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The officer approached with one hand near his weapon. “Brody Carson?”

“Yes, sir.” Brody handed him his identification. “And this is Jenna Stone.”

“Ma’am.” The officer greeted her. “I’m Sergeant Dawson. Brody, would you mind stepping out so we can talk?”

This might not be good news. Brody swung the SUV door open, making sure to keep his hands where the officer could see them. “Jenna, wait here. If you step out and the hitman sees you, you’ll become a target again. Try to keep down.”

Thankfully, she didn’t argue. She unbuckled her seat belt and scooted off the seat into the floor well.

“Good. Hit the door locks after I shut the door.” He’d leave the SUV running so she wouldn’t get cold, but if something happened to him and Sergeant Dawson, he wanted her to have time to get away.

The door closed behind him. Two seconds later, the latch clicked. He blew out a breath, hard. Then Brody followed Sergeant Dawson to the rear of the vehicle.

“I sent the police and emergency personnel to where the person following you spun out of control.” Sergeant Dawson informed him. Under the parking lot lights, the lawman’s mouth appeared tight.

“Did you arrest him?” Brody asked. In his gut, he knew the answer.

When the sergeant shook his head, Brody ground his teeth together.

“We did not. By the time the police arrived at the crash scene, the man who had been driving the car had already fled on foot. We had some tracks, but unfortunately, the heavy snowfall made it difficult to find his trail.”

“Were you able to get any identification off the car?” Brody doubted they had, but he clung to the hope that they’d been able to get something, at least one clue to help them find his identity.

Sergeant Dawson grimaced. “The car had been reported stolen two days ago. There were no prints inside, so he’d taken care to cover his hands.”

He knew it was a long shot, but Brody had to ask. “Any images on traffic monitoring cameras?”

“Not yet. Still looking into those, but the ones I saw, he wore a ski mask. Inside the car.”

Not only was this man professional, but he also seemed to have prepared for every circumstance.

“So we have no idea who he is, what he looks like, or even if he’s in our data systems,” Brody ticked off each point on a finger. “And he’s still out there.”

“Yeah. I have asked that all carjackings or stolen vehicles be flagged as possible sightings, but it could take a while.”

Brody rubbed his chin, considering. “Probably not as long as we think. It’s too cold for him to wander around on foot. And he has to know we’re still driving. Or at least we were when his vehicle crashed. I doubt he’ll wait long.”

“There’s something else you need to add in to the list of possibilities.”

“Yeah?” Brody raised an eyebrow.

“This guy might not be working solo. Or whoever hired him may have hired someone else, also. So watch your back.” Dawson removed a folded note from his pocket and handed it to Brody. “This is the address of where to go to exchange your SUV for a new vehicle. We’ll keep your car safe, don’t fret about that, but you were right. You can’t continue driving it with Jenna inside. It’s too familiar. Whoever is coming after her will have it made by now.”

“Thanks.” Brody used his flashlight app to read the note. “Okay. We’ll head there now. I appreciate this, Sergeant.”

The lawman held out a hand for Brody to shake. “I wish you and Jenna well. Keep us updated. If something happens to you two, Officer Green will hold me personally responsible. He was very offended that someone tried to take her out on his watch.”

Brody shook the hand and then pivoted to return to Jenna and the warmth inside his SUV. She dragged herself from the floor well and back onto her seat. He watched her buckle in then put on his blinker and steered the SUV back onto the two-lane street.

The traffic flowed at a slow but steady speed. It was late enough that it thinned to a trickle. He glanced at the clock. Nine fifty-two. No wonder exhaustion clouded his mind. He’d been awake for almost forty hours straight.

“I’m not going to be able to make it to Illinois tonight. Sergeant Dawson gave me directions on where to go to exchange vehicles. But then we’ll have to find a place to hunker down for the night.”

In his periphery vision, he saw her nod twice.

“Did he say anything regarding the man?”

He knew exactly who she meant. When he gave her an update, she sighed. “I know it’s not what we wanted to hear. But we’re alive and the police are actively searching. That’s more than we had when we set out.”