He looked at me like I’d just set fire to a wad of cash. “You drive an ancient car and you haven’t thought about what you’d rather be driving?”
“I...” My tongue twisted up. “Yeah, I’ve thought about it, of course. But I wasn’t expecting my parents to chip in, so I was working with a much smaller budget and researched accordingly.”
Zack jumped out of the car and dove into an ocean of metal and wheels, with me trailing behind.
“Tell me what you don’t like so we can rule those out.”
“Station wagons and mini vans.” I had to move faster than usual to keep up with him. “I don’t care for sedans either.”
Without breaking stride, his eyes swept the lot, then stilled. “Over there.” He led the way to a light blue, convertible Volkswagen Beetle. White top, shiny rims. “You like it?” He went to the side window to read about the car, then got inside and poked around.
The sticker price was within my budget, with a little leftover, and I liked Beetles. But I wanted to hold out for a car I loved. Opening the other door, I stuck my head inside. “It’s a little too girly for me.”
His jaw ticked as he exited the bug. “Let’s look around some more.”
We strolled by car after car, but none of them spoke to me. When we’d almost made it to the other side of the lot, Zack said, “Anything here that catches your eye? Anything at all?”
I shook my head, scanning the inventory one last time. Everything I’d seen had been either too big, too boring or too expensive. “Not really.”
“Even a vague idea of your preferences would be helpful.”
I leaned against a compact SUV. “Do you have any suggestions?”
He forced a smile. “I did, but you shot it down.”
As I rolled my eyes at him, my gaze landed on something small and sleek. As if hypnotized, I moved away from the SUV toward a black car. Finally…
Zack’s hand wrapped around my arm. “We have to go.”
I blinked. “What?”
“We have to go. Now.” He tugged and I went along, surprised at how strong he was. Just before we got to the Jeep, a man appeared in front of us, blocking our way.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I guessed the man around ten years older than us. He wore black boots, faded jeans and a black cowboy hat over a long, brown ponytail. He gave me a friendly smile, but an eerie energy emanated from him, creeping me out.
Over the past few days, I’d gotten used to my crazy extra-sensory perceptions. Most of the time, I barely noticed the volume around me or weird smells unless something specific stuck out. The energy around this man definitely stuck.
“Playing hooky from work?” His too-smooth voice traveled over my skin like a slimy film.
“No.” Zack’s hand slid to my wrist, then he positioned me behind him, making me think he felt the threat too. With his free hand, he pointed to the emblem on his shirt with the auto shop name. “She’s car hunting.”
Warmth spread through me as I noticed the crisp cotton of Zack’s shirt tickling my arm and the oddly soothing effect of his skin against mine.
She’s a pretty little human. Girlfriend?
I jumped back, breaking contact with Zack. It was as if the words were said out loud. Except they weren’t. I was positive the man’s lips hadn’t moved. Was I hearing voices now?
“No,” Zack said.
No what? Had there been a question?
They stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Then the man tipped his hat and smiled. “Be seein’ ya.” He nodded at me, then strolled toward… a yellow Corvette that looked exactly like the car I’d seen tailing Zack the last few days. The man climbed inside and drove away a minute later. I had a feeling he wouldn’t stray far from Zack though.
“What just happened?” I demanded.
Zack busied himself with the car next to him, nudging a tire with his shoe, then reading the fact sheet. “You were there, same as me.”
“Uhm.” I mulled over his reply, which hadn’t told me a damn thing. “I’ve seen that car before. He’s been following you. Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No.” He moved onto the next car, eyeing the fact sheet.
I sidled up beside him. “A creepy guy is keeping tabs on you and that’s not a problem?”
Zack whirled on me. “Wasn’t there another car you wanted to check out or are we done for the day?” He nodded in the direction I’d been heading before the man had arrived.
Resigned to Zack’s reluctance to explain that guy, I forced my mind back to car shopping. “I thought we had to go.”
“No, we’re fine.”