm . . . sorry." Julia tried to put herself into mentor mode. It was the only kind of training she could fall back on. Get him to talk. Put him at ease. A lot of kids . . . people . . . came from really bad homes.
"I got a sister," he continued. "Thirteen. Looks just like my mom. Doesn't even remember her, though. Not even a fucking memory."
"I'm sure your sister . . . really loves you, Frankie."
He stared at his hands, corpse-pale in the moonlight. Julia could see the anger draining out of his shoulders. She thought the dangerous moment had passed.
"She hates me," Frankie muttered. "Get me arrested if she could. Sometimes I wish I could bring her here. Show her . . ."
His voice trailed off.
Julia didn't know what he was talking about. She just wanted out.
"Look . . ." She tried to sound upbeat, not at all afraid. "I told my friends I'd call them, you know? Would you mind - "
"You told them you'd call."
"Yeah. Kind of silly, but, ah . . . we had a bet."
He stared at her as if there were an insect crawling over her face, something poisonous. "A bet. About me?"
She tried to keep her mind on good things - next semester, the children she tutored, getting her own apartment and a part-time job, moving to the East Coast. All that was waiting for her, just a few miles back down the road.
"It was just a joke," she managed.
"You bet your friends I wouldn't be able to perform?"
"No! Nothing like that."
He slapped her. It surprised her more than it hurt, but she saw a flash of yellow. Her mouth stung.
"Stop it!" She used the same tone she'd used on her boyfriend whenever he got out of hand. "Take me back - right now."
"You don't give orders," he said. "You don't even look at me."
He grabbed her by her hair and opened his car door.
The next thing she knew, she was being dragged outside, the grass scratching her legs. She kicked helplessly at the gravel. Her scream sounded thin in the night air - no one around to hear it. He threw her down, straddled her. His hands closed around her throat.
"Shut up," he warned.
She couldn't breathe. He was a black shadow above her, moonlight glinting on blond hair. Her throat turned to cement, a fire building up inside her chest.
If I just don't fight, she decided. He will let me go.
He kept one hand around her throat as he ripped open her blouse, then began tugging at her skirt.
He will let me go.
She prayed those words, over and over, but her hands still clawed weakly at his face. The gravel and barbed wire dug into her back.
His hand tightened on her throat, and she wanted to tell him she would behave herself. She needed to breathe. If she could just get his attention, he would surely remember that.
She felt herself catching fire, as if her whole being were made of tissue paper. Her eyesight turned red, and the world faded into one small ember, slowly being smothered under Frankie's hand.
Chapter 11
ETCH ARRIVED AT THE CRIME SCENE HOPING TO FIND MAIA Lee dead.
Dispatch hadn't told him much over the radio. A