Headlights streaked past like distant comets. When he spoke again, his voice carried that same steady calm. "Because I've seen it before." Marcus took a step closer. "Where?"
Elias met his eyes. "Vehicles designed to look safe until they hit 70 miles an hour." Victoria's gaze sharpened. The security team shifted uneasily. One of the guards leaned down to examine the brake line more closely.
"Marcus." the man murmured. Marcus crouched beside him, frowning. The rain had washed the area clean enough now that the mark Elias pointed out was impossible to ignore. A thin cut, barely visible beneath the protective coating. Marcus's breath slowed.
"That's..." he began. "Not road damage," Elias finished quietly. Victoria straightened, her expression cooling into something sharper than irritation. "Could it fail immediately?" she asked.
Elias shook his head. "No. That's the point." Marcus looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
Elias glanced toward the convoy of black SUVs lined along the shoulder. Whoever did it didn't want the car to fail here, he said. They wanted it to fail later. Victoria's voice dropped. At speed.
Elias nodded. Marcus rose quickly, turning to his team. "No one moves that vehicle." The command snapped through the rain like a whip. Two guards immediately block the road lane behind the disabled SUV, while another scanned the surrounding woods with a flashlight.
Victoria crossed her arms, studying the quiet mechanic standing in front of her. "You noticed this while fixing the tire?" she asked. "Part of it." "And you didn't say anything earlier?"
Elias shrugged faintly. "You were in a hurry. And I wasn't sure yet." Marcus faced him again. "You're telling me you spotted a professional sabotage job in five minutes, on the side of a highway?"
Elias glanced back at the wheel. "Closer to three." Marcus exhaled slowly. Frustration warring with logic. The rain continued to fall harder now, drumming against the convoy roofs.
Victoria tilted her head slightly. What's your name? She asked. Elias. Just Elias?
Elias Rowan. Marcus studied him more carefully now. Grease-stained boots, old jacket, calloused hands. Nothing about the man fit the calm certainty he had just shown. Marcus spoke again, slower this time.
"If this is sabotage, then whoever did it expected her to drive away." "Exactly." Victoria looked at the damaged wheel. And if we had? Elias met her gaze.
You probably wouldn't make it to the next exit. Silence followed. Even the traffic seemed quieter for a moment. Marcus turned to one of his men. "Full sweep of the vehicle."
The guard nodded and moved immediately. Victoria remained where she was, watching the mechanic in the rain. You stopped because you wanted to help, she said. Yeah. And now you're telling me someone tried to kill me.