Page 17 of After the End
“What is that?” Daisy asked, one arm circling the puppies, the other grabbing the handle at the top of her door.
“Rockslide.” He tried to keep his voice even and unworried, but it was difficult when adrenaline was pounding through his body. “Hang on. I’m going to get us out of here.” He jammed his foot on the accelerator as the sprinkle turned into a torrent of rocks and dirt. The pickup shuddered under the barrage as it shot forward, fishtailing as Chris straightened out of the abrupt turn. A large rock landed in the truck bed, making the entire truck bounce. Daisy gave a bitten-off yelp, but Chris didn’t let himself look at her. He needed to concentrate on getting them out of there before they were crushed. Something hit the roof with a loud thump, and the ceiling folded in toward them. Gritting his teeth, Chris forced the truck forward, plowing through the piles of dirt spilling onto the roadway, swerving around whatever rocks he could avoid and bumping over the others.
Keep going. Keep going,he silently repeated, as if the mantra would keep the truck moving, keep the tires from tearing open on the rocks or spinning in the loose dirt. If the truck broke down, if they had to bail out and run, their chances of surviving would drop dramatically. Chris’s hands tightened on the jolting steering wheel, forcing those worse-case scenarios out of his brain. The truck would hold together. Their lives depended on it.
The pickup lurched sideways as a rock struck the passenger side, and Chris swore, jerking the wheel to keep the back tire from scraping against the boulder. The tire bounced off the edge, and then the road opened up in front of them with only a few small rocks in the way. Chris slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, and the truck shot forward. A thunderous roar made Chris jerk his head around. Behind them, a section of rock toppled down the side of the cliff. It crashed to the pavement below, right where the truck had been just a second before, creating a miniature mountain wide enough to block both lanes. Wrenching his gaze off the mess behind them and back to the road, Chris bit back a curse. They’d drifted into the oncoming lane. He quickly corrected his steering and continued another quarter mile down the road, trying to even out his breathing. His brain switched over to cop mode, and he slowed the pickup, turning the truck around to face the slide. He wished he had his marked squad car and overhead lights, but the pickup would at least block oncoming cars, stopping them before they plowed into the mess up ahead.
Daisy gave a choked laugh, and his gaze raked over her, checking for any injury or sign of an oncoming panic attack. Although she was pale, she looked remarkably calm. “You did promise me a U-turn,” she said, her voice shaking a little.
He almost laughed as he unhooked his seat belt and then reached for her buckle, fingers unsteady with residual adrenaline. As soon as he’d unfastened her belt, Daisy lunged, wrapping her arms around him. He caught her and squeezed her against him, the horror of what could’ve happened making his throat tight. The puppies yapped a protest at the sudden movement, and she let go of Chris with one hand so she could gather the dogs against her.
“You okay?” she asked, her voice tight and higher-pitched than normal.
“I’m fine.” His grip tightened around her, pulling her in as much as he could manage with the center console and puppies between them. As the reality of how close they’d been to injury or even death hit him, he tensed. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Her hand stroked his shoulder as she pulled away slightly and looked up at his face. “Just a little freaked.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He kissed her firmly for several seconds before reluctantly releasing her. As much as he wanted to keep holding Daisy, keep kissing her, other oblivious drivers would be heading this way soon. He needed to report the rockslide.
Turning on his hazard lights, he reached for his cell phone. As the screen lit up, he held his breath, grimly hoping for service. This spot was not known for its excellent cell reception. When two bars appeared, he exhaled hard in relief and called 9-1-1, letting the dispatcher know there’d been a rockslide on the east side of Raven Pass.
“You okay?” he asked again as he hung up.
“Quit asking,” she responded, a teasing lilt to her voice. “I’m fine. We didn’t get crushed by boulders falling from the sky, so that’s a win. Your crazy driving woke the puppies, though.”
Glancing down at the squirming dogs she was attempting to contain on her lap, he snorted. “Sorry. Next rockslide, I’ll try to keep things smoother.”
“Do that,” she said with mock-severity before the growing whines got her attention again. “I think they need a potty break.”
Chris groaned. “Now? They need to go outsideright here?”
The dogs’ cries increased in intensity, and even Lemon hopped to the front, her whole body wriggling with eagerness. “Apparently that’s a yes,” Daisy said, raising her voice over the puppies’ complaints. “Help me get their leashes on.”
There were only four dogs total, but, by the time they’d all been leashed, Chris was sure the number was closer to forty. “Hang on.” He got out and circled around to the other side of the truck. “Got them?”
When Daisy held up the wad of leash ends, he opened the door, picking up two of the puppies so Daisy could get out. Once the dogs were lowered to the ground, they immediately twisted around Daisy’s legs. Her befuddled look made him laugh.
“Give me some of these.” He reached for the bunch of leashes in her hand. “Let’s divide and conquer.”
Before he could take any of the pups, an SUV approached, slowing as it neared the back of their pickup. Instead of stopping, it swerved, as if to go around them.
“Hang on. I need to stop them.” The worst of the rockslide was hidden from their vantage point, so the driver could easily crash before they realized it was there.
“Go ahead,” Daisy urged as the vehicle moved to the oncoming lane and began to pull past the pickup. Wishing he had his squad car—and his uniform—Chris hurried to stop the SUV. There was a woman driving and a man in the passenger seat, and, for a moment, it looked like they were going to drive right past. Apparently, Chris needed his squad car, uniform,anda traffic whistle.
“There was a rockslide up ahead,” he shouted, gesturing for them to stop, and the SUV finally came to a halt.
The passenger rolled down his window, looking annoyed. “How long before the road’s clear?”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Chris said, “Not sure. I just called it in, so it’ll probably be a while. You’ll want to turn around and go back to the interstate.”
The man let out a huge, noisy sigh, and the driver reversed, changing directions. As they drove away, a squad car passed them, pulling into the spot the SUV had just vacated. The lights were flashing, but the siren was silent. Chris blew out a breath of relief. Now he could hand things over to someone official, and he and Daisy could get back on the road.
He glanced over at Daisy. Although the puppies appeared to be going in every possible direction, Daisy was giggling and didn’t seem to need his immediate help, so Chris turned back toward the officer getting out of his car. The cop was tall and broad, with a scowl that made Chris hold back a groan. First a rockslide, and now the responding officer was going to be a hard-ass. This road trip was going downhill fast.
“Field County Deputy Chris Jennings,” he said with a smile, trying to set a friendly tone as he handed the cop his ID.
The officer accepted it with a clipped nod. “Officer Theo Bosco, Monroe PD.”
