I clicked my tongue. “Bad boy. No get out of jail for free card for you.”
“He’s staring at a lot of years in prison,” Jade mused.
“Again, and?”
“The feds waive a get out of jail for free card at him and he sings like a canary.”
My mouth dropped. “Are you, like, agenius? Or something?”
“Bored looking at all that brown grass. Just speculation. But I wouldn’t put it past the FBI to think the same way. A chink in Arnaud’s armor.”
“Let’s hope Arnaud doesn’t realize he has said chink.”
“Or that bad boy may go up in smoke.”
***
Hours later, we crossed the state line. The scenery didn’t change much, nor did the music on the radio. We passed antelope, grain silos, cattle, what remained of cornfields after the harvest, and lots and lots of emptiness. Jade took a turn at driving while I sought a quick nap while using her pack as a pillow.
I’d just passed into dreamland when her hand on my knee shook me awake.
“We’ve got trouble.”
“Huh?”
Blinking, I sat up, then glanced in the mirror. “Shit.”
“I’m not speeding, there’s nothing wrong with the car,” Jade commented, her tone tense. “One of Arnaud’s?”
“Maybe. Just pull over. Maybe he’s lonely out here and wants to say howdy.”
Jade signaled, then drove onto the shoulder to park. She retrieved her license, the Jeep’s temporary registration, and the insurance card while watching the trooper in a heavy coat approach. She rolled down the window.
Without speaking, she handed the documents to him. He, too, had little to say as he glanced at them.
“Do you know why I pulled you over?” he asked at last.
“Nope,” Jade answered. “Do you?”
“There’s a big reward offered for you folks,” he advised, his hand on the butt of his service weapon. “The man wants you.”
Jade and I exchanged a quick glance.
“Ah.” Jade nodded sagely. “And you’re to take us to him?”
“That’s right. Get out of the vehicle.”
She looked at me and shrugged. “Okay.”
We both stepped out, and I ambled around the back of the Jeep. The trooper, a young dude I noticed, suddenly swallowed hard. He eyed the two of us, and his grip tightened on his gun.A damn rookie.
“You know what we are,” Jade said lightly. “That’s obvious. Have you maybe heard what happened in the mountains a few days ago? Yes?”
“He said those were lies.” The kid swallowed again. “It didn’t happen.”
Lowering her hoodie, Jade half-turned to reveal her still healing wounds. The kid’s jaw dropped.
“It happened,” I said. “You really don’t want to mess with us, dude. Arnaud isn’t paying you enough to die for him.”
