Chapter 21

Biting his lower lip to keep quiet, Steven let Carlos lead the way around the side of the car. Beneath their feet, leaves and gravel crunched as they made their way back to the road. He’d have to remember not to say I told you sowhen the phone proved to be out of service. We’re playing nice here, remember? he reminded himself. This is good for us.

Once they reached the road, they stopped on the shoulder and glanced first one way, then the other. The two-lane tarmac stretched off into either direction, lined with dark trees rustling ominously with each breath of wind blowing through their leaves. Steven tugged his collar closed around his throat and, his hand warm in Carlos’s, followed his lover back the way they had come, his shoes crunching through the gravel on the shoulder.