Page 2 of Road Trip
“Who are you?” I demanded, then felt something crunch in my mouth. Was that a tooth? I spit onto the ground and shone the flashlight on the blood and thankfully it was just gravel. “Son of a beehive,” I spit out.
The girl in front of me laughed. “I’d be using a helluva lot stronger words if I’d just had the shit kicked out of me.”
I put the light back on her and she cringed, covering her face a bit.
“Would you get that thing out of my eyes and let me help you?”
“Why are you here?” I shouted. I felt again for my weapon, knowing at the same time I wouldn’t find it.
“Because I stopped to pee. Duh. Now put that down. I’m not going to hurt you, you big lug!” She walked toward me with her hands out.
I stepped back.
“DUDE! I am not going to fucking hurt you! The guys who did this just took off, all right? I’m just going to look at your head, okay? You’re bleeding.”
She stepped cautiously toward me. I kept the flashlight on her, still not trusting her. Her tiny hand touched my shoulder as she stepped behind me. She was so small, I might have mistaken her for a young teenager, but on closer examination, I could see faint lines around her mouth. She had huge brown eyes. Her brow furrowed deeply with concern. Her touch wasn’t light. She’d obviously been in situations like this before. Her hand touched the back of my head and I cried out.
“Whoa, what is that smell?”
“You almost became your own private Burning Man festival.”
“I what? They hit me with something. I went to get out of my car and they rushed me. I got hit in the head, and then I don’t know…”
She finished walking around me and tried to take the flashlight from me. I yanked my arm away, and she stepped back, her eyes wide.
“It’s gasoline. They were going to—”
“Whoa,” was all I could say. I pulled the Velcro off my vest, grateful they hadn’t gotten it off me as it protected me somewhat from their blows. My thigh and butt were stinging, though, as if the knife one of them had connected. My whole body screamed as I pulled my shirt off over my head.
“I’ve got first aid stuff in my car. You need help, dude. You’re bleeding back here,” she said as she gently pressed the back of my head, “and your pants are ripped—”
“They got in a couple of cuts.” I looked around the area to see if they’d left anything, but it was all gone. “Crumb! They got everything. My belt, my keys, my badge.” Gasoline. Holy Mother, they were going to burn me alive…
“Come on, Officer,” she said in a gentle tone as if she were talking to an injured child. “Let me get you to my car. They could come back.”
She’d somehow managed to catch my weight and was guiding me over to the passenger side of her car. I started to panic, but then she was talking again and the sound of her voice soothed me.
“My name is Abra Mora. I’m not going to hurt you. Let’s just sit you down, okay?”
Her voice was so sweet. It allowed me to let some of the tension go, but then I got the shakes so bad she had to support me almost completely. Somehow she got me to her car, although she barely came up to my shoulder. Something told me she could handle tense situations. There was an air of experience about her. She got the door open and helped me maneuver into the low seat, using her other hand to guide my head in so I wouldn’t smack it.
“Is there someone else I should call, Officer—”
“Graham. Kelly Graham. If you called nine-one-one, the CHP will respond. Do you know where we are?”
“The Buttonwillow rest area. I don’t know what’s around here, though.”
“Thank God you pulled in,” I murmured. “I can’t—”
“Yeah. No, I’m glad, too. Were you on duty?”
“No. I left work at ten and hit the road. I can’t believe…”
“Where are you from?” she asked when I couldn’t quite get the words out, squatting down in front of me. She looked up at me, worry still creasing her forehead. The light from her dome light was hitting her just right so I could get a good look at her face. She was absolutely gorgeous. Not my usual type, I guess. I didn’t know I had one, but she was definitely not a woman who would have caught my eye normally. Heavily tattooed, small-boned.Her face was angelic, but like a dark angel. I blinked hard a couple of times, starting to wonder if I was...
