I wink as I collect her bag from the front door and hustle to the car, tossing it into the trunk while she locks up and calls for Ellie to get into the back seat.
When I start the car, my music—well,Chris'smusic—starts to play. Atty's intel said he only listens to this soft rock stationon Sirius radio, so guess who now has a subscription? Yep, Atty does.
I turn it up a few notches louder as we pull out of the driveway and onto the road.
This is the part that could fuck us, and honestly, I was surprised Atticus even allowed this level of risk, but he does have contingencies in place if this doesn't go how we want it to.
My gaze flits to the rearview, and a growl leaves my throat when I see one of the SUVs pull out onto the road behind us to follow.
Fuck.
Aurora notices, too. She's sitting up stiffer than a corpse in the passenger seat.
I slide a gloved hand onto her thigh.
"We can talk now," I tell Ro. "Quietly. They won't be able to discern conversation over the engine and music, even if they try to listen."
"What is this?" she whispers. "Please tell me you did notstealmy foster dad's car and raid his closet?"
I smirk. "Do you really think we'd do all that to be able to bring you home for a week?"
She bites her lower lip.
"Yeah, no, we definitely would, but don't worry, this isn't Chris's car." I give the dash a little pat. "She's certified pre-owned. Same make and model. Same year."
"But the plates?—"
"Cloned. And these threads, although tragic, can be purchased at any sporting goods store in the state."
"So you didn't?—"
"No, Ro, we didn't fuck with your foster parents' shit. If Atty had even suggested that, I'd have his head. This, though—" I squeeze the wheel. "This made sense. You haven't been to see them in a while, and you mentioned you've been texting backand forth about a visit, so the groundwork was already laid. He logged a ten-minute call from Chris to you a few days ago, where you could've conceivably made these plans, and voila, we've got a week of freedom."
Why isn't she smiling?
She looks pointedly in the rearview.
"Did you not see the tail?"
"Oh that. Yeah, we'll deal with that if needed."
"How?"
"Patience, Ro. And a little trust. It'll work out."
She falls silent, and Ellie tries to wiggle up between the seats, looking for pets.
"Ellie, sit nice," Ro tells her, but I give her a little rub on the head before she goes. She'll have to wait for a proper scratch until it's safe for me to get these gloves off.
"Want to talk about yesterday?" I ask. "How did it go at lunch?"
Her throat bobs as she stares out the passenger window. "Can we do the debrief later? So I only have to do it once."
"That bad, huh?"
She shakes her head. "No, it was fine, just… I hate breathing the same air as him."
Is she lying?
