One-Knight Stand (White Knights #3) - Julie Moffett Page 0,56

would wait for me, but I doubted it would be long.

When we got closer to the time, our route took us past the train station and onto a long gravel road that looped back toward the station. At precisely a quarter of midnight, we turned onto the gravel with Wally driving slowly and carefully on the unpaved road. There wasn’t another car in sight. I switched off the music, wanting to remain hyperaware of our surroundings. I swiveled my gaze back and forth, seeing nothing but darkness and the road illuminated in the glare of our headlights. The gravel crunched beneath the tires, occasionally popping up against the bottom of the car.

I began rehearsing what I was going to say to my father. I had so many questions, most of which had to take a back seat to my mother’s situation. I was working my way through my speech when the car suddenly lurched and the right front wheel dropped into a deep pothole that was invisible beneath the headlights.

“Crap!” Wally shouted as we jolted forward in our seats.

“Be careful,” I warned. “We can’t afford to get sidetracked this close to the rendezvous.”

Wally cursed under his breath as he slowed the car. Over the next minute, it became painfully clear the pothole had damaged the tire. The steering wheel began to wobble as the car listed to the right.

“I’ve got to pull over and check it out,” Wally said.

After stopping, he unbuckled his seat belt and retrieved a flashlight from the trunk to get a better look at the tire. I jumped out to help him. He flicked on the flashlight and shone it at the tire. We stood there staring at it. The tire was flat, and the sidewall was clearly damaged.

“We’re not driving anywhere on that tire,” he said.

I pressed my hands to my templates. “OMG. I can’t believe this. A flat tire, and we’re so close? Seriously?”

“Okay, let’s not panic,” Wally said. “Give Jax a call and have him pick us up. He and Kira should be the closest to us.”

I opened the door and grabbed the burner cell I’d left on my seat. I punched in the numbers for Jax’s phone and waited. Nothing happened. I looked down at the phone. “I don’t have any bars. How is that possible?”

Wally pulled out his phone and tried as well. “Me neither. No service. Apparently we’re in a dead zone.”

“How can we be in a dead zone?”

“Did it occur to you that your dad might have picked this location for exactly that reason, as it would cut off folks looking for him from their surveillance systems?” Wally asked.

It hadn’t, which frustrated me further. I kicked the gravel.

“Cursing at a flat tire and nonexistent cell service isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Wally said. “Let’s use our brains. That’s what we’re best at, right? How far are we in relation to the train station? Can we get there in time if we jog? Wait, let me rephrase that. Can we get there in time if you jog and I catch up later?”

I shook my head. “No way. We’re still several miles out. There’s no way I could make it on foot, even if I were a marathon runner, which, obviously, I’m not. We have to change this tire, and fast.”

“Okay, boss.” Wally turned the flashlight on me and I lifted my hand to deflect the blinding light from my eyes. “Have you ever changed a tire?”

“Wally! I don’t even have my driver’s license.”

He lowered the flashlight. “Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but neither have I.”

I swallowed the panic bubbling up in my throat. This couldn’t be happening. A flat tire would not sabotage the operation. “How hard can it be, Wally? I’m sure all it takes is a basic knowledge of physics and mechanical engineering, as well as common sense. It isn’t rocket science, right?”

“Actually, right now, I’m wishing it was. I know more about rocket science than changing a tire.”

I agreed with him, but we had to get the tire changed now. I took the flashlight from him and walked to the trunk. “You have a spare tire in here, right?”

“Of course I do,” Wally said, following me. “Obviously, I’ve never had to use it, or the jack, but I understand the scientific principles of how the process works. I’m sure you do, too.”

“In theory, yes.” I held the flashlight while Wally pulled the spare tire out of the trunk, and I grabbed