Deserted - Auctioned

“Of course we will.”

“I also hope I’ll be able to interfere when you try to teach them what bugs and rodents are edible.”

Darius scoffed, and they passed another tourist spot where people were taking pictures of rocks. “Camping can’t be just about s’mores.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ll prove that this weekend,” Gray joked.

“True.”

They arrived at their campsite some twenty minutes later and went through the registration right away. Not many people had come this far yet; it was still early, and it was only Thursday. People were working. But a handful of trucks and cars were parked in the visitors lot, and Darius and Gray weren’t the only ones with an ATV.

Massive rock formations shielded part of the area, and one guy was climbing up the smooth, rounded boulders with his kid.

There were signs pointing in the direction of restrooms, water, the lot for RVs, and those traveling with tents.

They continued toward their designated spot, and they passed some cheerful campers along the way. Gray knew the type. Having worked at Mom’s inn for years, he could spot a waver coming from a mile away. Hikers and boat people always wanted to wave.

In the far back, Darius pulled in next to another truck. Gray had already caught sight of a picnic table and a fire pit, so he was ready to get cracking. At this point, he was fucking starving.

Darius seemed to be staring at something, though.

Gray followed his gaze out his own window and to the truck next to them. “What’re you looking at?”

“The campers next to us.”

But they could barely see them. The truck was blocking the view. Gray saw an older man with shaggy hair and a green ball cap that had seen better days. He couldn’t see what the man was doing.

So, Gray got out and grabbed their tent from the back. He’d been assured it was a state-of-the-art pop-up tent that took almost no time to assemble.

Darius joined him shortly after, and they got the four-man tent up relatively quickly. It was Gray who had asked if they could pack a larger tent, just in case they’d have to bring Jackie back here.

“I should go introduce myself next door,” Darius said, wiping his forehead. “Can you get a fire started? I left two bags of firewood in the bed of the truck.”

“Yeah, sure.” Gray squinted at Darius, confused. “Since when do you care about neighbors?”

“If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” Darius replied and lit up a smoke. “I’ve been listening to the dad, and I saw the bumper stickers on the back of their truck.” He exhaled some smoke and glanced over his shoulder. “It’s the kind of family that travels across the country from campground to campground. Always chatty fuckers with a million stories to share.” He quirked a wry smile at Gray. “Either you spend a weekend hiding from them and become ‘the strange fella who didn’t say much,’ or you come up with your own story and become nothing but a fond memory from the time they visited Joshua Tree.”

Darius’s ability to profile and cover tracks would never cease to amaze Gray. It made sense that once they had freed Jackie, the authorities would circle the area and ask if anyone had seen anything suspicious.

“You’re brilliant. Go do your thing,” Gray said, grabbing one of the bags of firewood from the truck. “I’ll listen in and fix us some food.”

It felt hotter than seventy degrees, possibly because there was no wind whatsoever, so the first thing Gray did was shed his hoodie. Then he got started on the fire and heard Darius strike up a random conversation about the other man’s truck.

Said man practically exploded with excitement and talked Darius’s ear off.

While waiting for the fire to settle, Gray stowed their bags in the tent and rolled out their camping mats. He didn’t know if they were spending the night here or out in the bush, but he couldn’t picture them hauling the mats with them on the ATV. Minimal gear, Darius had said. And he’d also called camping mats a modern luxury…

“I’m Hank, by the way,” Gray heard the other man say. “My wife and daughter are out hiking, so it’s just me and my boy Max here.”

“Good to meet you, Hank. I’m James,” Darius replied. He’d put a hint of a drawl in his voice that was sexy as fuck. “Your first time in the park?”

“Nah, fifth year in the row,” Hank said proudly. “You? You have a boy with you too, don’t you?”

Gray stifled a laugh and opened one of the coolers to find the hot dogs.

“My nephew.” Darius’s response made Gray snort under his breath. “My brother and sister-in-law are city folk, and someone’s gotta teach the poor kid to do somethin’ other than play video games.”

“I hear ya,” Hank agreed. “It’s all they do these days if we don’t drag ’em out every now and then.”