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“The porniest of porn.” North shifted around again, hands running along the steering wheel. “Park and I screwed around for a while, and then it was over. I’m sorry. I guess I assumed—I’ll call him.”
Shaw stared. “What is wrong with you?”
“You wanted me to—”
“Oh my God.”
“Well, how am I supposed to tell him?”
“Stop. Right now.”
North was silent as the Focus rocked over the ruts in the old road. Then, in a tight voice, he said, “You are making this really fucking hard.”
Sitting back, Shaw considered that and finally said, “Good.”
North probably didn’t want him to notice, but that made him smile. Just a little.
“And that mom was driving a respectable speed—”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” North growled, but a few minutes later, the smile was a tiny bit bigger.
Their first sign that they were in the right place was the peeling, mid-century sign poking out of a massive growth of honeysuckle. ELDORIA HOT SPRINGS, it said, and then a jaunty, Space Race arrow and the words THIS WAY! After another hundred yards, the road widened into what at some point had been a parking lot. Nature was slowly reclaiming the space; enough gravel remained to suggest the outline of the space, but weeds grew tall and, in places, thick. Trees and brush crowded the edges, making it impossible to see anything beyond the lot. At least one vehicle had been here before them, its tracks visible where the weeds had been flattened, but if the vehicle were still present, Shaw didn’t see it. North did a three-point turn and parked the Focus facing the way they had come.
“One way out,” North said. “That’s fucking fantastic.” Craning to look over his shoulder, he said, “I don’t want to drive any closer; someone might hear us. Hell, if someone’s listening, they probably heard us a while ago, but no point making it any easier for them.”
Shaw nodded. When they’d switched cars, they’d transferred some of their equipment to the Focus’s trunk, so they retrieved their pepper gel and their guns. North grabbed a flashlight, and Shaw decided that was a good idea, so he grabbed one too. Then they headed toward the far end of the lot.
When they reached the wall of trees and brush, Shaw spotted what he’d missed before: a chain-link fence that was hidden by the vegetation. Faded signs warned, POSTED—NO TRESPASSING and DANGER—DO NOT ENTER. Spray-painted penises of all shapes, colors, and sizes suggested how effective the warnings had been.
“It’s very inclusive,” Shaw said.
North gave him the stink eye.
“What?” Shaw said. “Sometimes I like to see a little doodle. It’s invigorating. So much possibility.”
“I changed my mind. It was serious with Park. Very serious. I’m reconsidering everything.”
Shaw tried to pepper spray him, but North was laughing that low, quiet laugh, and he managed to keep pulling Shaw’s finger off the trigger right before Shaw unleashed a blast. Finally, Shaw decided a nice, quiet, domestic smothering would be more pleasant for both of them, and he gave up.
“Give me a boost,” North said.
Shaw did. The chain-link rattled and chimed, and North grunted and swore as he hauled himself up.
“We’ll have to be quiet,” he managed to say, his breaths becoming more and more explosive as he neared the top. The fence was practically singing at this point. “Don’t know—what—waiting—”
It was more of a fall than a jump. It might, technically, have been considered a drop, but a graceless one. The thud of the landing almost covered up North’suhfff.
“Christ,” North wheezed as he got to his feet. “That fence has got to be, like, thirty feet high.”
Ten, Shaw thought, but maybe those heavy boots made it feel taller.
“You’re remarkably sweaty,” Shaw said. “When was the last time you did a full-body pore purge?”
“Oh, that’s easy, it was the twenty-first of Go Fuck That Bullshit. Come on, get your skinny ass up there.”
Shaw pulled back the loose section of fencing and slipped through the gap.
North was staring at him. And breathing. Loudly.
