They walked to the end of town in silence. He tried to pretend he wasn’t eyeballing every person within his field of vision. Not the other backpackers and disheveled hiker types, not the group of workers in reflective vests digging a hole along the shoulder of Center Street, and not the family of four whose pre-teen boy wore a Seattle Seahawks hat and stared at his phone while he shuffled behind his parents and little sister.
Harris was dead and JJ was the goddamned sheriff.
Todd could hardly wrap his mind around it. Not that law enforcement officers were never corrupt, butdamn. This did more than put a wrench in his plan to get Lindsey to the cops and be on his merry way, it ran a fleet of armored vehicles right through it.
He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to think. He couldn’t drag her along on his quest to run down Pete, but if he waited too long, the man could be in the wind again. And who knew how long it would take to find him next time?
But he couldn’t very well leave Lindsey either. Just the idea of it made him twitchy. Their fates were now linked.
When they reached the highway, she stopped and looked at him, face ashen. “What do we do now?”
Todd shook his head. “I don’t know, but my hair color just became a serious liability. We need to get the hell out of town.”
“Where to?”
He dug a knit cap from his bag and snugged it down around his ears. “Let’s find someplace to lay low and figure out our next step.” He routed them across Center Street and along the back side of town, zigzagging through the residential section until they came to a tree-shrouded stream running parallel to the highway. “Did you stay in a hotel when you first got to town?”
“In Mullanburg. But just the first night after our flight so we’d be rested to hike up to the cabin. Apparently this guy’s place is so remote there’s no road.” She shrugged. “It looked like the perfect retreat in the pictures.”
He could almost see her coming to the realization that she’d never get to the cabin. “The day I found you, I stayed overnight in Mullanburg, and then ate brunch at the diner here in Tuttle, before getting a late start on the trail. I think we should avoid going that way.”
“Okay. That’s south of us, right?”
He nodded.
“What’s north?” she asked.
“If we go far enough, Bozeman, but we should probably steer clear of towns as much as possible for now.”
“What about Megan?”
Fuck. Todd stopped and faced Lindsey, crossing his arms so he wouldn’t touch her. “I don’t know. We need to get somewhere that feels safe so we can think for a minute.”
“Shouldn’t we go to the FBI? If JJ’s dirty… Don’t they investigate police corruption?”
“Probably.” He rubbed his face. “But if we go in there while there’s a warrant out for our arrest, what do you think will happen? We’re being painted as cop killers.” Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he said, “I’m not saying the FBI wouldn’t listen to us eventually, but I’m more worried about being stopped on the way. Right now, the police are more inclined to shoot first and ask questions later. We need someone who can negotiate our safe surrender. Then maybe we can convince them to look for Megan.”
She opened her mouth and then clamped it shut, her face reddening. Hands on hips, she stared at the sky. “God, he totally fucked us.” Eyes wide, she caught Todd’s gaze. “We have to get to her. She’s a liability now. He can’t afford to keep her around in case we get someone to listen.”
She was right. JJ couldn’t risk keeping Megan at the compound for long. “He may have already moved her.” He forced himself to hold eye contact. “Or worse.”
Lindsey swallowed hard and nodded, her gaze dropping.
Damn, maybe he should have kept that thought to himself.
“I can’t just abandon her,” she said. “Especially now. You don’t have to come along, but without her testimony, we might not be able to beat this, so you need her too.”
Hard to argue with that. “I’ll go. And not just because your friend is the only one who can exonerate us.” Did she really think he’d turn his back on her now?
Besides, if there was any chance Pete was mixed up with JJ’s guys, Todd might get everything he wanted after all. Except it wasn’t going to be as easy as just calling in a tip about Pete’s whereabouts to the cops. Not anymore. With a deep sigh, he walked uphill toward the trees.
After a beat, she followed.
They’d paralleled a tributary for about fifteen minutes when he noticed she was slowing. “You holding up okay? How’re your feet?”
“Sore, but fine.” She twisted her ponytail nervously. “It’s probably not great that I’m wearing the deputy’s shoes, huh?”
He couldn’t even muster a smile. “Probably not. But they have to find us for it to matter, and I think the shoes are the least of our worries. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep us from getting caught,” he said, trying to buoy her spirits. “At least until we find your friend.” Hopefully alive, though he was having a hard time staying optimistic about the woman’s chances.
