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Nestled behind the tattoo parlor was an industrial-sized garage with rolling orange and gray metal doors. I pulled into the lot after Jade entered a four-digit code into a silver control panel and a huge security gate swung away, allowing us entry.
“If you want to drive around instead of walking, I can give you my code. I’ll alert Gill. He’s the nighttime security guard and a long-time friend. He’ll clear it with Skinner, the owner.”
"Thanks,” I replied.
“We're the third garage on the right-hand side.”
I followed Jade’s directions. She pulled out her keys and hit a small remote fob. The door rattled and churned as it rose.
“Pull in there.” She pointed to the only empty spot. “You won’t get a full picture until I turn on the lights. Stay here,” she said after I put Godzilla in park.
“What’s wrong?” Jade asked when she turned to shut the passenger door.
A nervous shimmy shook my shoulders. “It’s like you said earlier,” I explained. “Normally, driving into a stranger’s dark storage unit would be a hard no.”
Jade chuckled. “Look at us,” she said. “We’re quite the pair of quirky darklings, aren’t we? D.M. won’t disappoint. I promise. You shared your four-wheeled baby with me. I want to share mine with you. Besides, I’ll leave the door open, as you did for me. Fast escape style.”
I felt my fear melt away until I remembered I no longer had a phone to use should I need to call for help. Coldness enveloped me as my palms sweated. Then, Jade turned on the overhead fluorescent lights.
Parked beside Godzilla was a glossy black food truck wearing the outline of an ooey gooey cinnamon roll. Jade rushed to her vehicle and showcased its name, scrawled in an eighties retro font in neon pink and dark purple. I stepped out of Godzilla, leaving Spades to continue cleaning himself on my couch.
“This is D.M. or Delish Mode. She’s my dream in the making.” Jade blushed with pride. Her face flushed with the glow of passion meets reality. I smiled back.
“Delish Mode?” I asked as I circled the truck. “I like it.”
What I didn’t say was that the sudden and unexpected appearance of song titles, band names, or tunes made me wary. Another plus of trying to outrun the Raven.
“That’s not what your face says.”
“Seriously,” I said. “I love it. No lying, remember?”
“You said you’d try, not that you wouldn’t ever.”
“Yes, but there’s no need to lie. I love the name and the paint job. The logo is both feisty and mouth-watering if those two adjectives can coexist.”
Jade cocked her head to the side. “They can, and they will as soon as I can get this beauty on the road.”
I ran my fingers along the M of mode. “What’s holding you back? Car trouble?”
“Troubles! She’s a pretty girl, but her engine isn’t what it used to be. I’ve got my people working on it.”
“Your people? That sounds amazing. What’s it like to have ‘people’.”
Jade snickered. “Not so much people as a person and a half. Pax is my main mechanic, but he can’t muster up the gumption to work when he’s mid-breakup with Nell. Then there’s Gill.”
“The night security guard?”
“Good remembering.” Jade petted her food truck as she spoke. “He’s sort of Pax’s assistant. He helps when he can, but work comes first.” Jade leaned in close to the hood of D.M. and whispered, “Pretty soon, we’ll ride into the sunset.”
Another person may have found Jade’s connection with her vehicle silly. I found it endearing and reassuring. She was more like me than I’d first thought. I often had heartfelt discussions with Godzilla. Mostly begging him to keep on trucking, but they were real talks, just like talking to Spades without the threat of an annoyed swipe across my ankles.
“How much longer do you think it will take?”
Jade wrinkled her nose in concentration. “Six months, maybe more.”
“What does Nell have to say about it?”
Jade’s face fell. “That’s where I’m stuck. Sort of. I have it worked out. I’ll keep business around town for a while. “
Her plan was sound to me. However, her expression didn’t make it seem like it was a good idea to her. I let it go and turned away from the future and back to the present.
“Are you certain it’s okay for Spades and me to stay here in the garage for a week?”
Jade stepped away from D.M. and folded her arms. “There’s the catch. Mr. Skinner doesn’t allow people to sleep in his storage garage. Though you can chill in Godzilla during the day, you can’t sleep here. It’s an insurance thing.”
My stomach swirled. “Okay, well... I...” I couldn’t find the words. Why had Jade led me down here and told me I could stay here if she knew I couldn’t?
“I figured,” Jade said, “you’d stay at our flat, in our guest room. The room is rather small, but you and Spades should be happy there.”
I blinked repeatedly, absorbing the information. Feelings of betrayal and gratitude fought for territory in my mind. I wasn’t sure what to think.
“Don’t over-analyze it.” Jade tapped her toe. “Just say thanks and gather your stuff and your cat.”
“But—”
Jade grabbed hold of my elbow and led me to Godzilla’s side door. “Now, listen. I know all the arguments you must have. I can see the turmoil burning on your face. You’re scared. That makes sense.”
Yes, it does, I thought. Not for the reasons you think. Again, the familiar faces of Raven victims flickered across the movie screen of my memories. I shrugged them away.
“Search your feelings,” Jade continued. “Then do the wise thing. Call your friends and family. Tell them where you’re staying and with whom and how long you’ll be here. Give them my address, D.M.’s VIN number, my mother’s maiden name... whatever it takes to make you feel safe. I don’t mind. You’d be silly not to.”
I itched to tell Titus my location but didn’t dare. As for Mr. Joe, my old boss and friend, I didn’t want to tell him. He’d pass the information along should Titus and his apprentice, Scrubb, ask him. Besides, the point was moot. I had decimated my phone. There was no way for me to reach them, not without searching the web for their data. However, knowing Scrubb’s computer wizardry, he’d probably be able to track me through my searches.
“That sounds like a plan. If I’m not intruding?”
“Pish! You’re practically family after saving Nell. Our parents would shame me if I let you get away.”
Again, fear knotted in my stomach. “Get away?”
Jade shook her head. Her bob trembled in response before falling into place. “You already know I have a hard time with polite phrasing. I meant to get away without us thanking you, without treating you right, without initiating you into the fold.” Jade’s nose crinkled to the side. “That doesn’t sound much better, does it?”
“Not at all. Now it sounds like I’m joining a cult.”
“Ha!” Jade’s laugh echoed through the garage. “You never can tell, can you?”
That did little to ease my tension. The Morris sisters were kind to me yesterday. They went above and beyond to tend to my ankle and keep me stocked in sweets. I couldn’t foresee them being a threat to me. Although from the outside, I supposed I didn’t look like much of a threat either.
My pudgy build and now crunchy peach hair was far from imposing. I cast a look at my reflection in Godzilla’s windshield. Though if I was being honest with myself, I’d lost quite a bit of my pudge. My clothes were hanging. I chalked it up to bouts of severe depression married with recurring Raven activities and the sprinting they required.
Looking into my sad, red-rimmed eyes, I promised myself if the Raven landed in town, I’d run. Perhaps I could coax him into following me and leaving Riley’s Canyon alone. I would not allow myself to grow entangled. As soon as the dubious death threats pushed in, I was pulling out of town— like old Penny used to do before Titus Church and his podcast.