Raven Stole the Moon Read Online Free PDF Page B

for home. The car was purring along at eighty. It was true: it liked going for a ride. And Jenna did feel much better, like the car guys said. She felt relaxed and not a bit tired, even though it was already a quarter to two. She hadn’t thought about Robert once, and she wondered if he had thought about her.
    Gleep-gleep-gleep. The video game went off again. Jenna eased off the gas and let the car coast down to sixty. There were no cars on the road. Where did the radar come from?
    Suddenly blue lights flashed behind her. Her heart jumped. The radar beeper was going nuts. Gleep-gleep-gleep. She slowed down and pulled over.
    A cop holding a flashlight walked toward the car with his hand on his gun. Jenna turned and opened the door.
    The cop jumped forward, jerked his gun out of his holster, and kicked the door shut in Jenna’s face. He pointed the gun through the window at Jenna’s head. Jenna’s eyes went wide. She put her hands in the air. He gestured to her with the gun. He wanted her to roll down the window. Jenna looked around for the button. It seemed to take forever to find it. The window whizzed down.
    “The proper procedure when being pulled over, ma’am, is to roll down your window, turn on your cab light, and place both hands on the steering wheel.”
    Jenna nodded quickly.
    “Will you please turn on your cab light, ma’am?”
    Jenna, frightened, looked up at him. She didn’t know where it was. She glanced around the cabin. The radar detector was still beeping madly.
    “Will you please shut off that radar detector, ma’am?”
    “It’s my husband’s car. I don’t know—”
    “Above the rearview mirror, ma’am.”
    Jenna looked up and saw the light. She turned it on.
    “The detector is on the console next to the shift, ma’am.”
    She reached over and turned off the beeper.
    “Do you realize you were speeding, ma’am?”
    “I guess so. It’s my husband’s car and I’m not used to it. My car makes a lot of noise when it goes over fifty-five. This one’s real quiet.”
    The cop smiled. He put his gun away. That’s a relief.
    “Sorry if I frightened you, ma’am. Officers have been shot on this highway in the past. You can’t be too careful when approaching a car at night.”
    Jenna nodded.
    “Where’re you headed, ma’am?”
    “I’m going home.”
    “Where’s that?”
    “Seattle.”
    “You’re going the wrong way. Seattle is south of here.”
    Whoops. Busted.
    “Been drinking, ma’am?”
    “No. My husband and I . . . we kind of had a fight and I wanted to get away.”
    “Did he hit you?”
    “No, but—”
    “Did you think he was going to hit you?”
    “No, no, it’s not like that.” Jenna tried to explain. “It’s really complicated. I wanted to get away, that’s all.”
    “Ma’am, you have some food on your mouth.”
    Jenna looked at him, confused. She glanced over in the mirror and saw some chocolate smudged around her mouth. She wiped it off with her hand. Did the cop see her blushing? That’s embarrassing. Jenna laughed. The cop smiled.
    “Campfire Girl mints. Want one?”
    “No thanks, ma’am, not while I’m on duty.”
    They laughed again. He was kind of cute. Don’t women have fantasies about men in uniforms?
    The phone rang. As if this already weren’t the speeding ticket from hell. The phone was ringing. Christ. Jenna looked over to the cop and shrugged sheepishly. It kept on ringing.
    “Do you want to answer it?”
    “It’s probably my husband wondering where his car is.”
    “I don’t blame him. Why don’t you answer it and tell him you’re safe.”
    Jenna nodded and picked up the phone from the console. It was Robert, all right.
    “Jenna, where the hell are you?” he screamed into the phone.
    “I’m in the car.”
    “No shit, Sherlock, I called you. Where? ”
    “I’m safe. I wanted to clear my head. I’ll be home soon,” Jenna said, glancing up at the cop and smiling sheepishly.
    “Why did you leave me at the party? What’s wrong