“That’s the best I can do until you let me call 911.”
He closed his eyes and breathed hard through his nostrils as though to stave off waves of pain. She pushed four Advil tablets into his mouth and uncapped a bottle of water. “Here. Drink.”
He raised his head to take a few sips. She poured too quickly and water dribbled from the corners of his lips. Without thinking, she wiped the trickles off his scruffy chin, off the C-shaped scar, then off his neck.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She sat back on her heels. “Shaw—”
“Forget it.”
“You don’t know what I was going to say.”
His eyes remained closed. “No, but that’s the first time you’ve addressed me by name, so I know I won’t like anything you say that starts that way.”
“Let me call for help.”
He merely shook his head.
“Please.”
“Turn out the light.”
“No.”
He opened his eyes. “You’re using up the…the batteries, and they’re all I’ve got.”
“Sure they are.”
He sighed. “I swear.”
He seemed close to passing out. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open and focused. His speech was slow, as though he had to search for each word, and holding a thought seemed increasingly difficult.
He repeated softly, “Turn out the light.”
Since she hadn’t found extra spotlight batteries anywhere in the car, she reasoned that he might be telling the truth. She switched off the spotlight, plunging them into darkness.
For a time neither said anything, then he murmured, “If I go under, will you take off?”
“In all honesty? I haven’t decided.”
“Sucks to be you, Jordie Bennett. Always torn between morality and self-interest.”
“Perhaps I should become more like you.”
“Amoral, you mean.”
“If you were amoral, I would be dead.”
“Greed has kept you alive, not morality.” He shifted his weight slightly and moaned. He panted through the pain like a woman in labor. After a minute, he said, “If I pass out, will you turn this place inside out looking for the car keys?”
“Probably. And my phone. What did you do with my phone?”
“It’s a secret. When did you find that propeller blade?”
“While I was washing.”
“I shouldn’t have been so nice to you.”