His stomach clenched. “What if something happens?”
“To you? You don’t think that would affect me?”
He nodded tightly. “I guess that’s right.”
“Youguess?”
He swallowed hard. “All, right, Iknow.”
They were both silent for several moments before shefinally said, “We’d better take precautions. Like get there early and be hiding when Mickey arrives.”
He smiled. “You’re developing your spy skills, I see.”
“I’m trying.”
“We’d better make itveryearly, in case he has the same idea.”
On the way back to town, they discussed some plans, but it quickly became clear that they would have to hang loose.
As they crossed the bridge into New Orleans, they saw a patrol car, and Rachel went rigid.
“Slide down,” Jake said, as he’d done on several earlier occasions.
She scrunched low in her seat, but the cop kept going past them.
“How hard are they looking for us?” Rachel asked.
“Don’t know, but I’d like to minimize the amount of time we stay in the city.”
She nodded.
Jake drove around the back of a pawnshop in a neighborhood where Rachel probably wouldn’t want to walk around at night by herself. But he was comfortable here.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“Getting guns.”
“I don’t want one.”
“I do. And I’d feel safer if you’re armed as well.”
“Why do we need them? Can’t we use our powers?”
“They’re not reliable enough. Don’t you remember how it was with that detective at your shop? He was able to resist us.”
She nodded tightly.
He could see she didn’t like it, but he also knew she saw the wisdom of conventional protection.
The back door to the shop was locked, but Jake had a key.When they were in the storage area, he turned to Rachel. “Wait here for a moment.”
Rachel’s nerves were humming. She didn’t like being left alone in this place.
When Jake came back and motioned for her to follow, she stepped into a crowded little shop where a wizened, stoop-shouldered black man stood behind a display counter.
“I see you’re in a mess of trouble,” he said, looking Jake up and down.
“We didn’t do it.”
