"What if no one comes?" I heard Ivy grumble to Elena. "I need a shower. I'm tired of squatting to pee."
I rolled my eyes. Of course that was what she was worried about. She really was all wit and bravado.
"Someone will," Elena replied, with more confidence than I knew she felt. "We just need one person with a phone."
As if summoned by her words, a car appeared in the distance. Small. Civilian. I ducked further behind the tree, my movements stiff. I watched Elena squeeze Ivy's hand once before stepping forward.
She forced herself to appear calm. Controlled. Just a woman whose car broke down, not someone who'd witnessed a killing, been kidnapped, then threatened before she pulled the trigger herself.
"Our van broke down," she called as the car slowed beside them. "Could we use your phone to call a family friend?"
The couple—middle-aged, with matching hiking shirts and concerned expressions—exchanged a glance before the woman nodded. They too were probably lost, or looking for a trailhead.
"Of course, honey," she said, handing over her smartphone. "Are you girls okay? You look a little… roughed up."
"Camping accident," Ivy supplied smoothly. "Wouldn't believe it, but my friend here was trying to make us breakfast in nothing but slippers. Thought she saw a bear and had us take off."
"Yeah, I lost my slippers while running, and then we weren't too keen on trying to find our camping spot again. We went back to where we parked the van, but it wouldn't start. And we may have left both our phones at the campsite," Elena explained, surprising me with their quick thinking.
"Do you want us to help you find your campsite? We can help?" The woman was quick to offer, but Elena shook her head.
"No, we'll just call our friend, he's not too far away and he can come help us. You look like you've got plans today, and we'd rather he come anyway. He's a mechanic so he'll get us back on the road again too," Elena assured her.
They bought it without question to my surprise. From my hiding spot, I could see the genuine concern on the woman's face. These people had no idea what they'd stumbled into, what kind of darkness they'd brushed against by stopping to help us. It never came without a cost in my world normally.
We'd all need to be grateful right now.
Elena dialed Roman's number quickly when the woman handed her phone over. When she spoke, her voice was light and casual, betraying none of the terror we'd lived through.
"Roman? It's Elena," she said. "We're in a bit of a pickle. Jackson said you were off today, and we're hoping you can come get us. Our van broke down too, so bring your tools."
There was a pause, and I knew Roman was processing the code, whilst probably trying to figure out what she meant by tools. If he brought weapons and men, so be it.
Elena asked the couple for the road name, then relayed it to Roman.
"Thanks," she said before hanging up, and I knew Roman would already be on the way.
She handed the phone back with a smile that looked painfully forced. "Thank you so much. Our friend is on his way."
The couple offered to stay, but Ivy flashed them her most dazzling smile. "We're good. He'll be here soon. You two look like you've got somewhere to be."
"Camping," the woman said, smiling back. "Anniversary trip."
Elena and Ivy congratulated them like we weren't standing in the aftermath of blood and bullets. Like I wasn't hiding with a gunshot wound behind a tree twenty feet away. Like we hadn't left a body.
They drove off with cheerful waves, and I watched until their car disappeared around a bend. Only then did I emerge from my hiding place, moving with the careful steps of someone trying not to aggravate an injury.
"Roman's coming," Elena told me, moving to support my weight again. "just under an hour, he said."
I nodded, meeting her eyes. Something unspoken passed between us—an acknowledgment of what we'd survived together, of how it had changed us.
"You did good," I murmured, my voice low enough that Ivy, who had wandered a few steps away to keep watch, couldn't hear. "Both of you."
"Hey, we're in this together." Elena smiled.
She was right. We were in this mess together. And honestly, I was grateful it was the pair of them. They'd proved more useful than many in such situations.
Not to mention I owed Elena my life now.
