cops?” Incredulity had her voice cracking, but inside her, sluggish fear stirred. “Romo, at this point we want the cops to find us. Don’t you get it? Al-Jihad’s people just tried to kill us to keep us from talking to Fax and Tucker.” Her throat closed as the sight of their motionless bodies flashed in her head. “And now they’re…”
“Stunned,” he filled in when she faltered. “They’ll be okay.”
“We left them there!” she snapped, anger rising quickly. “What if the shooters go after them, to finish them off?”
“They won’t.” His voice rang with calm assurance.
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s them behind us.” He nodded into the rearview mirror.
That was when she realized he didn’t have the engine redlined anymore; he’d eased up on the gas, though he kept steady progress up onto the highway, weaving through the sparse Sunday morning traffic.
Maybe a half mile back, there was another car making similar moves.
Sara’s blood iced in her veins. “You’re letting them catch us?”
He slid her a sardonic glance. “If they’d wanted to catch us, they would’ve by now. This putt-putt car of yours isn’t exactly a hot rod.”
She craned her neck. “Then what are they doing?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He grimaced as he drove. “They aimed for the cops’ vehicles, not the cops, and they didn’t take a second shot at us, which they damn well had the time to do. Which means they were trying to break up the meeting without killing us—or more likely without killing me, no offense.”
“None taken,” she said grimly, as her mind moved ahead to the next logical conclusion. “You have something they want. Or at least they think you do. And they don’t want the cops to have it.”
“What’s more, nobody followed us from your place,” he pointed out, voice all but expressionless as he pulled off the highway at a random exit somewhere south of Bear Claw. “Which means that either the guys with the RPG were working with your friends—”
“They’re not.”
“—or,” he continued as though she hadn’t interrupted, “they found out about the meeting through your friends.”
“Neither Fax nor Tucker would’ve said anything,” she maintained.
“For all we know, they’re being monitored. Or else someone on the inside recognized the samples you gave to the forensic analyst and put her and her contacts under surveillance.”
That made sense, Sara realized. “But if that were the case, wouldn’t they have been watching me?”
“Maybe they hadn’t gotten there yet,” he said, grimly navigating the hybrid through a set of back roads she didn’t recognize. “You might not have been first on the list of people I’d go to, given that you’re not a cop.”
“But we had a relationship,” she pointed out. “They would’ve looked at me eventually.”
“True.” He paused. “Maybe they did follow us from your place, after all. But if they knew where I’d been, why didn’t they move in on me sooner? What the hell are they waiting for?”
“Maybe for you to complete your mission, whatever it was,” Sara said cautiously.
“Damn it,” he said, which she took as his way of saying she was right. But when he let up on the gas, she realized that wasn’t the only thing bothering him.
“What’s wrong?”
He turned haunted eyes toward her. “Two things. One, when we turned off, the chase car kept going on the highway. And two, I recognize this neighborhood.”
Her stomach clenched into a hard, hurting knot. She looked around them and saw nothing familiar; she’dnever been there with him, didn’t know of any reason why he would recognize the area. They were maybe a half hour south of Bear Claw, in a typical suburban area that had little to distinguish it aside from its lack of distinguishing characteristics. This close to the highway, there were fast food and coffee shop drive-throughs on just about every corner, liquor
“Stunned,” he filled in when she faltered. “They’ll be okay.”
“We left them there!” she snapped, anger rising quickly. “What if the shooters go after them, to finish them off?”
“They won’t.” His voice rang with calm assurance.
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s them behind us.” He nodded into the rearview mirror.
That was when she realized he didn’t have the engine redlined anymore; he’d eased up on the gas, though he kept steady progress up onto the highway, weaving through the sparse Sunday morning traffic.
Maybe a half mile back, there was another car making similar moves.
Sara’s blood iced in her veins. “You’re letting them catch us?”
He slid her a sardonic glance. “If they’d wanted to catch us, they would’ve by now. This putt-putt car of yours isn’t exactly a hot rod.”
She craned her neck. “Then what are they doing?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He grimaced as he drove. “They aimed for the cops’ vehicles, not the cops, and they didn’t take a second shot at us, which they damn well had the time to do. Which means they were trying to break up the meeting without killing us—or more likely without killing me, no offense.”
“None taken,” she said grimly, as her mind moved ahead to the next logical conclusion. “You have something they want. Or at least they think you do. And they don’t want the cops to have it.”
“What’s more, nobody followed us from your place,” he pointed out, voice all but expressionless as he pulled off the highway at a random exit somewhere south of Bear Claw. “Which means that either the guys with the RPG were working with your friends—”
“They’re not.”
“—or,” he continued as though she hadn’t interrupted, “they found out about the meeting through your friends.”
“Neither Fax nor Tucker would’ve said anything,” she maintained.
“For all we know, they’re being monitored. Or else someone on the inside recognized the samples you gave to the forensic analyst and put her and her contacts under surveillance.”
That made sense, Sara realized. “But if that were the case, wouldn’t they have been watching me?”
“Maybe they hadn’t gotten there yet,” he said, grimly navigating the hybrid through a set of back roads she didn’t recognize. “You might not have been first on the list of people I’d go to, given that you’re not a cop.”
“But we had a relationship,” she pointed out. “They would’ve looked at me eventually.”
“True.” He paused. “Maybe they did follow us from your place, after all. But if they knew where I’d been, why didn’t they move in on me sooner? What the hell are they waiting for?”
“Maybe for you to complete your mission, whatever it was,” Sara said cautiously.
“Damn it,” he said, which she took as his way of saying she was right. But when he let up on the gas, she realized that wasn’t the only thing bothering him.
“What’s wrong?”
He turned haunted eyes toward her. “Two things. One, when we turned off, the chase car kept going on the highway. And two, I recognize this neighborhood.”
Her stomach clenched into a hard, hurting knot. She looked around them and saw nothing familiar; she’dnever been there with him, didn’t know of any reason why he would recognize the area. They were maybe a half hour south of Bear Claw, in a typical suburban area that had little to distinguish it aside from its lack of distinguishing characteristics. This close to the highway, there were fast food and coffee shop drive-throughs on just about every corner, liquor
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