White-Hot Hack (Kate and Ian #2)(73)
“Did they say what caused it?”
“They said the utility companies are working on it, but they didn’t provide any details. It looks like we’ll reach each other in a little under three hours. We’re at three-quarters of a tank, but we’re going to top off as soon as we pass the next gas station. Make sure you do the same in another hundred miles or so.”
“I will.” She started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “See you soon.”
As she drove west on I-70, Kate switched to a news station and listened to an update on the power outage. Chad had been right when he’d said that details were scant. They were probably being withheld so as not to plunge the country into panic mode. If people knew the loss of their power was imminent, would they try to lay in supplies, causing a panicked run on grocery stores, or would they flee, creating a gridlock in an attempt to escape the blackout? She thought of Susan. Phillip had likely taken just as many precautions as Ian, but it still bothered Kate to think Susan would have no one with her if the power in DC and the surrounding areas went out. And who knew how long it would be before Phillip made it home?
Kate adjusted the cruise control, raising her speed from seventy to seventy-five after deciding a speeding ticket would be a small price to pay for reaching her dad and Chad sooner.
Forty-five minutes later on US 40 right outside Cumberland, Maryland, the Porsche began to lose speed. At first she thought she’d accidentally tapped the button and disengaged the cruise control, but when she pressed down on the gas, the car continued to slow. When it became apparent she might be stranded in the middle of the highway, she had no choice but to pull to the shoulder. There had to be something wrong with the car because she hadn’t been going fast enough to trigger Ian’s speed alarm, and besides, he had his hands full and likely wouldn’t be able to do anything about it even if he wanted to.
She tried to start the car, but she couldn’t get the engine to turn over, and her repeated attempts had probably flooded the engine. She’d wait ten minutes and try again, and if the car still wouldn’t start, she would call her dad and Chad and wait for them to come get her.
A car pulled off the highway, slowed to a crawl, and came to rest right behind her bumper. She could make out the faint glow of lights floating like a halo above the next town a mile or two down the road, but the fairly desolate stretch of road she was on was dark with only a few cars passing by. She heard the slam of a car door and took a few deep breaths. Probably just a concerned motorist making sure she was okay.
She double-checked that the doors were locked and reached for her phone, her finger hovering over the keypad. If they asked her if she needed assistance, she would tell them she’d already called for a tow truck and refuse any invitation to get out of the car.
Right before the person came into view, when they were still slightly to the rear of her driver’s side window, her seat belt unclicked and the Spyder’s locks popped up. And when the door opened and the interior light came on, she screamed as Zach Nielsen shoved his hands underneath her and propelled her over the console and into the passenger seat as if she were nothing more than a rag doll.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
For a few seconds, she forgot how breathing worked. Her shallow, panicked inhale failed to inflate her lungs to their full capacity because when she exhaled there didn’t seem to be enough air to blow out.
Zach typed something into his phone, and the door locks clicked into place again. The engine turned over with ease, and the voice of the news reporter burst forth from the stereo, the volume seeming too loud in the small space. He jabbed at the dial to silence it. The illumination of the dashboard lights allowed Kate to see him better. Gone were the warehouse-worker clothes he’d been wearing when he’d visited the food pantry. Instead he wore a button-down shirt and dark jeans, and his short hair looked freshly trimmed. To anyone else, it might have appeared as if they were going on a date or heading to a gathering with friends. Kate reached toward the floor for her purse, thinking by some miracle she might be able to grab her pepper spray, but Zach blocked her wrist before she could get to it.
“I don’t know what you’re reaching for in there, but don’t try it again.” He took the purse and set it on the floor of the driver’s side. “I don’t want you to be afraid, Kate. I don’t mean any harm, and I promise this will go smoothly, but only if you cooperate.”
“Ian will give you whatever you want.” She spoke quietly, trying to keep it together and not give him the satisfaction of hearing the tremble in her voice.
“Of course he will. I have his wife. Now give me your phone.”
She pulled it from the front pocket of her jeans, unlocked it, and set it on the console. Arguing or resisting would be futile—if she didn’t hand it over willingly, he’d take it anyway. They sat in awkward silence as he turned off her location devices. Then he put the phone in his pocket, buckled his seat belt, and pulled back onto the highway. She wanted to ask where they were going, but all of the potential responses terrified her, so she said nothing. A beeping sound filled the interior.
“You need to put your seat belt on,” he said, and she obeyed. “Maybe it’s because of your work at the food pantry, but you strike me as someone who would never ignore a safety rule. I really do admire you for helping all those people back in Minneapolis. It tells me what kind of person you are.”