“It’s beautiful.” But he didn’t feel it. Driving through the mountains like this, with a crisp blue sky, a noon sun and a tailwind pushing him forward, should’ve made Arash breathe easier. He’d taken this route before, just for the sake of the strip of asphalt among the trees, with the Truckee River flashing below in the cold sunlight. This trip, the threat of danger around every turn robbed him of his peace.
“It is.” Stephanie stared out the window, her eyes invisible behind stylish aviator sunglasses. All the times he’d driven this road to escape the city for a day or two, he’d never had a passenger. If he wasn’t driving one of Olesk’s cars, if they hadn’t just evaded the police during a job for the STR, if Stephanie wasn’t part of that same gang, he’d allow himself to enjoy this with her.
They’d covered many of the miles in alert silence. Highway patrol had been quiet, and there’d been no more texts from Olesk with last-second directives to chase down. Drive-through food would’ve slowed them down too much, so he ate his candy bars and drank his water just to keep his mood from crashing.
“You know where you’re going.” Stephanie’s gaze remained on the scenery.
“I know the road.” But he had no idea what his final destination would look like. If he’d had the chance, he could’ve taken Marcos out here, maybe after the first snow so they could see there was more to the world than the underside of a Chevy or the engine bay of a Honda. Marcos would never see these mountains, even though it was he who got Arash onto the highway for this trip.
“Running goods across the lines?” she asked dryly.
The question stabbed through his ribs and held with cold barbs. She thought he was a crook. But why wouldn’t she? “I only work in Cali. I’m not on the Feds’ radar.” Half-truths. His criminal days had ended before his eighteenth birthday. The few things he’d been caught for prior to that had been sealed. And why should he care what she thought of him? She was a crook, too. “Am I riding next to someone with active warrants?”
“Do you think I ever get caught?” She turned to him and smiled.
“Never.” He shook his head.
Her attention shifted back to the window. “So how do you know this highway?”
“I come out here to test handling and suspension.”
“Long way from the city.”
“That’s the point.” Someday he might be able to afford one of the lodges or hotels in the mountains, instead of finding one of the cheaper rooms down in Reno.
“I’ve done it on a motorcycle.” She turned forward and tilted her head to match a wide curve.
“Sexy.” He wished he could stop flirting with her, but the two of them seemed to flow so easily. Imagining her in the seat behind him as he drove a motorcycle, wrapped around him, the insides of her thighs against his hips, thinned the air more than the altitude around them.
“The route.” She shot him a frown. “I’ve done the route on a motorcycle. SF to Tahoe, I-80.”
“I know what you meant.” He stared at the road ahead instead of her black-jean-clad legs stretched out in front of her. “And it’s still sexy.”
“I could be married.” She held up her left hand, though it had no ring on the ring finger. “What would my wife think about you saying that?”
He slowed the car as they passed a small mountain town. “I don’t tread on someone else’s territory. Tell her I’m sorry and from now on you and I are going to stick to talking about the weather and onboard diagnostic codes for troubleshooting air/fuel efficiency.”
“Now that’s sexy.”
“Damn it.” Sometimes she could be so dry that he had no idea if she was joking or not. “What’s your wife going to say?”
She crossed her arms. “I’m not married.” Hearing that lit more of a thrill in him than he wanted. “You?” she asked.
“I’m too greasy for that.” He’d just gotten into a steady groove wrenching at a new garage, and he was thinking his social life might open up when Marcos hit his rough patch. There’d been no time for dating. After Marcos’s death, it took weeks for Arash to develop any stomach for company.
“Slippery while all the girls are trying to catch you.” She turned one of the new rings around her finger.
“You’ve seen me drive a getaway.” Of course the first woman he felt attracted to was part of the whole problem he was messed up with.
She chuckled. “That’s how you leave all your dates in the morning. Redlining and drifting around corners.”
“Morning?” he scoffed. “I can’t have them reading my license plate.”
The road curved and brought a stand of jagged mountains into view. Winter had barely begun, yet snow dusted some ridges to create stark contrasts between dark and light. He and Stephanie fell silent. The mountains were so much larger than his troubles. They were timeless, unlike his thirst for revenge, which would be extinguished if he died. He felt like he was hurtling toward all their sharp edges.
The quiet continued through the high pass. When the road started the descent toward Reno, Stephanie spoke. “We’ve got to ditch this car.”
“Feel like a target.” A bigger city meant more police presence. They had no idea how wide the description of the car had gone. “And I could use a hot meal.”
“I know a good pizza in Tahoe City.”
“What do you know in Reno?”
“Nothing.” She swiped through her phone.
“I’ve had a couple decent burgers out here.” But it was a big town, and their destination could be miles from anywhere he knew. “No address from Olesk yet?”
“You know how he likes to play it.” She released a frustrated breath.
“It’s almost like he doesn’t want us in the STR.” Aggravation dug into him like a headache, shortening his patience.
“Just making us jump through hoops to prove ourselves.” She waved her hand dismissively and smoothed herself to seem untouched by Olesk’s antics.
Arash steered with tighter fists. “It’s not professional. And I’m a professional.” People knew his name in the garages of San Francisco and Oakland. He worked hard and was respected. That reputation might be wrecked now that he’d taken time away from his current shop to chase Olesk’s blood. Arash had known as soon as he’d answered the man’s first text that there was probably no going back. Ever.
The mountains loomed in the rearview mirror like a passing storm, soon replaced by the buildings of Reno. The little calm that had come with the natural surroundings was erased by the growing anxiety of being in the city. More eyes watched them. Traffic swirled. Security cameras hung high on power poles. The police patrolled.
A cold, inhospitable wind swept over it all. Arash stayed on the highway, where he had the best visibility, though if trouble did come for them, his evasive options were limited. Stephanie sat up straighter, her phone clutched in her hand and her awareness constantly swiveling to take in the surroundings.
“If we don’t hear anything, I’ll pass through west to east, then double back.” He calculated what he knew of the layout.
“Sounds good.” Her voice was tight. “I’ve been looking over local news between Sacramento and here but haven’t found anything about any police chases or busts.”
Frustration ground his nerves down. Was this it? Olesk got what he needed from Arash and now cut him off? But Arash wouldn’t let it end that way. He nearly swerved into another lane when Stephanie’s phone buzzed. She sighed with relief and reported, “Olesk. Freaking finally.” She read out an address he didn’t recognize, then started navigating them into the northeast fringe of the city.
The highway only took them so far. They exited to a two-lane road that slipped quickly through suburbs and into less populated areas. Fewer services were seen and the territory seemed appropriate for homesteaders and apocalyptic preppers. There wasn’t much blood flowing to this part of town. The houses that could be seen from the road were set back behind expansive dirt lots, complete with large propane tanks, oversize television antennae and opaque plastic-covered greenhouses.
“They’d better have lunch.” Stephanie watched it all with an impassive face.
Food was the last thing on his mind. He was on high alert, trying to play those eight moves ahead. Anger and frustration swirled through him, tightening his neck and shoulders, and he didn’t know if he should work through them or let them fly.
The properties on the side of the road spread out farther. Acres separated the mailboxes and the transitions in the types of fences. “Less than a mile.” Stephanie watched her phone. “On the right.”
The next plot of land emerged and Arash turned up a long dirt lane toward a large stucco house. Cars and motorcycles collected in the curved front driveway, some of them looking fresh, others broken down. An RV was parked on the side of the house. Beyond it, he glimpsed two metal barns with closed doors. Skeletons of cars and trucks lay around those structures, as if they’d died before reaching an oasis.
Once Arash and Stephanie were within fifty yards of the house, two figures emerged from the front door. Olesk and Ellie walked down from the porch to the driveway, then over to the left of the house. Olesk motioned Arash forward and pointed toward the barns.
Stephanie gave them a wave and casually pulled her bag from the back seat and onto her lap. Arash sensed a flicker of extra tension in her. Did she have a gun in that bag? All he was armed with was a folding knife and a flashlight. If Olesk wanted them to disappear, this would be a perfect place to do it.
Rounding the house, Arash saw the white cargo truck from Sacramento parked next to one of the barns. Two men, one white, one Hispanic, he recognized from the cab of the cargo truck watched Arash’s and Stephanie’s approach, then went to the front of the barn and opened the doors.
The interior was a stark black rectangle of shadow compared to the bright day. Arash eased inside, his gut clenching and his awareness churning to take in any necessary details. The back wall of the barn was solid, but he might be able to break through it if he could get enough speed up in the car. There were high windows that had been painted over, if he had time to climb the metal shelving filled with shop tools and auto parts.
Arash brought the car to a stop and shared a quick look with Stephanie. He couldn’t see her eyes behind her sunglasses, but he sensed her caution. He gave her a small nod and she returned it. Grabbing his backpack, he slid from the car and stood to face out of the barn. Stephanie did the same on the other side of the car.
Olesk, Ellie and the two other men silhouetted against the bright, sere landscape. Their hands hung at their sides, but if any of them made a move, Arash was ready to charge across the dirt floor. The chances of taking the gang down on their own territory were less than zero. He would die trying.
“There’s food in the house.” Olesk’s casual, welcoming tone ripped at Arash’s last nerve.
“Food?” Arash stalked forward. The two men he didn’t know instantly puffed up for a fight. The Hispanic man was about his size; the white guy next to him, taller and leaner. If they didn’t pull any weapons, he’d be happy to blow off his steam taking them on. He barked out at Olesk, “How about a map, or a plan, or some information so we’re not hung out to dry with our asses on the line?”
Olesk cocked his head, relaxed. “You handled everything.” The other men balled their fists.
“A split second away from getting burned.” Arash ignored the other guys who glared at him and focused on Olesk. “You want me to do my job with less potential for disaster, I need more info as I go.” Olesk just shrugged, making Arash wish the two men would make a play so he could put his fist into someone’s face. “I come on here and deliver for you and you act like you don’t trust me. You think I’m going to rat?” It was probably a bad idea to come after the boss of the gang like this, but Arash had his pride and standards to protect. And if he played too easily into Olesk’s game, it might bring about more suspicion than the hard moves he was putting on now.
“Does he speak for you?” Olesk shifted his unblinking gaze deeper into the barn, to Stephanie.
Stephanie’s voice slid cool over Arash’s shoulder. “I always speak for myself.” He was glad she stood on her own. He didn’t need her to back him up and he definitely wasn’t going to drag her unwillingly into this conflict. She continued calmly, “Whether I’m driving or riding shotgun, knowledge is power.” Her even footsteps approached until he was able to see her in his peripheral vision. There was as much poise in her body as her words. “You loop me in, I do a better job.”
Ellie jutted her jaw and squinted with displeasure. Olesk kept it smooth and nodded. “Yeah, you got it. This one was a little tight and we were all scrambling.” He spoke to both Stephanie and Arash. “It isn’t always like that.” He tipped his head toward the house. “Your cash is inside. Hope you like frozen pizza.”
It wasn’t a straight-up apology, but it was good enough. Arash pulled his backpack onto his shoulder. “As long as you’ve got an oven.” He took a step to follow Olesk and Ellie, but the two men remained in their bar-fight posture in front of him. Ellie rolled her eyes.
Olesk huffed a small laugh. “Thom, Hector, meet Arash and Stephanie.”
The white man nodded when Olesk had announced “Thom.” This guy was a user. Restless, red-rimmed eyes. Arash had seen the same effects of crank on his friend before this gang had rubbed him out. Thom’s dirty blond hair was greasy, and his lips always seemed to be moving, like he was just about to say something.
Hector, who looked to be in his twenties and appeared to spend most of his time either in the gym or working on his sweep of hair, reluctantly tipped his head. “What’s up?” He took his time looking Stephanie up and down.
“You’re welcome.” She sauntered forward with a challenge.
That brought Thom’s brow down, revealing wrinkles on the fortysomething-year-old man. “For what, honey?”
She hesitated for a split second, as if holding herself back, then answered, “For running those cops off your tail.” With a bright smile, she stepped past Thom and Hector and into the sun.
Hector fired at her back, “In the car that we tuned.”
Arash scoffed, “The car with too much lag in second gear and a turbo booster spraying oil.” Thom’s wild gaze landed back on Arash. “Didn’t you smell it?”
Neither Thom nor Hector answered.
“I smelled it.” Stephanie nodded her head.
A loud laugh barked from Olesk. He wagged a finger at Arash and Stephanie. “Yeah, you’re STR. Definitely.” After putting his arm around Ellie’s hip, he headed to the house.
Thom and Hector deflated and fell into step. Arash and Stephanie moved along with them. Winter chill sliced into his neck above the collar of his jacket. It didn’t matter how high the sun was, it couldn’t chase this cold. Inside his chest, though, Arash was a furnace. Now that he was in with the gang, he would have to plot how to wipe them out. Somewhere on the highway, where he knew he was a better driver than any of them. Except maybe Stephanie. The last thing he wanted to do was to bring her down with the rest of them.
She shifted so she was walking next to Thom. Her smooth voice warned, “Call me honey one more time, and I take one of your kneecaps.”
“Sure,” Thom sneered.
She stopped walking and took off her sunglasses. He turned and she stared him dead in the eye, challenging through her teeth, “Do it.”
Her dare hung in the icy air. Arash and the others waited. Hector puffed up again. Olesk dropped his hand from Ellie’s waist and the two of them watched intently. If Thom bit back, and Stephanie had to fight him and anyone else, Arash could get to Hector before he got to her. After a long three seconds, Thom blinked and chewed his tongue and didn’t say anything. Stephanie put her sunglasses back on and breezed past him. Arash remained at her side, knowing that Hector and Thom stared hard from behind them.
He walked toward the house. Each step closer to payback. Along this path, Stephanie was the only one who’d shown him any trust. He’d just discovered that he was willing to throw down for her. But he couldn’t rely on the same from Stephanie once his true intent was known. At that moment, there would be nowhere safe for him. And the connection he was beginning to savor with Stephanie would be dead.