A Not So Silent Night

2. Kris

CHAPTER 2

Kris

It has been a ridiculously long day of pulling cars out of ditches. The storm is too heavy to safely be standing on the side of the road or hooking cars up for a tow. At this point, there isn’t anyone stupid enough to still be out and about anyway. Except me… Everyone has grabbed the last of what they needed from the stores, picked up their families, and headed home to hunker down and ride out the storm. Just one quick stop to pick up my roommate, and I will be doing the same.

I flip on my blinker and make a left turn into the parking lot for the Pine Glen Police Department. After stepping gently on the brakes, the tow truck slides to a stop by the side entrance. I press against the horn and wait a minute.

“Let’s go, Nick,” I mumble to myself as I wait impatiently. He needs to hurry the fuck up; the weather is only getting worse .

When he doesn’t come out, I lay on the horn two more times. He barrels through the side door with an annoyed expression spread across his face. Hopping into the truck with a few bags of groceries, he groans, “Jesus Christ, I was coming. It’s been a crazy fucking day.”

“You know the roads out to the cabin are going to be absolute shit by now.”

“Really?” He sarcastically answers, “That’s why you insisted on driving me home in your truck instead of me taking my cruiser. You’re my hero.”

Literally as annoying as the little brother I never wanted…

Nicholas and I both grew up in Pine Glen; we’re like brothers. We’ve been getting into trouble with each other since elementary school. It continued through junior high and only got worse in high school. Parties. Fights. Hockey. Girls. Sometime in our early twenties, after our fair share of bar hopping and making our way through the ladies of Pine Glen, we managed to get our shit together.

After working his way through the police academy and up in ranks at the local police department, Nick is now a sergeant keeping the little town of Pine Glen safe.

The fact that someone decided it was okay to let his crazy ass carry a gun still amazes me some days .

I took my love of fast cars and managed to turn it into a successful automotive shop and tow business.

While we still party from time to time, these days, we’ve definitely slowed things down. Most days, we work long hours and head home to drink beers on the porch of the cabin we rent out on Smith Mill Lake.

At the speed we’re going, it’s going to take us nearly an hour to make it the six miles outside of town to our home. We only make it a few miles outside town before the snow is coming down so hard that the roads are nearly impassible, forcing me to slow down to a snail’s pace.

“What the hell is that?” Nick points toward the shoulder as he squints through the windshield into the heavy storm. “I can barely see, but are those hazard lights?”

“Who in their right mind would be out in this weather?” I question.

“Um,” he waves his hand between the two of us as we get closer, “And that is definitely an SUV.”

“We’re literally heading home,” I respond as we reach the back of the car. It has a blown tire and looks to be wedged pretty firmly into the snowbank.

“Something tells me that these people aren’t from around here,” Nick gestures at the New Jersey license plate as we drive past. “And they are not on their way home.”

Bringing the truck to a stop alongside the car, Nick zips up his jacket and hops out of the truck as I put it in park.

“Shit, Kris,” Nick calls as I round the front of the truck, “There’s someone in there.”

He’s just about to grab the door handle when the door pushes open.

“Oh my God. I thought I was going to fucking freeze to death out here,” a shivering feminine voice comes from within the large, tightly bound coat climbing from the car. Loosening the coat as she speaks, she pushes back the hood, and her long, curly black hair cascades down her back.

Fuck. She’s stunning.

“You look like you’re freezing,” I step closer toward her.

She shivers, and her teeth chatter as she responds, “I ran out of gas about an hour ago.”

“Let’s get you in the truck,” Nick reaches for her, “Get you warmed up.”

She steps out of his reach and eyes us both suspiciously before asking, “Are you serial killers? Rapists? Or going to leave me for dead out here in the middle of the woods?”

“I’m not.” I smile back, “But Nick here is part of the local PD, so the jury is probably still out on him.”