Page 80 of Dark Roads
“I know you want to solve Amber’s case, but I have to protect Hailey.”
“What about you? Who’s looking out for you?”
“My parents found a lawyer.” He leaned back in his chair, wincing. His ice pack had melted, the blue gel turned slushy. She found a fresh one in the freezer and handed it to him.
“Hailey has your cell phone,” he said. “I was going to give it back.”
So it had been Hailey. Beth nodded. “I found it this morning.”
“That’s good.” He let out his breath. “She took my bike, soshe’s getting around. She’ll circle back to me when she thinks it’s safe. She was under the truck when I got beat up.”
Beth tried to imagine how Hailey had felt watching Vaughn hurt Jonny. She must have been out of her mind with anger and fear. Beth felt that way just at the idea.
“I’m glad she didn’t do something crazy.”
“Yeah. I was scared she was going to kill Vaughn.” He pushed himself up from the chair and hobbled over to the couch, dry-swallowed a couple pills from a bottle on the coffee table. Then he lay down, lifting his legs onto a cushion with a groan. “Goddamn, that hurts.”
She picked up the soup and set it on the coffee table. His eyes were drifting shut. The new ice pack was pressed to his ribs. “Sorry I’m being rude,” he mumbled. “Tired.”
“It’s okay.” She found a knit throw on the chair and draped it over him. His mouth lifted in a faint smile, his free hand reaching up to graze hers. A soft thank-you.
“Get some rest,” she whispered.
She sat in the armchair, staring at the bottle of pills on the coffee table. His breathing deepened. She studied the faint patterns of mottled green and blue across his rib cage. Knuckles, the hard edge of the boot, a square tread. Vaughn had kicked and stomped a man handcuffed on the ground.
She imagined Vaughn hitting her sister. She wouldn’t have stood a chance. No woman would, against that strength. The only way to fight back was to beat Vaughn through trickery.
She needed to get him alone.
Beth left Jonny’s house before he woke up, and that night at the campsite she didn’t text him. She’d made it clear she was on his side. The rest was up to him. In case Hailey came through the campground again, Beth left water and granola bars onthe picnic table. Curled up on her backseat, she listened for footsteps, but the only creatures she could hear stirring were crickets and frogs.
In the morning, she checked her messages. Jonny still hadn’t texted. Stubborn boys and their misplaced heroics. She had a quick shower and rushed to the diner. The sun was already high in the sky, and she kept her car window down, letting the air blow her hair wild.
The old-timers up at the counter griped about the record temperature and complained to Mason that he needed to turn up the air conditioner, which was already working overtime. Beth piled her hair into a bun and draped cold cloths around her neck whenever she had the chance. She hustled through the diner, refreshing waters and iced teas, blending milkshakes for whining kids, and delivering ice cream that began to melt before she could get it to the table.
She was sure Vaughn would come in and gloat over Jonny’s arrest and she turned her head to check the parking lot so many times she had a crick in her neck. He missed breakfast, then lunch. She had almost given up when his truck pulled up outside near the end of her shift.
A few men gave him dirty looks as he walked in alone, his shoulders back and his hand on his gun belt. Beth wondered if they’d heard—lots of people seemed to know Jonny and his family. Vaughn either didn’t notice or didn’t care about that reaction. He slid into his usual booth with a pleasant smile as he glanced at Beth.
She brought him coffee and a menu. While she poured the hot liquid, she tried to work up the nerve to start a conversation, but he beat her to the punch.
“Your shift must be ending soon.” Startled by the sudden rasp of his voice, she dripped coffee onto the table. While she wiped at it, she glanced at him through lowered eyelashes.
“Yeah.” She thought quickly. How to get him alone? Maybe in his truck? “As soon as I get off, I have to walk to the gas station. My car is on empty, and apparently the truck stop pump is broken.” Customers had been complaining about the inconvenience all afternoon. It was perfect, if he took the bait. She looked out the window. “I’ve been dreading it. It’s so hot…”
“You need a lift to the gas station? I’ve got a jerry can.”
She chewed the inside of her cheek like she was thinking it over. “I don’t know…”
He leaned back against the booth. “You heard that Jonny Miller’s been arrested.” It was a statement, not a question.
The coffeepot was getting cold and there was a diner full of people waiting for their orders, but she had to see this through before she lost the moment. “Heard something about that.”
“I told you that he was trouble.” There was a cruel glimmer in his eyes as he watched her closely. She couldn’t figure out if he wanted her upset or grateful.
“I didn’t know he was into drugs. You were right.” She wanted to choke on the words, but it was obviously what he wanted to hear. He nodded and took a sip of his coffee.
“I’ll have a plate of Mason’s meat loaf, and when you’re done, we’ll get you that gas.”
