“F-fifteen. ”
“Just barely, I’ll bet. ” He shook his head. “Running away from home. I’d bet on that, too. ” His voice softened. “That’s not a road you want to take, kids. Speaking from experience, it is not the road at all. ”
Derek sidled closer, gaze fixed on the man, so intent I don’t think he heard a word the guy said. I slid my hand into my pocket, fingertips touching my knife, not taking it out, just reminding myself it was there, that I wasn’t as helpless as I felt.
I caught Derek’s attention, not sure he’d notice, but he did, nodding absently, letting me know he was still in control.
The man continued, “Whatever is going on at home, it’s not as bad as you think. ”
I lifted my gaze to his. “And if it is?”
A pause, then a slow, sad nod. “All right. Maybe that’s so. It happens, more than you think, but there are other ways to deal with it. Places you can go. People who can help. ”
“We’re fine,” Derek said, his voice a low rumble.
The man shook his head. “You’re not fine, son. You’re, what, seventeen? On the run? Catching rides in the back of vans?”
“We’re fine. ” Derek’s rumble had gone lower, a growl now. He cleared his throat and eased back. “We appreciate your concern, sir. ”
“Do you, son? Do you really?” He shook his head. “I’m going to take you both inside and get you a hot meal. Then I’ll make some calls. Find you a place to stay. ”
“We can’t—” I began.
“No one’s going to send you home. Now come on. ” His hand tightened on my shoulder.
Derek stepped forward. “Sorry, sir, but we can’t do that. ”
“Yes, you can. ?
?
Derek waved for me to come over to him. I took a step. The man’s hand tightened more.
“Let her go. ” The growl had returned to Derek’s voice.
“No, son. I won’t hurt your friend, but I’m going to take her inside and call someone who can help. I’m hoping you’ll come with us, but that’s your choice. ”
“Go,” I whispered, low enough that only Derek could hear. “I’ll catch up. ”
I was sure he’d heard, but he pretended not to.
“I’m going to ask you again, sir. Let her go. ”
“That sounds an awful lot like a threat, son. You’re a big boy, but you don’t want to take on a guy who’s been in construction for twenty years and in more fights than he cares to admit to. I don’t want to hurt you—”
Derek sprang, lightning fast. He had his arm around the man’s throat before the guy even got his fists up. As he yanked the man down in a headlock, I stumbled out of the way, my hand flying from my pocket, knife sailing to the ground. The man stared at it. I scooped it up and put it back in my pocket.
“We don’t want to hurt you either,” Derek said. “But you can see”—he tightened his grip until the man’s eyes bugged—“that I could. I know you’re trying to help us, but you don’t understand the situation. ”
Derek looked at me. “Run back to the van. Grab rope and some rags. ”
I took off.
Thirty-two
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, WE were a mile from the truck stop, trudging through a field. Ahead was a road that ran alongside the highway.
“You don’t think we did the right thing,” Derek said.
I shrugged.
“I didn’t tie him too tight. He’ll get out in an hour, probably less, and I left his cell phone right there, in case there’s any problem. ”
I nodded. We walked another fifty feet.
“What would you have done?” he asked.
“You know my plan. It’s the one you pretended not to hear. ”
We reached the roadside before he answered. “Yeah, okay. I heard. But it didn’t look to me like he was going to give you a chance to escape. I knew I could take him down safely, without hurting him, before things got worse. And if I can do that, then that’s the choice I’m going to make. It’s how our dad taught us to handle situations like that. ”
I considered it, then nodded. “You’re right. ”
He looked surprised.
“I don’t have experience with this stuff, these kinds of decisions,” I said. “With the girl in the alley or the Edison Group, the answer was easy. If someone’s trying to hurt us, we have every right to strike back. It’s just…”
“That guy was trying to help a couple of runaways. He didn’t deserve to end up bound and gagged. ”
I nodded.
“Even someone like that is a threat, Chloe. Whether he means to be or not. We had to get away or his ‘help’ would have landed us back with the Edison Group. ”
“I know. ”
We moved to the side of the road for a passing car, tensing as it went by, making sure the brake lights didn’t flash, the car didn’t slow. It wouldn’t matter if the driver was a psycho trying to abduct us or a grandmother offering us a lift. We had to react the same way. Run. And if we couldn’t run, fight.
The car continued, speed unchecked.
“We can’t trust anyone now,” I murmured, “even the good guys. ”
“Yeah. Sucks, doesn’t it?”
It did.
We continued down back roads running roughly parallel to the highway. Judging by how long we’d been in the van, Derek figured we had to be close to the next town with a bus stop, but the truth was that we had no idea. However far it was, we had to walk it—we weren’t about to hitch another ride.
One problem with our quiet country stroll was the dogs. Those tied up launched into a barking frenzy when they caught a whiff of Derek. No one seemed concerned, though—out here, I guess there were so few passersby that dogs did tend to bark at them, and owners ignored it.
However, being in the country also meant that a lot of those dogs weren’t chained. More than one came charging down a driveway. Eventually, our reaction became automatic. At the first note of a bark, we’d stop walking. I’d move behind Derek. He’d stand his ground and wait. Once the dog got within eye contact range, it would take one good look at Derek and run, yelping, for safety.
“Do they always back down like that?” I asked as we watched a yellow Lab race back home, tail between its legs.
“Depends on the dog. Big country dogs like these? Yeah. It’s the fancy city ones that give me trouble. Overbred, Dad says. Makes them skittish and screws up their wiring. I had a Chihuahua attack me last year. ” He showed me a faint scar on his hand. “Took a good chunk out. ”
I sputtered a laugh. “A Chihuahua?”
“Hey, that thing was more vicious than a pit bull. I was at a park with Simon, kicking around a ball. All of a sudden, this little rat dog comes tearing out of nowhere, jumps up, and clamps down on my hand. Wouldn’t let go. I’m shaking it, and the owner’s yelling at me not to hurt little Tito. I finally get the dog off. I’m bleeding all over the place and the guy never even apologizes. ”
“He didn’t think it was strange? His dog attacking you like that?”
“Nah. He said the soccer ball must have provoked it, and we needed to be more careful. When strange stuff happens, people come up with their own explanations. ”
I told him about the girl in the alley, accusing Tori of tasering her.