The car fishtailed slightly, but Rose held the wheel steady, bringing us to a halt just inches from the SUV’s rear bumper.

Both cars sat idling in the middle of the dark highway.

The red brake lights of Richard’s SUV glowed like angry eyes in the darkness.

The driver’s side door of the SUV began to open.

Richard stepped out into the cold night, the wind whipping his coat around his legs.

He started walking slowly toward our car.

Claire gasped, grabbing my hand.

Rose shifted the car into reverse.

“Hold on,” Rose said.

Before she could hit the gas, the headlights of another vehicle appeared over the crest of the hill behind us.

The blue and red lights began to flash.

A state trooper patrol car pulled up behind us, its siren giving a short, sharp yelp.

Richard stopped in his tracks, his silhouette frozen in the headlights.

He looked at our car, then at the flashing lights behind him.

My phone in my hand vibrated again.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

I tapped the screen, and the light illuminated my face.