Chapter 7
Flynn – Ten Years Earlier
I hit the brakes.What the fuck?
It was just past eleven o'clock on a cold November night, and I was driving home – or what counted as home, anyway – from my sorry-ass job at the gas station.
Up ahead, on the darkened country road, I could've sworn I just saw a girl dive into the roadside ditch. The ditch was big and empty, thanks to the recent dry spell. But that didn't mean it was a good place to hang out for kicks.
It was a Tuesday night, and the wind was cutting. I knew this, because I'd just spent the last two hours freezing my ass off when the station manager decided that someone –me– needed to sweep the parking lot by hand.
Dickhead.
If I didn't need the money, I would've told him where he could shove the broomandthe job. The lot had been clean enough already. But the guydidget off on making me do stupid shit, just because he could.
The place doubled as a convenience store, and by now, I knew the guy's little secret – he made a habit of helping himself to the beer and wine when he thought no one was looking.
Maybe that's why he'd sent me outside, so he could drink in peace.
But that wasn't the thing getting under my skin now. It was the thought of some girl hiding in the ditch. I frowned. Ithadbeen a girl, right? I hadn't seen her face, but the hair – too long and too pretty – didn't belong to any guyIknew.
And she'd been small, compared to me, anyway – probably not a kid, but not a grownup either.
Was she okay?
I rubbed at my eyes. Hell, wasIokay?
Or was I finally losing it?
Ithadbeen one of those days.
On instinct, I'd already yanked my rusty pickup off to the shoulder and cut the engine. Then, I cut the headlights, too.
I left the truck and started walking. By the time I reached the spot where I'd seen her, I was half-convinced that I'd seen nothing worth stopping for.
But then, I caught movement in the weeds and spotted her, hunkered down in the shadows.
And that's when I cursed.
I knew her.We went to the same school, but ran in different crowds – and not only because she was a junior and I was a senior.
It was Anna Fucking Burke, whose dad owned half the town, even the gas station where I worked. I'd never seen the guy, but I knew his reputation. He was a total dick, and famously protective when it came to his precious daughter.
If I were smart, I'd turn around and head straight back to the truck.
But like a dumb-ass, I didn’t. I moved closer to ask, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," she hissed. "Go away."
I squinted through the shadows. She wore a lacy short-sleeve shirt, cropped jeans, and little white sneakers. No coat.
I gave her a look. "Are you fucking crazy?"
"Yes," she whispered. "So go away."
I didn't budge. "Where's your ride?"
"I don't have one."
