09-19-2018, 11:13 PM
So they were ready at lot sooner than Jensen could figure out how to get them a car. It took money, reservations, and a phone call from the governor of Texas, but a couple hours later, they were loading their bags again. Cayli sat in the middle of the back row, squeezed between mom and dad. Jensen rode shotgun, Jay planted himself in the driver’s seat. For one thing, he knew the quickest routes. For another, well, best if he drove.
He was acutely aware of the absence among their number. Leaving the casino without Natalie in the rearview mirror basically made him want to change his mind, tell Jensen to lead onward without him, and stalk off in search of Natalie. For another, she had a good $6,000 worth of firearms in that car. It wouldn’t go over well if it was confiscated. Ambassador or not. He checked the rental company’s app one last time. The dot hadn’t moved in a few hours despite the proximity to the airport. Why was she just sitting there? Some kind of green space alongside a lake. What was the wait? Or was she debating?
They had to drive that direction anyway. A commuter jet was supposedly en route. Jensen wasn’t kidding when he said he was loaded. How did people need so many bathrooms anyway? Jay tried not to think about how he came by all that fortune.
“Why can’t we just call the police?” Mom asked.
Jay kept his gaze level with the horizon.
“Police can’t keep us safe.”
Dad wasn’t thrilled with the answer. “We have the best police force in the world, Jay.”
He desperately wanted to turn up the music. “Yes, dad. I know. This is bigger than the police. There’s things about this mission I can’t tell you. So you’re going to have to trust me when I say that calling the police is a bad idea.”
“Fine. What about the FBI?” Dad asked.
That was definitely a bad idea.
He cranked up the music a few clicks. Jensen was probably regretting his offer about now. From what he heard about Jessika James, he had a feeling that dodging her questions was not going to be so easy. The woman was a shark (no pun-intended).
They stopped a couple hours later for mom to go to the bathroom and Cayli to stretch her legs. “Bring me back one of those heat-up pies. Strawberry kind?” She shot daggers of eyes at him. The silent treatment the obvious weapon. It killed him to shatter the image of the heroic older brother, but the only thing that was important was her safety. His soul was already damned. Might as well not pretend otherwise.
He checked the dot one last time. Still unmoved. No word from Natalie’s father, either. Alistair was a cold bastard. Maybe that was one reason he kind of liked the guy.
“We’re making a small detour,” he said as everyone climbed back in. The jet wouldn’t leave without them. “No pie?” He grinned at Cayli, but his sister folded her arms and kept her thoughts to herself.
As the vehicle pulled from the gas station, Jay checked the mirror as a blacked-out sedan followed. It’d been with them since the casino. Nobody climbed out to go to the bathroom, either. Definitely didn’t zip through a lane for drive-through pies.
They pulled into the park, and for the second time in a day, relief swelled. The SUV was there, but abandoned.
“Is that your car?” Dad asked.
Jay pulled up alongside it and hopped out immediately. The engine of their own car purred quietly. When he brushed his hands along the lock, the sensors clicked it open. Rummaging through the contents quickly located the weapons.
Then his gaze swept the horizon.
He went to Jensen, “would you stay with them while I look around?”
“Why don’t you stay and I’ll go?” he replied. Jay shook his head. He had to make this right. As much as he wished it could be the other man.
Stetson shielding the setting sun and all its glare from the water from his eyes, he took off at a light run, searching.
((Jensen's dialogue mode with permission.))
He was acutely aware of the absence among their number. Leaving the casino without Natalie in the rearview mirror basically made him want to change his mind, tell Jensen to lead onward without him, and stalk off in search of Natalie. For another, she had a good $6,000 worth of firearms in that car. It wouldn’t go over well if it was confiscated. Ambassador or not. He checked the rental company’s app one last time. The dot hadn’t moved in a few hours despite the proximity to the airport. Why was she just sitting there? Some kind of green space alongside a lake. What was the wait? Or was she debating?
They had to drive that direction anyway. A commuter jet was supposedly en route. Jensen wasn’t kidding when he said he was loaded. How did people need so many bathrooms anyway? Jay tried not to think about how he came by all that fortune.
“Why can’t we just call the police?” Mom asked.
Jay kept his gaze level with the horizon.
“Police can’t keep us safe.”
Dad wasn’t thrilled with the answer. “We have the best police force in the world, Jay.”
He desperately wanted to turn up the music. “Yes, dad. I know. This is bigger than the police. There’s things about this mission I can’t tell you. So you’re going to have to trust me when I say that calling the police is a bad idea.”
“Fine. What about the FBI?” Dad asked.
That was definitely a bad idea.
He cranked up the music a few clicks. Jensen was probably regretting his offer about now. From what he heard about Jessika James, he had a feeling that dodging her questions was not going to be so easy. The woman was a shark (no pun-intended).
They stopped a couple hours later for mom to go to the bathroom and Cayli to stretch her legs. “Bring me back one of those heat-up pies. Strawberry kind?” She shot daggers of eyes at him. The silent treatment the obvious weapon. It killed him to shatter the image of the heroic older brother, but the only thing that was important was her safety. His soul was already damned. Might as well not pretend otherwise.
He checked the dot one last time. Still unmoved. No word from Natalie’s father, either. Alistair was a cold bastard. Maybe that was one reason he kind of liked the guy.
“We’re making a small detour,” he said as everyone climbed back in. The jet wouldn’t leave without them. “No pie?” He grinned at Cayli, but his sister folded her arms and kept her thoughts to herself.
As the vehicle pulled from the gas station, Jay checked the mirror as a blacked-out sedan followed. It’d been with them since the casino. Nobody climbed out to go to the bathroom, either. Definitely didn’t zip through a lane for drive-through pies.
They pulled into the park, and for the second time in a day, relief swelled. The SUV was there, but abandoned.
“Is that your car?” Dad asked.
Jay pulled up alongside it and hopped out immediately. The engine of their own car purred quietly. When he brushed his hands along the lock, the sensors clicked it open. Rummaging through the contents quickly located the weapons.
Then his gaze swept the horizon.
He went to Jensen, “would you stay with them while I look around?”
“Why don’t you stay and I’ll go?” he replied. Jay shook his head. He had to make this right. As much as he wished it could be the other man.
Stetson shielding the setting sun and all its glare from the water from his eyes, he took off at a light run, searching.
((Jensen's dialogue mode with permission.))
Only darkness shows you the light.