that. And women are supposed to be fiercer. Was your mom?”
She tried to recall her mother, but to be honest, she had long ago banished the thought of her face from her memory. She and her mom had never been close, and after everything that had happened with Franklin, Justine realized they never would be.
“No. She wasn’t into defending anyone.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Justine shrugged. This entire situation made it impossible for them not to talk about stuff like parents and parenting, but she didn’t want to discuss her own. “Just that my mom thought everyone should defend themselves, and that experience was the best way to learn that lesson.”
“Experience is a good teacher,” Nigel said.
“Would you really let Piper burn her hand on a hot stove to learn that it’s hot?”
“Of course not. Did your mom?”
“Yes.”
Justine fumbled in her bag and found her iPod. She jammed the cord that adapted it to play from the radio and turned on her workout mix. It was loud and raucous and exactly what she needed to discourage Nigel from talking anymore.
But the first song to come on was Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.” And though the slow melodic song was a favorite of hers for winding down, sitting so close to Nigel and listening to Marvin’s smooth voice singing about needing sexual healing made her realize that she needed it, too.
That for a long time there had been an emptiness inside of her that her job just couldn’t fill.
And until she’d met Nigel, she’d had no idea what was missing, but having him here with her made everything that had been missing seem very apparent.
She hit the scan button and a new song started to play: “Let’s Go,” by Trick Daddy. The raucous rap song filled the car and Justine kept her eyes on the road, pretending that Nigel was nothing more than a client.
Chapter Nine
J ustine had tuned him out with the loud music, and Nigel really didn’t know what to do but to work. Only there was no work to do tonight. So he started thinking of anyone who would have a grudge against him. He was still drawing a blank when his cell phone beeped.
He glanced down to see that he had a text message from Constance.
He opened the message.
Piper fine.
He turned down the music. “Piper’s fine. Constance sent a text.”
“Good. Check the signal. Are they stopped?”
“No.”
“So she must have sent the message when she felt she could do it without being observed.”
“I guess,” he said.
“What’s the matter?”
“I was just thinking about what you’d said earlier…I don’t think I can trust Constance again. Did Anna figure out where the gunshot came from?”
“I haven’t had a message from her, but we could call and check in.”
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Justine took one hand off the wheel and hit two buttons on her BlackBerry.
“Sterling.”
“Nigel wants to know if you have identified who shot Jesse.”
“Well…I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I’d say the shot came from the backseat. That doesn’t mean it was Constance.”
“How do you figure?” Nigel asked.
“They could have forced Constance and Piper out of the car,” Justine said.
“Exactly. Why?” Anna asked.
“Constance just sent a text saying that Piper was fine.”
“She’s still moving,” Anna said.
Nigel heard the sound of keys being clicked on a keyboard. “I have a lock on her position. Let me see if Sam has any contacts around there. If we can even get someone to drive by or near them to confirm what’s going on.”
“Sounds great, Anna. I think Sam was already trying that.”
“I’ll just buzz him and see if we can find anything else. Are you two stopping for the night?”
“No,” Nigel said.
“Be careful. The altitude can be dangerous, and your bodies will need time to adjust.”
“We’re drinking a lot of water,” Justine said.
Nigel realized she wasn’t going to go back on her word to keep moving. That meant more
She tried to recall her mother, but to be honest, she had long ago banished the thought of her face from her memory. She and her mom had never been close, and after everything that had happened with Franklin, Justine realized they never would be.
“No. She wasn’t into defending anyone.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Justine shrugged. This entire situation made it impossible for them not to talk about stuff like parents and parenting, but she didn’t want to discuss her own. “Just that my mom thought everyone should defend themselves, and that experience was the best way to learn that lesson.”
“Experience is a good teacher,” Nigel said.
“Would you really let Piper burn her hand on a hot stove to learn that it’s hot?”
“Of course not. Did your mom?”
“Yes.”
Justine fumbled in her bag and found her iPod. She jammed the cord that adapted it to play from the radio and turned on her workout mix. It was loud and raucous and exactly what she needed to discourage Nigel from talking anymore.
But the first song to come on was Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.” And though the slow melodic song was a favorite of hers for winding down, sitting so close to Nigel and listening to Marvin’s smooth voice singing about needing sexual healing made her realize that she needed it, too.
That for a long time there had been an emptiness inside of her that her job just couldn’t fill.
And until she’d met Nigel, she’d had no idea what was missing, but having him here with her made everything that had been missing seem very apparent.
She hit the scan button and a new song started to play: “Let’s Go,” by Trick Daddy. The raucous rap song filled the car and Justine kept her eyes on the road, pretending that Nigel was nothing more than a client.
Chapter Nine
J ustine had tuned him out with the loud music, and Nigel really didn’t know what to do but to work. Only there was no work to do tonight. So he started thinking of anyone who would have a grudge against him. He was still drawing a blank when his cell phone beeped.
He glanced down to see that he had a text message from Constance.
He opened the message.
Piper fine.
He turned down the music. “Piper’s fine. Constance sent a text.”
“Good. Check the signal. Are they stopped?”
“No.”
“So she must have sent the message when she felt she could do it without being observed.”
“I guess,” he said.
“What’s the matter?”
“I was just thinking about what you’d said earlier…I don’t think I can trust Constance again. Did Anna figure out where the gunshot came from?”
“I haven’t had a message from her, but we could call and check in.”
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Justine took one hand off the wheel and hit two buttons on her BlackBerry.
“Sterling.”
“Nigel wants to know if you have identified who shot Jesse.”
“Well…I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I’d say the shot came from the backseat. That doesn’t mean it was Constance.”
“How do you figure?” Nigel asked.
“They could have forced Constance and Piper out of the car,” Justine said.
“Exactly. Why?” Anna asked.
“Constance just sent a text saying that Piper was fine.”
“She’s still moving,” Anna said.
Nigel heard the sound of keys being clicked on a keyboard. “I have a lock on her position. Let me see if Sam has any contacts around there. If we can even get someone to drive by or near them to confirm what’s going on.”
“Sounds great, Anna. I think Sam was already trying that.”
“I’ll just buzz him and see if we can find anything else. Are you two stopping for the night?”
“No,” Nigel said.
“Be careful. The altitude can be dangerous, and your bodies will need time to adjust.”
“We’re drinking a lot of water,” Justine said.
Nigel realized she wasn’t going to go back on her word to keep moving. That meant more
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