“I bumped my head on the steering wheel, that’s all.”
Now that she mentioned it, he could see a pink mark on her forehead. It didn’t look too bad, but head wounds could be tricky. For the moment, though, he was relieved.
“Are you okay?” Gretchen said.
He didn’t want to give her one more thing to worry about by mentioning the nagging pain in his side. He should still heal up pretty quickly, anyway, and it was just pain. There wasn’t anything she could do about it. He nodded.
“Keith?” Cooper said. “What about you?”
Keith seemed to still be wrestling his airbag down. When he finally got free of it and turned around, he was blinking blood out of his eyes. An ugly cut had opened up near his hairline. All the blinking made him look woozily confused, like he didn’t know what had happened to make Cooper ask after him.
“I’m all right,” Keith said eventually. He pointed ahead of him. “Airbag,” he added as an explanation.
Okay, it wasn’t just the blinking making him look woozily confused, then. He’d gotten
his cage seriously rattled. At least when Cooper had hit the barrier, the barrier hadn’t hit him back.
“That airbag did a number on you, I’m thinking,” Gretchen said. She patted Keith on the shoulder. “Maybe take five. I’m just going to go trade insurance info.”
Anyone who just heard her voice would think she was completely calm and lighthearted, but Cooper could see how her warm golden-brown eyes now had a distinctly predatory gleam. She had noticed everything he’d noticed about Keith, and she would have had the same first aid training Cooper had had. She knew all the stealthy dangers of head injuries, especially ones bad enough to leave the person stunned and confused. They wouldn’t be headed to a small town jail now—they’d be going straight to the closest hospital.
She gave Keith a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and then she lowered her voice and said to Cooper, “I’m going to unlock your door.”
This wasn’t even like his Christmas had come early. It was way more baffling than that, like someone had just walked up to him on the street and handed him a Christmas tree. He didn’t even know what to do with it.
“Um,” Cooper said. “Why?”
Keith was humming softly to himself, not listening to them. It sounded like a weird collage of half the songs the radio had given them before it had turned to nothing but weather reports and static. At least it meant he wouldn’t blow his top at Gretchen halfway freeing him.
Gretchen said, “I know it’s crazy, but if I don’t get out of the car now, they’re going to know something’s wrong. There’s a chance I’ll need backup, and Keith can’t give it to me right now. And he can’t protect you, either. If something goes wrong, I’m not leaving you exposed and helpless.”
It took him a second to understand her.
She didn’t think it was a coincidence that they’d gotten bumped that hard. She thought they were in serious trouble.
Well, if she thought so, he thought so too. He trusted her instincts.
But that didn’t mean he had to like this plan.
He shifted forward, ignoring the pulse of panic as the seatbelt put more pressure on his chest. “Gretchen, if you’re that worried, don’t get out of the car.”
“Who’s worried?” Keith muttered vaguely. He had one hand pressed to his head now. He tacked on a stream of gibberish that might have been him trying to remember the words to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Gretchen shook her head. “I need intel. And I recognize that car.”
Cooper craned his head to look back over his shoulder. They’d been hit by a heavy, old-model hulk painted an unusual dark teal color. He didn’t think he’d ever seen it before.
“Where did you see it?”
“It’s the black car.” Gretchen unbuckled her seatbelt. “From the gas station.”
“But it’s not black.”
“I know. I’m probably wrong. It’s insane. But I’m not going to take chances with your life, not again.” She put her hand on the door handle. “Keith, call 911. I want this place flooded with sirens.”
She got out of the car, and a second later, Cooper heard the muffled click of her unlocking his door.
She had just set him free. He still had the handcuffs and the leg shackles, but her attention was all on the two men she was approaching, and she was right, Keith wouldn’t be able to intervene to stop him, not right now. If he could reach his griffin, he could break through the chains, and he’d be home free.