Gaia's POV

We scrambled to pull our clothes back into place, fingers fumbling with buttons and zippers in panicked haste.

A shadow appeared at the driver's side window. Someone knocked—a middle-aged man with a confused expression, holding a crumpled map.

"Excuse me," he called through the glass. "Sorry to bother you, but could you tell me how to get to Highway 15 from here?"

Astrein rolled down the window, his face carefully neutral despite the flush creeping up his ...