Page 13 of The Cauldronball Run
"Pull over," she said, her voice deadly quiet.
"What?"J.J.glanced at her, and she stared at those tusks that had been distracting her earlier.Now they just looked like evidence of how dangerous he could be when she strangled him.
"Pull over.Now."
J.J.looked at her, then at the rearview mirror showing the other vehicles racing ahead toward the Holland Tunnel like they were fleeing the scene of a crime.Which, she was starting to realize, they probably were.
"Farrah, we can't stop right now.The patient needs—"
"The patient is a fucking mannequin."The words exploded out of her with enough force to rattle the ambulance windows."Pull this ambulance over right now, or I'm calling 911 to report a kidnapping in progress."
J.J.'s massive shoulders sagged, and she could see the exact moment his elaborate lie collapsed around him.He guided the ambulance to the curb on a side street off 31st Street, putting it in park but leaving the engine running.When he turned to face her in the confined space of the cab, his expression was a mixture of guilt and desperation that made her want to simultaneously comfort him and commit justifiable homicide.
Focus, Farrah.Don't let those puppy dog eyes and massive shoulders distract you from the fact that he just made you an accessory to whatever this is.
"I can explain," he said, his voice rumbling through the small space between them.
"You better start talking, and it better be good."She could feel her magic crackling under her skin, responding to her anger and the proximity to his supernatural presence."Because right now, it looks like you just recruited me for the world's most elaborate fraud scheme."
"It's not fraud.Not exactly."J.J.ran a hand through his dark hair, and she was momentarily distracted by the way his muscles flexed."Look, there's no patient.But the job is real, and I really do need a driving partner."
Farrah glared at him, taking in the careful way he held himself even while sitting down, like he was trying to take up less space than his massive frame actually required.His tusks caught the light from the streetlamps, and she could see the genuine distress in his dark eyes.
He's telling the truth about being desperate.I can feel it radiating off him like heat from a furnace.
"What kind of job requires a fake patient?"
"The kind that pays fifteen thousand gold."J.J.'s voice carried raw honesty that made her chest tight."Farrah, I’ve got a lot of debt and no way else to pay it off.I work three jobs just to stay above water, and I'm still drowning.This is my one shot at getting my life back."
"What exactly is 'this'?"she asked.
J.J.looked toward the distant lights of the other vehicles heading for the tunnel, his jaw tight."The Cauldronball Run.It's an underground race from New York to Los Angeles and back again.The winner gets a quarter of a million gold."
An illegal street race.
"You recruited me for criminal activity," she said, her voice flat with disbelief."You made me an accessory to federal crimes without my consent."
"I recruited you because I need someone with medical credentials to make the cover story believable."J.J.leaned forward slightly.The movement brought him closer to her in the confined space, and it got hard to breathe all of a sudden."And because I can't drive for five days straight without sleep.I need someone to share driving shifts."
"So you lied to me."The betrayal stung worse than she'd expected.
"I told you it was unconventional medical transport."She could hear the guilt in his voice."Technically, we are transporting medical equipment across the country."
Technically.Technically, Derek wasn't cheating on me, he was just "networking" with his pants off.
"You made me complicit in whatever this is without giving me the information to make an informed decision," she said, her anger building like steam in a pressure cooker."That's not consent, that's manipulation."
"You can still consent now."J.J.'s voice dropped."The offer is real.Fifteen thousand gold, five days, Los Angeles to New York and back again.All you have to do help me win this race is drive."
"By breaking the law?”
"By driving really fast and not getting caught."
Farrah looked at him.His eyes were tired, desperate and completely honest about what he was asking her to do.
He's not Derek.Derek would have kept lying and gaslighting.This guy just told me the truth and asked me to choose.
"Why me?You could have chosen someone who actually wanted to break the law."
