The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1) (19 page)

I like this Texas bull rider turned trucker.

"So,
how's it going?" Lucy asked, approaching the back of the rig.

"Great."
Xochitl pointed to Tex. "Bull rider. Champ. Pretty cool, huh."

"Yeah."
Lucy tilted her head in surprise. "So, Tex." Lucy sucked in a short
breath as she bent down. "I didn't know the Kyon Virus had gotten as far
as Texas."

"We've
heard of isolated cases in Arizona and Nevada." Xochitl squatted across
from Lucy. "Oh, and Washington State."

"Well,
I've heard of it getting as far as Florida." Tex poked his head out from
under the rig. "Miss Xochitl, can you slide the end of the chain toward me?"

Xochitl
heaved the end of the chain under the trailer and dragged the slack to Tex. The
trucker pulled the chain around the axle and over the frame.

"How'd
you hear that?" Lucy asked. "It's not being reported."

"Since
when did the news get anything right?" Xochitl grumbled.

"Ham
radio," Tex stated, matter-of-fact. "And you're right, Miss Xochitl,
the news ain't reportin' nothin' right these days. Folks gotta get the
information the ol' fashion way, they gotta talk to each other." Tex scooted
out from under the trailer and grabbed his CB. "There. That'll do her."
He slapped the dirt off his pants.

"We
can't thank you enough, Tex." Lucy rose and smiled at the trucker.

"Yeah."
Xochitl patted Tex on the back. "You're a life saver."

"Ah,
was nothin'." He bowed his head slightly, swatting the air with his hand.
Xochitl detected a little pink in his cheeks.

"Though,
I'd feel better if I followed you gals up the road," Tex added. "Just
'til you get to the bridge."

"You
don't have..." Lucy stopped in mid sentence; her gaze drifted past Xochitl
and Tex.

"Hello?...Hey?..."
a male voice shouted.

Xochitl
craned her neck and followed Lucy's line of sight. Todd the store clerk jogged
toward them, holding a plastic shopping bag as he shouted and waved in their
direction.

"Hey."
Todd panted. "Umm...I got your snacks and lotion." He held the bag
out to Xochitl.

"Thanks."
She grabbed the bag, took out her pepitas and shoved them in her cargo pants
pocket. She tossed Lucy her pretzels.

"Umm..."
Todd mumbled and shifted from side to side, looking like a little lost puppy.

"Was
there something else?" Lucy asked.

"Umm..."
Todd's voice nervously rose in pitch. "Yeah?...I think...someone might
have called...the authorities?"

"Shit,"
Lucy and Xochitl said in unison.

"Well,
time to hit the road," Xochitl said. Lucy tossed her the rooster key chain.

"You
two are like a well-oiled machine." Tex gaped at them.

"Hunting
things with claws and sharp teeth can do that for a girl." Xochitl slapped
Tex on the back.

Lucy
turned her head sharply in the direction of the highway. Off in the distance Xochitl
heard sirens getting louder as they approached.

We're not gonna make it outta here in
time.

Xochi
started for El Gallo, but Lucy didn't move. "Luce?"

"Tex?"
Lucy turned to the trucker. "I think we'll take you up on that offer."

"Yes,
ma'am!" Tex hooted and turned to Xochitl. "Drive out the exit behind
the diner and wait for me there...and take this." He handed her the CB
walkie-talkie. "Keep it on channel seventeen." He turned and
hop-skipped back to his rig without further explanation.

Xochitl
stood next to El Gallo, playing with the CB, as Lucy limped around the front of
the Toronado to the passenger side.

"You
comin'?" Lucy plopped onto her seat, tugging the car door shut.

"Yep."
Xochitl tossed the CB on the dash then waved to Todd.
"Bye, Todd."

She
slid behind the wheel and revved the engine. In her side-view mirror, she saw
Todd standing by the gas pumps, looking dumbfounded as he waved goodbye.

Xochitl
pulled El Gallo up to the exit at the rear of the truck stop diner. Ahead of
them, El Gallo's headlights illuminated an unlit road, which looped around the
station back toward the 110 South on-ramp.

A
metallic silver eighteen-wheeler pulled behind the horse trailer. She spotted
Tex at the wheel — his bright white cowboy hat a beacon in the dark.

"Collect
call for The Windy City...Collect call for The Windy City..." Tex's voice crackled
through the CB radio. "This is Texas Two Step. You got your ears on? Come
back."

Xochitl
smiled at Tex's CB handle and trucker lingo. She felt like she was listening to
characters from a cheesy 70s road trip movie — the kind she used to
watched with her papa, who had loved them. Lucy snickered.

"You're
listening to the smooth sounds of The Windy City," a Barry White baritone
voice replied.

"What's
your twenty?" Tex asked.

"On
the four-seven approaching The Gate as we speak." The Windy City's dulcet
tones flowed over the handheld radio.

"I'm
at the chew-n-choke," Tex came back.

"Geraldine's?"
Windy City asked.

"Affirmative,"
Tex said. "Hey, I got a couple of beavers..."

"Beavers?"
Xochitl wrinkled her nose and looked over to Lucy who seemed equally
disenchanted with being called a beaver.

"...and
a rooster with a broken wing. A Full Grown Bear's breathing down their necks,"
Tex continued. "I need you to flip flop our way and bring the baby into
the cradle. Come back."

"Ten-four,"
Windy City replied. "I'm puttin' the pedal to the metal."

"Watch
for my flashin' chickens," Tex said.

"Copy,"
Windy replied. "I'm northbound and down."

"El
Gallo? You there?" Tex asked.

Xochitl
picked up the walkie and pressed the push-to-talk button. "We're
here...not liking being called beavers though."

"That's
a big ten-four." Tex chuckled. "Old habits...Did you catch any
of—"

"Yeah."
Xochitl noticed a confused look on Lucy's face. "We're gonna ride between
Tex and his amigo Windy," she explained.

"And
you know that how?" Lucy rubbed her chin.

"There's
a lot about me you don't know." Xochitl grinned.

"El
Gallo?" Tex urged. "Best get our wheels spinnin'."

"That's
a big ten-four." Xochitl pulled out onto the road behind Geraldine's and
drove toward the freeway entrance. She could hear the heavy rumbling of Tex's
big rig on their tail.

"Collect
call for Texas Two Step. Come back," a high-pitched female voice with a
sassy swagger came over the CB.

"You
got Tex, Driver. Come on," Tex replied.

"You
got Switchblade Sally, honey-pie," the woman cooed.

"Nice."
Xochitl glanced at Lucy as they approached the four-way stop before the
on-ramp. "I need to get me a cool handle."

Lucy
shook her head.

Go on laugh, Werewolf Whisperer. You know
you want one too.

Xochi
stuck out her tongue.

"Well,
butter my biscuit! Sweet Switchblade Sally!" Tex drawled flirtatiously. "You
still drivin' that parking lot?"

"To
be sure," Sally came back. "What's your twenty?"

"Just
merging onto the 110 South. Come back," Tex replied.

Xochitl
veered El Gallo onto the freeway. She glimpsed the cab of Tex's rig as he
pulled up behind her.

"Wish
we could play catch up, honey-pie," Switchblade came back. "But your
Big Bad Papa Bear brought Mama Bear and Baby Bear with him."

Lucy
rolled down her window and adjusted her side-view mirror. "I can see
three...make that four sets of flashing lights headed our way." She
grimaced at Xochi.

Xochi checked her side mirror.
"I can
'
t see a damn thing."

"Trust
me." Lucy sounded nervous. "I see 'em. They
'
re there."

"Okay,
chica. Whatever you say." Xochi gripped the steering wheel and leaned in. "Go,
go, go, go, go," she mumbled under her breath.

"I
'
m
approaching your back door,
"
Switchblade came in. "You and Windy put that baby in the cradle and I
'
ll tuck her in tight. Come back."

"Sally's
gonna block the police from seeing us." Xochitl translated.

"I
got that. Thanks." Lucy scowled.

"Ten-four,
Sally," Tex replied. "We're on the floor lookin' for more. You copy
that, Little Rooster? Come back."

"Copy,
Tex," Xochi came back. "We're puttin' the pedal to the metal."

Xochi
stepped on the accelerator. El Gallo whined and shook as she tried to coax more
speed from the Toronado. The horse trailer's jury-rigged rear axle was not
holding the weight of the rig well. The drag it caused on her car was apparent
as the engine strained to haul the beast attached to it.

"El
Gallo was not made for this." Xochitl white-knuckled the steering wheel.

"We're
only about four miles out." Lucy's voice wavered.

"Won't
matter if Smokey nabs us." Xochi grimaced. "We get caught
transporting a Beast, they're gonna lock us up and throw away the key."

Just
then, a flash of blinding light reflected off the side mirror into Xochi's
eyes. "¡Híjole!" She put her hand up to block the glare.

"I
think
Tex
just flashed us." Lucy
swiveled in her seat. "He's lighting up the trailer."

She's worried. Crap!

"With
the darts you shot into Travis and the elephant dart I tranqed him with,"
Lucy nervously calculated, "he should be down until Catalina." She
gave Xochitl a
weak
smile.

"Just
so ya know, we get caught I
'
m not
sharing a bunk with you." Xochi punched the gas once more.

The
interior of El Gallo lit up. "Ugh." Xochitl blocked the light from
her eyes and grabbed the CB. "
Hey Tex, we
'
re comin
'
up on MacArthur and baby
'
s gettin
'
fussy."

"Windy,
what
'
s your twenty?"
Tex drawled.

"Comin
'
up on your
back door,
" Windy City
answered. "Your chickens are lighting my way home."

"Windy,
you sweet thing, you
'
re as
smooth as ever," Sally cooed. "I just love to watch you from behind."

A
deep rumble vibrated through El Gallo just before the giant silhouette of an
eighteen-wheeler — like a stealth bomber — passed by Xochi's
window. Completely blacked out, the truck would have seemed invisible if it
hadn't been outlined in reflective lights. The horn bellowed twice, signaling
Windy City's arrival.

Xochi
and Lucy winced.

The
black hole of a big rig eased ahead of the caravan. El Gallo's headlights illuminated
the back of the truck, which morphed from pitch black to rich purple and
sparkled with small diamond flecks.

Intimidating
by night, badass by day.

Xochitl
picked up the walkie and hit the PTT button, "Collect call for the Windy
City. This is La Vida Loba."

"La
Veee...da...Loba..." Windy City oozed sensuality.

"Please
make it stop." Lucy huffed.

"I'm
gonna have some fun tonight even if it kills me." Xochitl made a kissy
face at her friend.

"Windy
City," Tex's voice came over the CB. "Best keep your silver tongue
away from that little wolf. She just might bite it off."

"Sorry
to break up the love-in," Switchblade Sally cut in. "But I got a
whole slew of jackpots coming up on the left and I don't feel like getting a
bear bite. Let's put this baby to bed."

Lucy
grabbed the CB from Xochitl. "That's a big ten-four, Switchblade."

Xochi
smirked.

A
huge double-decker eighteen-wheeler loaded with cars on both levels sidled up
to El Gallo's driver side. A woman in her fifties sat behind the wheel. She had
a pale scarf headband tied around her dark bobbed hair, and the collar of her
polo shirt pulled up to her ears. If it hadn't been for the silver blade she
repeatedly flicked as she drove, Sally would have appeared more like a soccer
mom than a trucker. She smiled and touched the switchblade to her temple in
salute to Xochitl and Lucy just as four highway patrol cars zoomed past, lights
flashing and sirens shrieking.

"Baby's
tucked in tight for the night," Switchblade's voice came over the walkie.

Xochi
and Lucy watched the cop cars speed down the freeway and across the Vincent
Thomas Bridge. Xochitl and Lucy let out a collective sigh of relief.