“I killed him first,” Agent K said.
Aaron hugged her to him, needing to reassure himself she was really okay.
Celine tried to laugh and ended up coughing. When that finally passed she said, “Is Jack Mankel Mr. J?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I didn’t want you to suffer anymore. You were exhausted and injured. I was trying to protect you. A lot of good I’ve been at that lately. Ever…” Aaron dropped his forehead to hers, silently praying she’d understand his motives.
Mr. K cleared his throat. “Sorry, but you two need to disappear for a while. If J was able to do all this, get O’Keefe a secret card key and lock down the whole floor for him to carry out the murder, he’s got more power on the inside than I realized.”
He was right. If Celine went home, Mr. J would send someone else to finish her off. He had to hide her and he knew exactly where. “I've got a place already set up.”
K nodded, “Good. I'll need some time to sort this all out.” He extended a card to Aaron. “This is my personal line. Only contact me on a life or death basis. I don't want to risk your location any more than I have to.”
“Got it. I know how to disappear.” It was twisted considering the circumstances, but he was relieved to finally be disappearing with Celine in tow.
Chapter 17
24 hours later…
Celine grabbed the overhead handle in the rusty single-cab truck and braced for another bone jarring pot hole. The old pick up’s busted seatbelt clattered uselessly against the side of the door. The front end of the truck veered up and then plunged back down and kept going, regardless of the fact that her teeth had just slammed together hard enough to crack. “Where on God’s green earth are you taking me?”
Aaron leaned back on the torn leather seat, one hand on the wheel, the other on the stick shift. “Somewhere safe.”
Bam! The truck dropped down and then continued its climb up the mountain. She'd seen nothing but dirt road, pine trees, and dense forest for the past hour. No people, no houses, nothing. “And where exactly is this supposedly safe place located?”
Aaron swerved in a sharp right, barely missing a pothole that would've taken out their front axle, and grinned as he sped up. The old truck rattled and groaned with such ferocity Celine had to close her eyes, sure that the entire thing was about to fall apart.
“Don't worry, honey, they fixed the road since the last time I was here.”
“Are you kidding me? You call this a road?”
“We're driving on it aren't we?” Aaron reached for a can of Red Bull on the seat between them, popped the top and downed it in one long gulp, before tossing it to the floorboard at her feet. Good Lord, the man was practically glowing from an adrenaline high and now he wanted extra fuel for the rush? “That stuff will eat the lining of your stomach.”
“Nah, just keeping the edge.”
They'd ditched the car provided by Mr. K right after they crossed the border into Kentucky. Aaron paid five hundred dollars cash for this piece of shit from a scrap-yard off the scenic route and they’d been driving in it ever since.
“I think calling this a road is a stretch.” More like a wagon trail through the rocky forest. Another bone jarring hole and she nearly hit her head on the roof. “Just tell me how much longer I have to worry about dying in this thing.”
“What? You don't trust me?” Aaron batted his eyelashes at her.
“I trustyou, not this bucket of bolts,” Celine muttered.
“Hey now, you'll hurt old Mary Catherine's feelings. She might have seen better days, but at least she's still running.”
“You named her after the nun? Are youtryingto go to hell?”
“Come on, I bet the Sister would be honored.”
“Or she'd pray you right to purgatory.”
Aaron turned to her, his eyes wide. “You think?”
“Watch the road!” Celine slapped her free hand on his arm, digging in her nails without the least bit of remorse.
