Page 13 of Into the Shadows

“Fuck!” I slam my hand on the dash. Kyle’s mouth tightens while his eyes stay focused on the road. “Get us out of here, Kyle.”

He nods, pressing on the gas to gain some distance. I haveno idea what the hell is going on, but we can use the explosion to our advantage.

Two more turns later, and I think we’ve lost the SUVs. Kyle has continued to keep up our speed. We’re not taking any chances.

“Anything?” I ask the car as a whole. We’ve all been watching out the back, so if I haven’t seen anything, they probably haven’t either.

“Nothing,” Oscar confirms.

A tiny spark of hope shines in my chest.

Then there’s a deafening boom, and the world turns upside down before everything goes dark.

Chapter 7

Lottie

Isling my bag over my shoulder and poke my head around G's office doorway. “I’m going to get lunch with Noah and Nellie. Do you want me to bring something back for you?”

She barely glances at me. “No, don't worry about me. You go have fun with them.”

I say a quick goodbye and then head to the garage to get in my car. The drive over to the diner is quick, and as usual, when I park my car, a smile quirks up the side of my mouth.

After I graduated college, I started working at the diner again to supplement my income while I got my podcast off the ground. It was both a sad and a happy day when I had to quit because I was making enough money to become a full-time podcaster.

There are times I miss the frantic energy of the restaurant. Mabel will call me randomly when she needs an extra set of hands. It doesn't happen very often, so I usually say yes when it does.

Noah and Nellie aren't here yet, so I grab a table and order a soda. Behind me, the gossip crew, led by Cheryl Laskey, is infull swing. With my back to them, I can sit and listen while I wait for Noah and Nellie to arrive.

“Did you hear little Timmy Keets was back in the hospital again?”

“Yes, poor kid. I hope they figure out what’s going on with him.”

“It’s probably living next to the Housemans that’s making him sick.”

“What do the Housemans have to do with it?”

“They let those chickens roam around free! They make an awful racket, I tell you what.”

“I’m not sure that would make a child get sick. Besides, I thought Timmy just had strep throat again, and they were looking to get his tonsils out.”

I start to laugh and have to bite my cheek to keep from making a noise. If I laughed at them, they would be pissed at me, and I refuse to be on the gossip crew’s bad side.

Noah and Nellie walk into the diner a few minutes later with matching smiles.

“Sorry, we're a little late. We got distracted,” Nellie says, her bright blue eyes sparkling. She’s turned into a beautiful and brilliant teenager. I stand to give them both a big squeeze before sitting back in the booth. Noah and Nellie sit across from me, telling me about how they were running an experiment this morning and lost all track of time.

After getting bullied in school for being autistic, they started homeschooling Nellie. Now, she’s grades above her age level and has started taking a few classes at the community college in Westlake. Their other daughter, Mirabelle, is six and in kindergarten. Where Nellie struggled to be in a classroom, Mirabelle thrives there. She’s a spitfire, just like her mom.

“How's everything with you?” Noah asks after our waitress takes our order.

“Fine. I still haven’t landed on my next case for thepodcast. It’s been months, and I haven’t found one that’s piqued my interest.”

“Want me to do some research?” Nellie offers.

“Nah, I’ll find one eventually. Thank you for offering.”

“It’s good for you to take some time off. You’ve been running nonstop for a while.”

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