He made his way through the neighborhood homes, then got back onto a main thoroughfare. After a mile, though, he saw another pair of police cars. Maybe whoever had reported the incident had mentioned the make and model of their car. He found another neighborhood and turned. Then he stopped to park on a dead-end street.
“We’ll walk from here.” He reached down for the laptop. “You carry the computer. I’ll carry Lucy.”
“She can walk,” Lauren protested.
“Maybe for a while, but I’ll carry her until we’re back out on the road.” He slid out from behind the wheel and opened the back. “Ready, Lucy?”
The little girl nodded and allowed him to hike her up into his arms. She wasn’t heavy, and his heart melted a bit when she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
He turned away from the stolen car and cut a path through the dead end to reach the road on the other side. Lauren followed in his wake. Grady knew they were only a mile or so from the car rental. He’d feel better once they were in a new vehicle, but it still bothered him that the black SUV had found them.
Had they been seen leaving the outlet mall parking lot? Or had the occupants of the black SUV gotten a police scanner and heard about the stolen car?
Or was someone in law enforcement involved? That seemed a stretch, as it wasn’t as if the police had found them. No, the more he thought about it, the more he believed the gunmen had a police scanner. But knowing the make and model of car they’d taken didn’t account for how they were found outside of Wild Prairie.
It was disheartening that these gunmen kept getting so close. If he hadn’t reacted as quickly as he had, the guy may have succeeded in killing him or Lauren.
Was Lucy still the ultimate target? It was hard to imagine the goal was still to grab Lucy, yet the video of Ariel’s abduction indicated the kidnapping threat was real.
And very dangerous.
“I can walk now,” Lucy said after a few minutes.
“Okay.” He bent to set her down. “But if you get too tired, let me know and I’ll carry you again.”
Lucy nodded and took a position between him and Lauren. She glanced up at her mom. “Can we make another snowman?”
“Maybe later.” Lauren glanced at him. “Do you have an idea of where we should stay?”
He shrugged. “Something like the cabin rentals we used. I liked being away from the city. I’ll search for a place once we get the rental car.”
“That works,” Lauren agreed.
A police cruiser rolled past, and Grady could tell the cop behind the wheel was watching them. Maybe because people didn’t normally walk the streets in February when it was cold. They weren’t breaking the law, though, so he hoped the officer wouldn’t pull over to ask them a bunch of questions.
His driver’s license was from Cody, Wyoming. Lauren’s was from Chicago. The minute he knew they were walking to a rental car agency, the cop would be able to put two and two together to come up with the fact that they’d stolen the car.
Grady silently prayed the cop would keep going as they made their way down the street. The officer may have tracked them in his rearview mirror, but he didn’t stop or turn around to talk to them.
When the sign for the rental car agency came into view, he relaxed his tense muscles. They’d made it. He held the door for Lauren and Lucy as a rush of warm air greeted them.
“Wait here,” he said to Lauren. He went to the counter and gave the clerk the information Rex had used to rent the car.
Ten minutes later, he had the keys in hand and was headed back outside to get their dark metallic-gray SUV. As requested, there was a booster seat in the back for Lucy.
“This is nice,” Lauren said, when they were once again back on the road. Grady headed north, away from the city. “You should stop near a coffee shop so we can use the internet to find another place to stay.”
“Good idea.” He wanted to leave the city as soon as possible, but having a destination in mind would help. Seeing a well-known coffee shop up ahead, he pulled into the parking lot and parked.
Lauren opened the laptop and connected to the free internet. After a few minutes of searching, she turned the computer so he could see the screen. “How about this place? It’s just like the cabin rental.”
He scanned the information on the screen. “Looks like they have openings and are only about an hour away. I need to stop at a bank first, then we’ll head out.”
“A bank?” She frowned. “I thought we were staying off the radar. I can pull money out of my account if needed.”
“I don’t want to use your name in an ATM transaction.” It was bad enough he was going to use his own. Whoever was behind these attacks likely knew his name by now. And that was the first step to being able to track his movements. Yet it couldn’t be helped. They needed cash, and obtaining the funds from a bank here in the city was their best option.
The bank wasn’t far, and he had Lauren and Lucy wait in the car while he withdrew the money. Having two thousand in cash made him feel better. Although he also knew they’d need to stop at a grocery store again to buy more food.
