The Necromancer

Four

The drive from Overland Park back to Lawrence was a short trip compared to my non-stop flight from Mexico City to Tokyo—nearly six hours. During my drive home, I'd come to the conclusion that I probably would no longer be welcome in Overland Park.

I'd stopped at Taco Bell on my way out—my craving for Fiery Doritos Locos Tacos was too strong to resist. I soon discovered that asking the drive thru employee whether or not my tacos came with a warranty was not the smartest thing to say to someone who'd been working for six hours straight.

Long story short: I went to a different Taco Bell. And that man's aim was impeccable. It would take weeks to scrape all the beans off of poor Thana.

It was nearly five o'clock. I was surprised my mother hadn't called yet to ask me where I'd run off to. She was beginning to take "helicopter parent" to a whole new level. Peeling my eyes off the road for a split second, I snagged my cell phone out of my satchel to call her. My eyes flickered back to the road.

Where a kid was standing directly in Thana's path.

A scream tore from my chest and I thrust the wheel to the right. Thana went off the road, narrowly missing the boy, and into a streetlight. The impact thrust my body forward. My head slammed into the steering wheel and the seat belt bit into my shoulder.

Then it was over.

Slowly, I lifted my throbbing head and peered around. I unbuckled my seatbelt, inhaling sharply at the pain.

That was a really close call. I'd been lucky I was in the middle of nowhere and that the kid I'd instinctively swerved to avoid was already dead. If I'd really hit a kid...well, let's just say the irony would not have been lost on me.

Note to self: don't take your eyes off the road while driving.

I snagged my cell phone and painfully climbed out of the truck. There was a large groan as I pushed open the door. Did Thana make the noise or me? I honestly had no idea.

My entire body hurt from head to toe.

Opening my cell, I dialed. Beau answered on the second ring.

"Jules."

Only Beau could greet me with just my name and make my legs turn to jelly. His voice was husky and it took all my self-control not to turn into a gooey puddle.

I raked my gaze to both sides of the road. Not a car in sight.

"Hey, Beau. So, funny story. a raccoon ran into the street and my truck decided she wanted to give a great, big kiss to a streetlight."

"You crashed your truck?" Beau nearly shouted into the phone. I pulled the phone a couple inches from my ear, wincing. "Where are you?"

"I'm on this back road right off of Kaw Valley. Can you come get me?"

"Send me your exact location. I'll be there in 20."

I gave him my best Italian Mafia impression. "You got it, Boss."

After pinning my location and sending it to Beau, I gimped toward Thana's hood, pissed. She may not have been much of a beauty, but she was my baby. The best five hundred dollars I'd ever spent.

I inspected the damage and groaned. This would cost a pretty penny to fix—if it was even fixable. There was a significant dent in the hood and front bumper. Although my cat-like reflexes had allowed me to brake, it wasn't enough. Thana was so screwed.