Taigen spat.They’d gone through three states without stopping and the truck jerked in protest, pushing Torrhent forward and nearly into the dashboard. She shot him a look and buckled her seat belt. “The left one’s the brake.”He fumbled with the gearshift, switching between fourth and fifth gears. The truck jerked with his movements and a frustrated growl ripped from his throat. His expression was one of concentration as he pushed and pulled the gearshift. Torrhent clutched the dashboard with one hand and the door with the other.The pickup veered onto the side of the freeway. When it stopped, smoke emanated from under the hood.“That’s not good.” She followed Taigen outside. She tried to breathe through the fumes as she made her way to the front, waving her hand to clear the smoke when he opened the hood. “What’s wrong with it?”“Transmission.” His voice had gone dead, accepting, as if he’d planned for this all along. Taigen reached down into the engine, but suddenly snapped his hand back as he hissed in pain.
