No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

2:56 a.m.
On her way back into the lobby, she folded Jay’s cryptic little
DON’T TRUST THEM napkin and tucked it in her back
pocket.
Why? She wondered, a sore pit growing in her stomach.
Why shouldn’t I trust Ed and Sandi?
She wanted to ask the girl, but Ed was too close. “Jay, did
those assholes mention where they were driving you?” he
asked. “Before they got stranded up here on the pass, I mean?”
“No.” Jay shook her head. “They’re here on purpose.”
“What?”
“They were looking for this rest stop. They were looking
at maps today on the road, finding it—”
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just know they wanted to be
here.”
Tonight, Darby thought, tying her hair up into a ponytail.
Another loose puzzle piece. Another unsolved fragment. It
made her stomach hurt. She couldn’t imagine why Ashley and
Lars would intend to trap themselves up here with their
hostage, at nine thousand feet, among a handful of travelers.
Unless they’d planned to kill everyone here all along? The
homicidal brothers had been traveling with a handgun, five
gallons of gasoline, and a jug of bleach. Maybe Ashley had
something evil in mind. As she considered this, Ed asked Jay
something else that caught her attention: “Did they take your
meds? When they took you?”
Darby’s ears perked. Meds?
Jay wrinkled her nose. “My shots?”