Chapter 1
Anna Marie Lopez banged her hand on the steering wheel of her pickup truck in frustration. If it wasn’t for bad luck, she wouldn’t have any luck at all. Her truck had been making strange noises for the last forty or fifty miles but since she was on a long stretch of deserted highway in Arizona she had kept on driving. Finally it had given out completely, refusing to move another inch. With a loud cough and a big puff of steam, it had stopped, and she had no choice but to pull over to the shoulder of the road.
She grabbed her backpack that contained her wallet and some money. Her suitcase was much too heavy. She would have to find a tow truck and come back. She opened the door and stepped out of the truck. The heat hit her in the face like a brick wall.
She glanced a few feet in front of her and saw a sign. The welcome sign read “Welcome to Shady Grove. Population 453.” Great. Anna wasn’t fond of small towns. She hadn’t had a definite plan in mind when she ran from her abusive boyfriend. Her goal had been to lose herself in the millions of people running around any large city she could get to. Small towns meant everyone was in your business and you had no privacy. All she wanted was to finally be free again.
She could see the paved road leading to town was straight ahead and there were buildings in the far distance. She put her long black hair up in a ponytail, threw on her white shades on, and got ready to walk. The hot sun shining down on her. She hadn’t even moved yet and she already felt sweaty. She looked down at her pink, short, flared skirt and short-sleeved white silk blouse. At least she was wearing white sandals instead of heels. She’d find a garage and hopefully her truck wouldn’t cost her all her money to fix and she would be out of here as soon as she could.
She hadn’t walked far when she heard a car behind her and she tensed up, ready to run. She made sure she moved to the side of the road so she wouldn’t get hit. She kept walking and looking straight ahead when she heard a deep male voice yell out at her.
“Need a ride, ma’am?”
“No, thanks. I can walk,” she replied without looking at the man talking. The last thing she wanted to do was get friendly with the locals. If possible, she wanted to remain anonymous and unnoticed until she got out of here.
“It’s pretty hot today, almost a hundred,” said the voice patiently. “I can take you to Murphy’s Garage in town. My older brothers and I own it. It’s about five or six miles out.”
Anna stopped and looked at the car. It was a shiny black medium-sized car. She put a hand over her eyes so she could block out the sunlight and see the driver. He had short, spiky, dark brown hair and dark black sunglasses on. He looked like he was in his late twenties. He was dressed in faded jeans and a football T-shirt. None of Santiago’s men would wear anything like that. Maybe he was telling her the truth and just wanted to be helpful.
“I don’t usually take rides from strangers. How do I know you’re not a Michael Myers wannabe?”
The man laughed. It was a rich deep laugh and she almost smiled. Almost. Instead she put a hand on her hip and waited for his answer. She really wasn’t that scared. She knew how to take care of herself if he tried something funny with her.
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nbsp; He reached for something on his sun visor and pulled out a license before handing it to her. She stepped closer to the car and took it out of his hand. It was an Arizona state license. Victor Murphy. Age thirty.
She handed it back to him and gave him a suspicious look. “What good will it do me to know your name if you take me to the desert and kill me?”
“Boy, you are a suspicious gal.” He gave her an amused smile, looking over the fancy way she was dressed. “Look, you can see the town from here. I swear not to touch you in the ten minutes it will take us to drive there. You look very pretty but not prepared for a long walk in a hundred-degree temp.”
Anna sighed. He had a point. It was really hot and she was already thirsty. She went around and got in the passenger side. The car looked neat and clean inside.
Victor noticed her looking around the car. “It’s newly restored and my pride and joy. A 1964 classic Chevy Nova. See, I wouldn’t kill you and get blood on my precious baby.”
Anna smiled and relaxed a little in the seat. “Well at least it has air conditioning for being so old.”
“Old?” he sputtered with mock anger. “It is a classic and not old. Don’t listen to her, baby,” he said, playfully patting the dashboard gently.
Anna rolled her eyes and muttered. “Men.”
As they got closer to the town she saw it had a country charm to it. A lot of the buildings were wooden instead of concrete. Benches, trees, and flowerpots lined the streets, giving it a welcoming feel. They drove through the main street, and a few people walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the summer day. Businesses were lined up along the street and it was so different from a big city. Anna found the place enchanting. She saw a couple of women pushing baby strollers and talking to each other. “It’s cute.”
“Who me? I know I’ve been told that a time or two,” Victor said smugly as he drove.
Anna laughed. It had been a while since she had felt like laughing and she had to admit it felt good. “The town, silly.”
She looked over at her rescuer and took a good look at him. He was a muscular man with wide shoulders. He looked like a football player. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his dark sunglasses but she would guess they were brown. “You’re okay, too.”
“Gee thanks. My head might just swell so take it easy with the compliments okay,” he answered with an amused chuckle. “Our garage is on the edge of town about half a mile down the road. Blake is the oldest, then Sam, then me. They do the mechanic work and I do the body work. They are very good and I’m sure they can get you back on the road again.”
“Did you restore this car with your brothers?” she asked with curiosity. “Since you’re not an axe murderer I can admit it is a nice looking car.”
“I did the body work, that’s what I like to do at the shop. I like taking an old forgotten car and making it look good again. Blake and Sam did the mechanics. Took us six months but it was worth it. They don’t have the appreciation for classic cars like I do. They drive plain boring pickup trucks,” Victor said proudly. “See that big gray building ahead? That is Murphy’s garage, our shop.”
Victor pulled up to the building and parked on the side and out of the way. He turned the car off and Anna got out of the car, taking a look around. The building was large and metal with huge garage doors that were wide open. A big white sign with red letters above the door said Murphy’s Garage. She could hear a radio playing music and the clanking sound of metal coming from inside the garage.
“Hey, bro.” Victor walked over to the open bay doors and yelled loudly over the music. “You have a customer.”