She wasn’t sure that the lack of a police presence was a good thing. What if the bad guys showed up there? They could all be dead before anyone from law enforcement arrived.
Not dead, she grimly reminded herself.Alive. The goal was to take Lucy alive in order to make a ransom demand.
If that’s what was going on here.
When they reached the city limits, Grady nodded at her. “Go ahead and make your call.”
She pushed the send button on her phone and waited. A female voice asked how she should direct the call. “I’d like to speak to either Lieutenant Olson or Detective Kramer please. It’s important.”
“Hold please.” A moment later, Lauren was annoyed to hear a recorded voice in her ear.You’ve reached Lieutenant Olson. Please leave a message.
“Lieutenant, this is Lauren Chandler. I’m calling about the shooting at my penthouse apartment earlier this morning. Please call me back right away.” She ended the call without giving her phone number because she had no idea what it was. “That was useless,” she told Grady. “I don’t even know my own phone number.”
“I’m sure they have caller ID. He’ll call you back.” Grady smiled reassuringly.
“Yeah, okay.” She tried to shake off her frustration. Maybe the lieutenant was still at her penthouse apartment, checking out the scene of the crime. She stared down at the cheap disposable phone for a moment, then tucked it into the pocket of her winter coat.
Grady pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store. He backed into a space that was at the far end of the building, well away from any other cars. She was about to ask why when she realized the USB drive was still being used as a car key.
Yeah, this was a big risk. She glanced back at Lucy, then at Grady. “Maybe we should wait here.”
“Too cold and we’re low on gas.” He glanced around, then killed the engine. “Let’s just make this quick, okay?”
She nodded and pushed out of the car. Lucy did the same, skipping alongside them as they headed inside.
“Sandwiches for lunch and eggs and toast for breakfast?” Grady asked the questions as he made his way to the bread aisle. “We need to keep things simple.”
“That’s fine.” There was no point in worrying about eating healthy at this point. “Coffee, too, please.”
He flashed a grin. “That goes without saying.”
She smiled back, thinking that under different circumstances, this would be fun. Grady wasn’t like any man she’d ever known. Certainly not like those who chased her at various charity events. He was calm and cool in a crisis, having gotten them to safety several times now since this nightmare started. He always seemed to have everything under control.
She was deeply grateful he’d been the one assigned to her case.
He paid for their groceries, then ushered them back to the stolen car. He set the bags on the floor of the back seat, started the car, then pulled away from the store.
As they were heading back to the highway, she caught a glimpse of a black-and-white squad car. She reached over to grab Grady’s arm. “Do you see him?”
“Yeah.” Grady’s jaw was tight. “Don’t stare over there. I’m going to turn at the next intersection.”
“Okay.” She didn’t let go of his arm as he made the turn. She braced herself for the cop to flip on his red and blue lights and come racing after them.
He didn’t. But it was a close call that frayed her temper.
“We need a different car,” she hissed.
“I know, but it’s not like a town this size has a rental car facility that we can use, even if I can get Rex to make the arrangements.” He glanced at her. “We’re okay for a little while. The cabin we’re staying in is well off the main roads.”
She forced herself to release her death grip on his arm. “Fine. But please get in touch with Rex Grayson, sooner rather than later.”
“That’s the plan.” Grady remained focused on driving. It took her a minute to realize they were in a neighborhood where small houses lined both sides of the street. The area looked as if they could have been in a middle-income Chicago suburb rather than in a different state entirely.
By the time Grady made his way through the area to the highway, she managed to relax. Before she could say anything, her phone buzzed with an unfamiliar ringtone.
Eyeing the display, she recognized the number she’d used to call the Chicago PD. “Hello?”
“Is this Lauren Chandler?” a deep voice demanded. She thought it was Lieutenant Olson, but she wasn’t sure.
