Madness Ends by Beth D. Carter Page B

Whiskey Knights. Could’ve been them just making sure we don’t trip over any toes.”
    Boone pulled her in close and took out one of his guns from his shoulder holsters to slip into her jacket pocket. The thing barely fit, so she had to wrap her hand around the handle.
    “Are you okay with the gun?” he asked.
    She read his lips and nodded.
    “You know how to use it?” he asked again.
    “Yes,” she mouthed.
    He nodded and eased back. Gabby stepped forward and handed her the locker key. She wished they no longer had the awkward tension between them and she vowed to fix it when this was over.
    “Number twenty-six,” Gabby said.
    She nodded. She remembered each locker number, totally random without any logic to them at all. Her mind spun over to Cipher’s code, and she frowned. Maybe the locker numbers were just coincidence, but so far, nothing about Cipher was turning out to be cut and dried. From taking apart his office and going through his books, he may look a mess, but she’d learned he was a methodical plotter.
    The bus station had people moving to and fro, hurrying in all directions, which made her a feel a bit better. There were so many people and she blended in as one more person milling about, especially with her backpack on. The sunglasses had belonged to Gabby, and she’d bent them so they’d stay firmly planted on her face. She looked around, heart pounding with fear, expecting to see Cipher jumping out at her like he’d done in the hardware store, but no one paid her any attention. She was just another nobody in the crowd.
    The key burned in her pocket, so she hurried to the section that housed the lockers. The smaller numbers were in back, leaving the higher numbers as the first ones she approached. Wouldn’t a man wanting to stuff a random duffel bag just go to the first locker? Why seek out a specific locker? As Kaiya went past the numbers—sixteen, fifteen, fourteen—her mind replaced the numbers with letters of the English alphabet. P was the sixteenth letter, O was the fifteenth… The twenty-sixth letter was Z. Locker number ten had been in Lincoln. Number twenty-six in Omaha. Number six in Sioux City. Which would be JZF. Had Cipher picked these lockers based on something specific? Maybe his own initials? That sounded farfetched, but damned if the thought didn’t persist. She’d have to ask Boone and Gabby when she returned.
    Locker twenty-six looked untouched. Glancing to make sure no one was around, she pulled the key out of her pocket and hurried forward. The key slid into the lock with ease. Kaiya released a pent-up breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She turned the key and the door opened effortlessly. Inside lay another duffel bag. Without looking inside, she slung it over her shoulder, turned, and hurried back the way she had come.
    She almost ran the entire way back, weaving in and out of the crowd, moving as quickly as possible. She was almost to the door when she saw a biker out of the corner of her eye. Kaiya halted and gasped as her gaze met the stare of the man from the diner. He watched her, without even bothering to try to hide himself, studying her as if she were some sort of curious specimen. Even behind the tinted shade of her glasses, their eyes locked, and terror flooded through her. Was this man helping Cipher? Was she being tracked even now? The questions had her snapping out of her shocked trance. She ran through the door, all the way to where Boone and Gabby stood by their bikes waiting on her. Her breath came in shocked little pants as Boone flung his arms around her.
    “What happened?” Gabby signed. Even in sign language she could tell he was tense and on edge.
    “One of the men from the diner was inside, watching me,” she signed back.
    Gabby turned around and stepped toward the entrance, but Boone’s big chest rumbled so she assumed he’d told Gabby no. The two men shared a grim look, then Boone tugged on her arm, hurrying her to mount up.