key to the room. He left that on the round table on his way out the door.
He wouldn’t be coming back.
Breaking into a car and hotwiring it was among his skill
sets, but he’d only done it on his own cars. He’d never swiped someone else’s.
Anger and guilt mixed in his gut as he picked out an older, nondescript car
that he was lucky enough to find had the back door unlocked.
“Add one more sin to the list of reasons why the cops want
you,” he muttered as he twisted wires together to spark the engine to life.
He squealed out of the parking lot, hanging a right in the
direction he’d seen her go. Why was she doing this? If she wanted to meet with
the asshole boss on the sly, there was no reason not to let Nate help. It would
have been much better to have him on her side. Not wanting him in danger was
noble, but it was a weak excuse. Danger was a been-there-done-that deal
already, and it had left him a wanted man. She was putting herself in a highly
unsafe situation by not having someone to watch her back.
Nate spotted his car a few blocks away, and he zoomed up to
follow her from a couple car lengths behind. She pulled off for gas, and he
considered confronting her then and there. He could re-cuff her and strap her
in for the ride, and then demand that she tell him where they were going. But
somehow, he knew she would find a way around accepting his help. He’d have to
give it to her without her knowing.
The Toyota he’d swiped had only a third of a tank of gas, so
he couldn’t follow her for long before fuel became a problem. Still, if his
instincts were right, she wouldn’t be headed out of town just yet. He knew what
her next stop would be after this.
She came out of the mini-mart with his new cell phone
pressed to her ear. She looked worried as she spoke, not to mention guilty as
hell. Her eyes flicked all around, as if she expected a SWAT team to jump her
at any moment. Or maybe for Nate to pop up.
Judging from the look on her face when she hung up, he had a
fair guess who she’d been talking to. She’d made contact with Andrew about a
deal. Nate slipped out of the stolen car while she was gassing up, and he kept
a low profile while he picked out a blue Neon.
The ignition cap was trickier on this model, and he was
still fucking with it when he saw Lydia hang up the pump nozzle and get in the
car.
“Shit,” he said while she pulled away. Maybe he should have
stowed away in the back while she’d gone inside.
A screwdriver in the glove compartment came in handy, and he
popped the ignition with it and roared off to do his version of casual tailing
in midmorning traffic. A glance at the dashboard told Nate it was eleven a.m.,
and the gas gauge was encouragingly close to the Full mark. He wondered how
long it would take Lydia to drive to wherever she’d hidden the evidence, which
was somewhere in Flagstaff. He had no doubt that was her destination.
When she pulled up at a bus station, he parked and dashed
inside the adjacent mini-mart for a caffeine boost and another disposable
phone. This one was a cheap flip job with no bells and whistles, but he wanted
it on hand just in case.
He was back behind the wheel by the time Lydia emerged,
clutching a manila envelope and a coffee to go. This was it. Nate wasn’t
entirely sure where she had arranged to meet the guy who had put a major cramp
in Nate’s life as well as hers, but he was fairly certain the meeting wouldn’t
take place in Arizona. They were most likely headed back to some point between
here and the place where this odyssey had all begun. What the hell he would do,
exactly, once he followed her there was another story. He had no weapon, save
the screwdriver, no fun little spy gadgets, and little idea as to what kind of
muscle the guy had on hand.
Maybe Lydia was right about working a deal to make all this
go away, but Nate doubted it. As she got on the highway, he stayed a couple of
cars behind and spent a good half hour spitting out
He wouldn’t be coming back.
Breaking into a car and hotwiring it was among his skill
sets, but he’d only done it on his own cars. He’d never swiped someone else’s.
Anger and guilt mixed in his gut as he picked out an older, nondescript car
that he was lucky enough to find had the back door unlocked.
“Add one more sin to the list of reasons why the cops want
you,” he muttered as he twisted wires together to spark the engine to life.
He squealed out of the parking lot, hanging a right in the
direction he’d seen her go. Why was she doing this? If she wanted to meet with
the asshole boss on the sly, there was no reason not to let Nate help. It would
have been much better to have him on her side. Not wanting him in danger was
noble, but it was a weak excuse. Danger was a been-there-done-that deal
already, and it had left him a wanted man. She was putting herself in a highly
unsafe situation by not having someone to watch her back.
Nate spotted his car a few blocks away, and he zoomed up to
follow her from a couple car lengths behind. She pulled off for gas, and he
considered confronting her then and there. He could re-cuff her and strap her
in for the ride, and then demand that she tell him where they were going. But
somehow, he knew she would find a way around accepting his help. He’d have to
give it to her without her knowing.
The Toyota he’d swiped had only a third of a tank of gas, so
he couldn’t follow her for long before fuel became a problem. Still, if his
instincts were right, she wouldn’t be headed out of town just yet. He knew what
her next stop would be after this.
She came out of the mini-mart with his new cell phone
pressed to her ear. She looked worried as she spoke, not to mention guilty as
hell. Her eyes flicked all around, as if she expected a SWAT team to jump her
at any moment. Or maybe for Nate to pop up.
Judging from the look on her face when she hung up, he had a
fair guess who she’d been talking to. She’d made contact with Andrew about a
deal. Nate slipped out of the stolen car while she was gassing up, and he kept
a low profile while he picked out a blue Neon.
The ignition cap was trickier on this model, and he was
still fucking with it when he saw Lydia hang up the pump nozzle and get in the
car.
“Shit,” he said while she pulled away. Maybe he should have
stowed away in the back while she’d gone inside.
A screwdriver in the glove compartment came in handy, and he
popped the ignition with it and roared off to do his version of casual tailing
in midmorning traffic. A glance at the dashboard told Nate it was eleven a.m.,
and the gas gauge was encouragingly close to the Full mark. He wondered how
long it would take Lydia to drive to wherever she’d hidden the evidence, which
was somewhere in Flagstaff. He had no doubt that was her destination.
When she pulled up at a bus station, he parked and dashed
inside the adjacent mini-mart for a caffeine boost and another disposable
phone. This one was a cheap flip job with no bells and whistles, but he wanted
it on hand just in case.
He was back behind the wheel by the time Lydia emerged,
clutching a manila envelope and a coffee to go. This was it. Nate wasn’t
entirely sure where she had arranged to meet the guy who had put a major cramp
in Nate’s life as well as hers, but he was fairly certain the meeting wouldn’t
take place in Arizona. They were most likely headed back to some point between
here and the place where this odyssey had all begun. What the hell he would do,
exactly, once he followed her there was another story. He had no weapon, save
the screwdriver, no fun little spy gadgets, and little idea as to what kind of
muscle the guy had on hand.
Maybe Lydia was right about working a deal to make all this
go away, but Nate doubted it. As she got on the highway, he stayed a couple of
cars behind and spent a good half hour spitting out
Similar Books
