Yeah, for sixteen, he had decent muscle tone, and with his scruff, he looked older. Not nearly as tough or mean as that half-brother of his he’d just met, but he could deal with a bored waitress. He grinned. “Hi. I just wanted to buy a Pepsi to go.” He handed over a hundred dollar bill.
She blinked. “I don’t think I have that kind of change.”
Neither did he. “It’s okay. How about you give me the drink, and you put the rest in a machine? If you win, we split it.”
Her eyes danced. “Deal.” She quickly turned and poured a Pepsi outof the machine.
Ah. There was his chance. When she came around, he barely stuck his foot out. She tripped, and he caught her easily,helping her up.
“I’m such a klutz,” she muttered, her face turning pink.
Yeah, but she was cute. It was too bad he’d learned to manipulate people early in his life. He slipped the phone he’d taken from the back pocket of her jeans into his own and then led her to a slot machine. “Okay. You start with this one. I have to go check in with my boss since I’m on the road, but I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes.” He drank down half the Pepsi and set it next to her, so she’d think he was coming back. “Don’t win too much without me.”
She smiled. “I won’t.”
He quickly exited, already scrolling through the internet on the phone, looking for anything about himself or Louise. His chest felt like somebody punched him when he found the first news story. She’d killed people. As in dead. Hurt hit him next. The woman had lied to him. They’d promised never to lie to each other. He reached the motel and leaned against the hard cement blocks outside, banging his head back. There was no way out of this. What should he do? God. It was too much. He read more. Three dead. She’d shot at least six people, and three were dead. And she’d kidnapped an old lady.
His stomach lurched, and he ran around the side of the building to puke his guts out. The soda burned on the way back up, and he aimed for some dead bushes.
He wiped his mouth and looked at the phone. Not knowing why, he video dialed the number that had called him the other day. He had a thing with numbers—only had to see them once and they stuck in his head. Not that his father ever took noticeof the talent.
His face, or rather, an older and tougher version of his face, came up on the screen. “What?” Hunter said, his gaze narrowing as recognition came into his eyes. “Hey, Jackson. You okay?”
No, he wasn’t okay. Not at all. “I didn’t know,” he whispered, his voice hoarse from the acid. “That she killed people. I didn’t know.” Nobody was going to believe that. Jesus,he was a moron.
“I believe you,” Hunter said, his gaze intense. “I figured you had no idea. You weren’t at any of thecrime scenes.”
Jackson wanted to cry. Even if the guy was lying, at least he said he believed him. Nobody ever had before. Well, except Louise, and now she’d lied to him. “I don’t know what to do.” He sounded young and desperate. His father was right. He was a weak loser. His shoulders hunched. Maybe the world was just better off without him.
“Tell me where you are, and I’ll be there,” Hunter said. “I’m headed your way now, and I can help you. You’re only sixteen. You haven’t committed a crime yet. We’ll figure thisout together.”
There was nothing to figure out. Maybe if he’d known Hunter before, but it was too late. He’d been created by evil, and he was who he was. One person had shown him kindness, and he’d made a vow. She needed saving. “I love her.” There wasn’t a good ending here. No way to figure anything out. But maybe he could rescue her somehow and then take the fall. “I wish I could’ve known you, Hunter.” Jackson clicked off.
Louise drove into the parking lot in an older white Chevy, her eyebrowsdrawn together.
Jackson met her at the car and threw the phone toward the bushes. “We need to get outof here. Now.”
* * * *
Hunter drove through the night. A GPS trace had tracked the phone to a hotel in western Montana, so they stopped there briefly. A witness mentioned a white Chevy car. Hunter drove faster, following I-90 west while Raider worked on his phone and Faye tracked routes on the map toward the lakein Washington.
Raider’s phone buzzed, and he answered. “Yeah. Okay. Got it.” He hung up. “Traffic cams saw a Chevy like we’re looking for in this area.” He held up his phone to show a map of a small area in northern Idaho. It was a lake surrounded by private forest land. A lot of it. It’d be a great place to hide out if somebody knew how to live off the land. Maybe the fugitives had decided to stop there rather than continue on to Washington state. A private subdivision and lodge showed at the north end, surrounded by fences. Something similar lay to the west. Rich people did liketheir privacy.
Hunter studied the map. “We can take a look along that forest service road there. That can’t be private.” Sure, there would probably be fences, but he’d learned early on in life how to break a lock. His eyes were gritty and his gut uneasy. The tone in Jackson’s voice hadn’t been good. It was like the kid had given up once he learned the truth.
They drove for two more hours and finally reached the forested land. A search along a dirt road through thick pine trees ended with them finding the abandoned Chevy, along with other tire tracks. Shit. “They stole another car, drove them both here, and abandoned this one.” Hunter stopped his SUV and jumped out, approaching the Chevy slowly. It was sheltered beneath two massive spruce trees and wouldn’t have been visible if they hadn’t followed the road.
It was empty of people. He gave a hand signal to Raider and Faye before setting his gun at the back of his waist. Then he opened the door.
Food wrappers, used deodorant, and magazines. Nothing of interest.
A stick snapped right before two men strode out of the forest. Broad-chested men, both at least six-foot-six and wearing insanely large combat boots and light-refracting glasses that hid the color of their eyes. The first guy had black hair to his shoulders with an odd gray strip on one side, while the other guy had long dark hair and an aura of pissed-off danger. His hair was pulled back and might have had a gray strip at the side partially covered. Definitely trained, and not happy to see people on the land.
Hunter pivoted, his instincts flaring. “Faye? Get back in the car.”
Raider instantly moved his way, settling his shoulder against Hunter’s, facing the threats.
Hunter surveyed the two. There was no doubt one of them had stepped on the stick on purpose. He knew that as well as he knew his own name. These guys could move without making a sound. He couldn’t see a weapon on either one, but he wasn’t certain they needed any.
