No Ordinary Day , Tate, Harley [ebook offline .TXT] 📗

too hard. Holly rolled, blinking in confusion.

“We have to go!” Emma tried to shout, unsure the teenager could hear, unsure if she was even making noise.

Before she could try again, John swept in, hauling Holly up by the armpits. The girl stumbled upright, and Emma latched onto her side. Together, they staggered away from the burning wreckage. A sea of onlookers cleared at their approach. If anyone offered assistance, Emma couldn’t hear them. As they followed the line of cars back to John’s SUV, Emma swallowed and pressed her ears.

As she neared the Jeep, the sight of the hood stopped her still. The explosion had blown the hood back, leaving the engine exposed. She didn’t know the first thing about cars, but the flayed rubber running through the machinery couldn’t be good. She leaned against the bumper as Holly bent to check on the dog.

“Emma!” The voice sounded tinny and far away. She looked up. John stood in front of her, ducking to catch her eye. “Can you hear me?”

“Barely.” She swallowed, but it turned into a cough. “What happened?”

“The car exploded.” He turned to Holly, hands balled into fists. “You were so stupid back there! You could have died! And what for? A dog?”

Holly’s face scrunched and tears filled her eyes. “I wasn’t going to watch it die!”

“You’d risk your life for an animal?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

John turned at Emma’s question. “You agree with her? Die out here on the highway for some stranger’s pet?”

She stared at him, horrified. “I would at least try.”

John stepped back, jaw locked, eyes cold and bitter. “We need to leave.”

Emma didn’t move. Up until then, John had seemed too good to be true. A little quick to get over Zach’s death, maybe. But Emma had put that on not knowing the man. The gun she’d written off as personal protection. He was in a lawsuit against his employer, sort of like her. He probably felt better with a pistol on his hip. And if he knew how to use it...

But this? Being more than willing to leave a trapped animal without a second’s hesitation? Blowing up when they saved it?

Maybe she shouldn’t be traveling with him. Maybe she shouldn’t have let a stranger into her confidence at all. She didn’t know the first thing about him. Not really. She turned and focused on Holly. Had she unwittingly put the girl in more danger?

“Sorry. That was uncalled for.”

Emma lifted her head.

John held his forehead as he stared out at the hazy, smoke-filled sky. “I shouldn’t have said all that. I just don’t like it when people I’m responsible for do things that could get them hurt.”

She humored him. “Has it happened before?”

He nodded. “In Afghanistan.” He turned to face her. “A couple guys in my platoon were killed when they didn’t follow orders and tried to be heroes.” He exhaled. “I couldn’t stay in after that.”

Emma softened. What a jerk she’d been. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“No reason you would.” He walked around to the driver’s side door and wrenched it open. “I for one want to get out of this smoke.”

As John climbed into the driver’s seat, Emma helped Holly coax the dog into the back. As the door shut, Emma closed her eyes. She didn’t know anything about John’s life or his past apart from a few superficial comments he’d shared earlier in the day. And she’d assumed the worst. Emma opened the passenger door, shamed and contrite.

John held the steering wheel like he was about to shift into drive even though the ruined hood obscured the view. A piece of lint suddenly became fascinating and Emma plucked it from her pants. “You were in the military?”

“Yeah.”

“Branch?”

“Marine Corps.”

She tried to coax him into conversation. “Any details?”

John’s jaw ticked. “I was in the Marines. I’m not anymore.”

Emma turned to stare out the window. The last vestiges of daylight faded fast, sunset marred by the lingering smoke. Not a single car had moved. If this traffic stretched for miles, it might take days to clear. They couldn’t sit here and wait it out. She twisted back to face him. “We could do what that truck did. Not crash into a bunch of cars but off-road, couldn’t we? It might get us up to Gloria’s faster.”

 John didn’t say anything for a moment, but the way the muscles in his face twitched, he obviously wanted to do anything except sit there and engage in conversation. “Are you a mechanic?”

“No.”

“Any spare timing belts in your work bag?”

Her cheeks warmed. “No.”

“Then we’re not taking this vehicle anywhere.”

She steeled herself. “We could walk.”

John leaned over and glanced at the setting sun. “It’ll be dark soon. With the cloud cover, I wouldn’t count on much moonlight. Ever land nav’ed at night?”

She shook her head.

Holly spoke up from the backseat. “Tank’s been through a lot already. I think we stay overnight. Set out in the morning.”

Emma twisted in the seat. “Tank?”

Holly nodded. “That’s what his collar says, anyway.” The dog reacted at the use of his name, nuzzling Holly’s side until she laughed.

Relief coursed through Emma. At least Holly found something to pay attention to other than her father’s death, even if the dog was too big for the backseat and smelled like it rolled in garbage. She turned back to John. “I guess staying put for a few hours wouldn’t hurt.”

Her stomach growled and Emma slapped her hand across her belly. “Maybe we could raid the supplies?”

John opened his door. “I’ll see what we have.”

Before Emma could offer to help, the driver side door slammed shut.

Holly leaned forward between the seats. “Don’t mind him. He’s just mad about the dog. Probably doesn’t want his fur all over the seat.”

Doubt kept her from entirely agreeing, but Emma smiled all the same. “I’m sure you’re right.”

Chapter Twelve

John

John shut the door and sucked in a breath. He had to get it together. Never in all of his years as a hired gun had he spent this much time with a mark. If he