The right front tire of the car blew out at the same time, and Rook wrenched the wheel to keep from hurtling off the cliff into the ocean. When the car came to a stop, he pulled out the Desert Eagle, opened the driver’s door, and kept himself low to the ground when he exited. After several minutes, he hadn’t heard any additional shots. But he didn’t dare make his way around to the damaged wheel, exposed as he was to anyone on the hill that rose away from the road. He had no choice but to either wait, or make the rest of the journey on a flat tire. Rook had never liked waiting. So five minutes later, he was back at the house. He knocked on the door, and Peder let him in. “Car trouble?” “If you call having a tire shot out car trouble, then yeah.” Peder exhaled. “Trouble seems to follow you, doesn’t it? What does the woman in your life think?” “Trouble’s got me pegged, you’re right about that, but there’s not really a woman in my life like you mean.
