Face the Dark (Hunters of the Dark #3)

by Dave Ferraro

  Chapter Twelve

  “Why did you do that?” Shanna asked Cameron after they’d been driving for a minute.

  “Do what?” Cameron looked at her, innocently.

  “You said something to Quinn in there.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you waited for him, then you made a production of kissing me at the car. I’m not stupid.”

  Cameron licked his lips and looked in the rearview mirror, annoyed to see Rachel looking back at him with a smile on her lips. “Can’t this wait?”

  “Why? You didn’t exactly confer with me before you had a chat with Quinn. What is it with guys? Why don’t you just piss on me and mark your territory already?”

  Rachel snickered, earning a dark look from Cameron, before he sent a sideways glance at Shanna. “Look, you might feel that you have an innocent little friendship going on with Quinn, but I know guys, and I just had to make it very clear.”

  “Make what clear? That I’m off-limits? That he shouldn’t talk to me when you’re not present? Get real, Cameron. I can talk to whoever I want and hang out with whoever I want. You can’t dictate everything in my life.”

  “And I don’t want to, which is why I just made it clear that we’re together. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. You’re blowing it out of proportion.”

  “So, if I ask him what you said, it would be a nice little nudge about our relationship status? Is that what you meant by that kiss in the parking lot?”

  Cameron sighed. “Shanna…can we talk about this later?”

  “Don’t mind me,” Rachel murmured. “I’m good.”

  “Quinn doesn’t need your shit right now,” Shanna said, a surprising amount of venom in her words. “Leave him alone.”

  “Then you leave him alone too.”

  “Fuck you. He needs friends, not jealous jerks like you.”

  “Well, can you blame me? Look at him! Then look at me! See a difference? See this long, ugly scar on my face?”

  “That doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter! It fucking matters.”

  “So, what? You’re going to be an insecure asshole for the rest of your life now?”

  They drove in silence for a while after that, Shanna steaming as she looked out the window at the trees passing in darkness now. She could hardly see a thing now that the sun had set. The sky was still a little brighter in the west, but was a deep blue that threatened to fade into complete darkness at any moment. She tried to calm down as she gazed up over the treetops at the stars, shining clear and bright around the full moon. It didn’t seem to help much, however. She was just too upset at what Cameron had pulled. She couldn’t believe how immature he was acting. He was usually much more cool and collected. Could that scar have really put him off his game so much? She felt a stab of guilt after that thought. He was suffering, that much was clear. Maybe it was worse for him than she’d realized. She considered this as the sky was suddenly blotted out by the bridge, the car thunking as it drove over the wooden planks. When they emerged from its depths, she turned to Cameron, a thin smile touching her lips. “I know you’re going through a lot,” she said softly, touching his hand. “Maybe we can just hang out, the two of us, tonight.”

  Cameron slowed the car, and Shanna watched his face for a moment, confused, as he came to a stop. Her heart sank as she wondered briefly if he was going to tell her to get out. But then she saw the truck ahead of them. Brett’s truck. The two doors were open, the interior lit up, showing them that no one was inside. The headlights illuminated a large Pine Tree that crossed the road, blocking further passage.

  Rachel sat forward, squinting out the window. “Where are they?” she asked.

  Shanna frowned, looking left and right for any sign of Brett or Quinn.

  She didn’t see them.

  They listened closely to the silent night, but nothing reached their ears out of the ordinary. It was eerily quiet.

  Bright lights suddenly lit up their car from behind, and Shanna sat up quickly, wondering if someone had boxed them in. A trap. But after a moment, the car stopped and the driver stepped out, jogging up to them quickly, and Shanna recognized Jordan.

  He knocked on Cameron’s window, which he promptly rolled down.

  “What’s going on?” Jordan asked, glancing ahead at the fallen tree. “Road block?”

  “Looks like,” Cameron confirmed. “We don’t see Brett and Quinn though.”

  They locked eyes for a moment.

  “We should go back to the strip mall,” Jordan said. “Just in case.”

  “Agreed,” Cameron said, rolling up his window. “Meet you back there.”

  Shanna watched quietly as Jordan backed up and turned around, the fight with Cameron already forgotten.

  “I don’t like this,” Shanna murmured as Cameron followed Jordan’s lead, turning around in the middle of the road. She eyed the dark trees lining the road, rising high around them. They looked thick and dense. Anything could be hiding in them, watching them. She felt very exposed in the vehicle. But she certainly didn’t want to leave the little safety it afforded.

  It was completely dark by now, the only illumination provided by the moon and stars. Silently, Cameron navigated back along the road.

  As soon as the wooden bridge appeared, Shanna felt her heart sink. During the day, it had been scary and rickety enough. During the night, with an ominous feeling in the air, it seemed much worse. But then she saw Jordan’s Porsche emerge from the opposite side safely, and she let out a breath. It was fine. This was all nothing. Trees fell sometimes. Maybe Brett and Quinn had been on the other side of it, or investigating its trunk to see how it had fallen. Maybe they should have searched for them.

  “We should call them,” Shanna suggested, rifling through her purse for her phone. She looked up as the car entered the bridge and tried to ignore the feeling of dread that washed over her as they were plunged into complete darkness. Her hands found her phone and she pulled it out, happy to see the little light it offered when she flipped it open. She didn’t have anybody’s phone numbers programmed into it except for Amelia and Cameron, but Brett had been the last one to call her, asking if they wanted to go rent a movie, so she could just dial back to that number.

  She looked up after she found it, happy to make out the night sky at the end of the tunnel. Little light was better than no light.

  Then she dropped her phone as she noted the dark figure standing in the middle of the exit.

  Cameron slammed on the brakes.