I asked.
“It’s already down in the vehicle.”
“Which car are we taking?” I slung the duffel over my shoulder. “Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it before, Ray’s coming with us.”
“Which Ray?” Tyler’s face showed his confusion. “You’re not talking about the cop, are you?” He read my expression. “Come on, Jess! We can’t possibly bring someone like that with us. Not only is he going to be under our feet the entire time, but he’s an epic fucking asshole. Why would you possibly want to do something like that?”
He was right on all counts. But instead of answering right away, I reached around him and yanked the front door open. “I’m doing it because I refuse to kill him for no other reason than he found us out. At the very least he deserves a chance to come around, and it was either he came with us or he died. I picked alive.”
“I could give you twenty good reasons to pick dead,” Tyler muttered behind me.
“I bet you could give me a hundred in under a minute, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve made up my mind.” I stepped into the hallway. “Turn out the lights, will you?”
“Your electric bill is the least of your worries.”
“I’m all about the environment.”
“You rented a
Humvee
?” The vehicle parked at the end of my lot was not only a monstrosity, it was a canary-yellow monstrosity.
“What’s wrong with it?” Tyler grumbled.
“I don’t know. I could start with the color, but why go with the obvious? How about its sheer girth and notice-ability? Was the Batmobile taken?” I retorted. “Bruce Wayne’s car is the only other car in the history of the universe more noticeable than this beast of a thing.”
Danny came up behind Tyler and slapped him on the back. “See. I told you yellow was too flashy for the ladies. They tend to enjoy the blacks and beiges.”
Tyler calmly placed his hand on the hood. “For your information, I didn’t rent it. I bought it. I found this guy two hours away who details old army vehicles. This one was available and I wasn’t in a position to be picky. It’s reinforced and ready to roll, so I paid the man and drove away.” He arched an eyebrow at me, which I could see clearly despite the deepening darkness. “I wasn’t under the impression we were going for stealth. I was under the impression we needed space and strength to achieve our goal.”
“A pairing of the two would’ve been nice,” I said. “An inconspicuous Jeep Cherokee would’ve sufficed. Riding around in this is like painting a gigantic yellow X on our foreheads. And in light of the recent news, the entire supernatural community is going to be interested in my whereabouts very quickly. We just gave them a huge beacon to follow.” I felt like kicking one of the enormous tires in frustration. My emotions began to roil and a soft coating of fur erupted on my arms.
“Jess, you need to calm down,” my brother said in a quiet tone. “I had no idea news about you was going to break. We’ve been home for less than two days. In the future I will be sure tocouple stealth into
all
of our plans. Until then, no one is here to see us leave, nobody is watching. We will be fine.”
“I realize I’m being irrational.” I took a step away from the vehicle. “But, honestly, a yellow monster truck was the plan you felt most confident going with?”
“This yellow monster is armored, has sixteen-inch chassy clearance, two gas tanks, a backup battery, an exhaust snorkel, foam-filled tires, bullet-proof glass, and it’s geared to go a hundred miles per hour.”
I crossed my arms in front of me, grudging respect creeping in. My brother had planned for a missile attack and I wanted a Jeep Cherokee. He was right. “Fine.” I sighed. “You win. It was the right choice, but we have to leave immediately. No more lingering by Big Bird.”
My brother cracked a grin and gave me a bow. It wasn’t very often I conceded the argument. “We are ready to roll, just
“It’s already down in the vehicle.”
“Which car are we taking?” I slung the duffel over my shoulder. “Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it before, Ray’s coming with us.”
“Which Ray?” Tyler’s face showed his confusion. “You’re not talking about the cop, are you?” He read my expression. “Come on, Jess! We can’t possibly bring someone like that with us. Not only is he going to be under our feet the entire time, but he’s an epic fucking asshole. Why would you possibly want to do something like that?”
He was right on all counts. But instead of answering right away, I reached around him and yanked the front door open. “I’m doing it because I refuse to kill him for no other reason than he found us out. At the very least he deserves a chance to come around, and it was either he came with us or he died. I picked alive.”
“I could give you twenty good reasons to pick dead,” Tyler muttered behind me.
“I bet you could give me a hundred in under a minute, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve made up my mind.” I stepped into the hallway. “Turn out the lights, will you?”
“Your electric bill is the least of your worries.”
“I’m all about the environment.”
“You rented a
Humvee
?” The vehicle parked at the end of my lot was not only a monstrosity, it was a canary-yellow monstrosity.
“What’s wrong with it?” Tyler grumbled.
“I don’t know. I could start with the color, but why go with the obvious? How about its sheer girth and notice-ability? Was the Batmobile taken?” I retorted. “Bruce Wayne’s car is the only other car in the history of the universe more noticeable than this beast of a thing.”
Danny came up behind Tyler and slapped him on the back. “See. I told you yellow was too flashy for the ladies. They tend to enjoy the blacks and beiges.”
Tyler calmly placed his hand on the hood. “For your information, I didn’t rent it. I bought it. I found this guy two hours away who details old army vehicles. This one was available and I wasn’t in a position to be picky. It’s reinforced and ready to roll, so I paid the man and drove away.” He arched an eyebrow at me, which I could see clearly despite the deepening darkness. “I wasn’t under the impression we were going for stealth. I was under the impression we needed space and strength to achieve our goal.”
“A pairing of the two would’ve been nice,” I said. “An inconspicuous Jeep Cherokee would’ve sufficed. Riding around in this is like painting a gigantic yellow X on our foreheads. And in light of the recent news, the entire supernatural community is going to be interested in my whereabouts very quickly. We just gave them a huge beacon to follow.” I felt like kicking one of the enormous tires in frustration. My emotions began to roil and a soft coating of fur erupted on my arms.
“Jess, you need to calm down,” my brother said in a quiet tone. “I had no idea news about you was going to break. We’ve been home for less than two days. In the future I will be sure tocouple stealth into
all
of our plans. Until then, no one is here to see us leave, nobody is watching. We will be fine.”
“I realize I’m being irrational.” I took a step away from the vehicle. “But, honestly, a yellow monster truck was the plan you felt most confident going with?”
“This yellow monster is armored, has sixteen-inch chassy clearance, two gas tanks, a backup battery, an exhaust snorkel, foam-filled tires, bullet-proof glass, and it’s geared to go a hundred miles per hour.”
I crossed my arms in front of me, grudging respect creeping in. My brother had planned for a missile attack and I wanted a Jeep Cherokee. He was right. “Fine.” I sighed. “You win. It was the right choice, but we have to leave immediately. No more lingering by Big Bird.”
My brother cracked a grin and gave me a bow. It wasn’t very often I conceded the argument. “We are ready to roll, just
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