Eve in Overdrive: A psychological thriller novella (The Jolvix Episodes) by Faith Gardner

Author:Faith Gardner [Gardner, Faith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mirror House Press
Published: 2023-03-22T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Now it’s my turn to give him the cold shoulder.

I close my eyes. Maybe if I just stay like this, I’ll startle awake soon and realize this has all been nothing but a nightmare. And at some point, I do startle awake—blinking, shifting in my seat—only to realize instead with horror that this is real life.

However, something’s different. I sit up a little straighter. The car has changed lanes. It’s in the right lane now. Green farmlands brighten up the landscape. My pulse picks up speed as the car’s right turn signal begins blinking, clicking, indicating we’re getting off the freeway.

Did Henry have a change of heart?

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“You’ve been a good little doll. Keeping that mouth closed. Staying still.”

Relief floods me. Oh, thank you, lady luck. I could cry. I take a little nap, wake up, and Henry’s seen the light. Game over.

“You’re letting me go?” I ask.

The car gets off the freeway behind a truck filled with cantaloupes as I take a nice, long breath in and exhale. While we wait at the light, I can see the truck driver looking at the Sunray in his side mirror. I debate whether I should flail my arms, whether he could see me through the tinted windows, but decide that I should stay still to keep on Henry’s good side so he’ll let me go. Don’t want to screw this up now. Not when I’m this close. The Sunray makes a left turn under the overpass and heads toward a strip mall. I’m already planning what I’m going to do when I get out of this car. Call the police and report this, obviously. I won’t rest easy until I know Henry’s locked up. After that, I’ll call my mother. She’ll freak out completely and likely insert a bunch of I-told-you-so’s—despite her pride at my success, she’s never been a fan of my column—but then she’ll be so happy I’m okay that she’ll weep. Which means I’ll probably weep. After that, I’ll probably call my editor Dane at Green Light, because this experience is definitely going to have to make us rethink the book pitch she initially bought. I mean, kidnapped by one of the subjects of my columns? That’s going in the book, for sure. Maybe we’ll rethink the anthology format and dig into memoir …

Wait a second here. The car’s pulling into the lot for Mr. Droidburger. And it’s not stopping. It’s getting in line for the drive through window. Who knew it was physically possible, but my stomach both grumbles and sinks at the same time.

“Henry, what is happening?” I ask.

“You said you were thirsty and hungry, right?”

As it dawns on me that this isn’t Henry letting me go, that this is simply Henry stopping somewhere to feed me, I’m so crestfallen I have no words. I put a hand over my mouth, looking blankly ahead at the line of cars. If Henry had chosen another fast food restaurant, maybe this would be my ticket out.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.