Page 10

W e’re driving out to goddamn Hastings, and I have to pee .

It’s been a good hour—oh my god, I hope Jax doesn’t notice his keys have gone missing—and I’m still following Evan. I hang back as far as I can on the dark rural highway without losing him. But the worst part is, it’s not like Beth-the-ghost gave me time to get ready for a road trip. I am miserable .

Add this to another mark in the column for Cons to being a psychic .

So far the other column looks pretty empty .

He turns off the highway ahead of me, and I push down on the accelerator. I can’t miss which way he goes off the exit. Don’t crash, Ash. Jax will never get over it if you steal his car and crash it and plant an unwanted kiss on his cheek all in the same evening. Good grief. I’m a mess .

But I’m also Beth’s one chance at justice .

He turns to the right, and I take my foot off the gas, slowing down. His tail lights disappear for a second as he turns, and I snap off my own headlights. There are no other cars. We drive past a quiet gas station and then there’s nothing but forest and farmland around us. There’s no way he won’t notice me following him if I don’t fall back. But there are no street lamps out here, and it is terrifyingly dark outside the car. I can barely see the white reflector strips along the side of the road .

My fingers tighten around the steering wheel, and I sit forward, like a grandma, peering out my windshield. I’m anxious that I’m going to lose him and also worried I’m about to crash .

In fact, I drive right past him before catching the shine of headlights to my right. He’s making his way down a narrow access road at the edge of a farm. My breath catches in my chest as I pull over to the right, the wheels catching gravel at the side of the road. The noise makes me bite down hard on my lip as I cut the engine. Hopefully he hasn’t stopped yet and can’t hear me over the sound of his own engine .

I reach up and turn off the dome light, then ease my car door open and shut it so quietly behind me, it doesn’t latch. Then I take my cell phone out of my pocket, making sure it’s on silent before I text my sister .

I don’t want her to go all overprotective on me, but I’m not a complete idiot, either .

Still, I feel like I’m more idiot than not as I creep into the woods. I stay back from the access road as I pick my way through the woods. It takes me time to make my way through the trees, tripping over vines as my eyes slowly adjust to the deep darkness under the tree canopy .

Evan’s truck is parked with his lights illuminating the woods. He’s dragging something wrapped in a tarp out of the woods. He must intend to move Beth’s body somewhere he’s sure no one will ever find it .

I open my cell phone and call 9-1-1, hunkering down low behind a tree to make sure the illumination from my screen isn’t visible .

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” God damn, that 9-1-1 operator’s voice is loud in the still of the nighttime forest .

I quickly whisper my location and my situation. It’s going to be hard to explain how I ended up out here, but I’m not interested in facing Evan solo. I’m going to give the cops this info, and then I’m going to pick my way back out of the woods .

“Stay on the line—” the 9-1-1 operator is saying when I hear the sound of a foot breaking a branch, very near me .

I drop the phone as I dive to my right, just as Evan pops up in front of me. He has a shovel in his hand, and he’s breathing hard .

“Who the hell are you?” he demands .

“A friend of Beth’s,” I say, and fury catches in his eyes .

He drives the shovel down at my head, but I’m up and launching myself at him. He’s surprised by my assault, and his arms windmill as I drive myself into him. He’s bigger than me, and I feel how weak my arms are when I slam into him, driving him to the ground. My muscle memory remembers me being tougher. I scramble desperately up to put some space between us .

In the fall, he’s dropped the shovel. It’s just out of his reach and he flips over, grabbing for it. I’m still tough enough to fight him for it. When I dive to grab it, I trip over him, my knee landing heavily on his back. He tries to throw me off him, but my fingers clasp around the smooth wooden shaft. I yank at it, and he tries to get it from me, and it slams into his head .

He falls back, groaning .

I scramble up, and realize for the first time that Beth is here, her fingers wrapped around his. She kept him from getting a grip on the shovel .

Her eyes meet mine, eerie in the night .

“Thanks,” she mouths .

I scramble away from Evan, heading toward her body. I don’t dare turn my back on him for long. As soon as I reach the tarp, I turn back, keeping an eye on him as he groans on the ground .

I have to help her move on from the world if she doesn’t go on her own, now that Evan has been connected to her murder. I don’t want to touch the blue tarp, but I grit my teeth and tweak it aside .

Beth buries her face in her hands, as if it’s too much to bear. My stomach heaves and I try to focus, pulling the cuff of my long-sleeved t-shirt over my hand to keep from leaving fingerprints. I catch a flash of hot pink, and I grab the pencil looped through one of the loops on the side of her backpack. No one will miss this .

I quickly straighten up, looking back toward where Evan is still groaning on the ground .

In the distance, I hear sirens .

His night’s about to get a whole lot worse .

But mine isn’t going to be a blast, either .