The Mercenary: Skewed Part 10

"It might be empty," I said, hoping for a bit of luck.

"It isn't. He's sitting behind the wheel."

"f.u.c.k."

My mind whirred, trying to think of the best course of action. Should we cross to the other side of the street and hope he didn't notice?

"You're allowed to walk down the street, Vee," I said eventually. "You're not a prisoner. He doesn't know where we're going, or who I am."

"What if he stops us? He might ask you for some identification."

"Then I'll have to shoot him."

She looked up at me, her dark eyes wide.

My arm tightened around her. "Just keep walking and look forward."

I did my best to minimize my lurching gait. She was on the inside of me, and as we got closer, I could see the deputy was bent over something, not looking at us or anyone else.

Don't look up, I willed. I'd be able to deal with him if I needed to, but things would be a lot easier without the complication. Vee was so distinctive in her appearance. If he caught only a glimpse of her, he'd recognize her right away. We might have to do something about how she looked if we were going to get her sister back.

My heart thumped as we walked right by the cop car, neither slowing nor speeding up our pace. All we needed to do was get around the corner to where my car was parked. The key was hidden beneath the vehicle, attached to the cha.s.sis via a small magnet. I couldn't risk taking the key with me and dropping it somewhere, or having someone take it from me. By keeping the key with the car, I always knew where it was should I need it. People might check under a hubcap or even under a visor for a spare key if they planned on stealing the car, but they wouldn't find the key where I'd hidden it.

We made it past the police cruiser, and I exhaled a breath and gave Vee a brief squeeze to tell her that we'd done the hardest part.

I felt the stiffness in her shoulders relax slightly. We just needed to make it around the corner, and I'd be able to drive the car right out of town.

"Viola?"

The slam of a car door behind us caused my heartrate to jump.

"Hey, Viola," a male voice called. "It's Deputy Kier."

"s.h.i.+t," she hissed from beside me.

"Keep going. Don't look back."

I hustled her forward, both of us breaking into something just short of a run. We made it around the corner, but his suspicions had been raised, and I could hear his feet smacking on the sidewalk and the exclamations from a few of the pedestrians he pa.s.sed.

Were we about to be stopped at the first hurdle?

Chapter Seventeen.

V.

"Viola Gingham!" The deputy called my new name. The people at Witness Protection always made sure we had the same initials as our real names. "Halt or I'll shoot."

Deputy Kier followed us down the street, but instead of stopping, I did the opposite and broke into a run.

"It's the black Ford," X shouted at me as we raced down the street toward his car. We'd broken apart from the cozy way we'd walked down the sidewalk, and now I ran, the bag of guns smacking against my hip as I did so. X was behind me, the injuries I had given him slowing him down. But as we approached the car, he skidded to the sidewalk and s.n.a.t.c.hed something from beneath the vehicle.

The lights of the central locking flashed and the vehicle beeped.

"Get in!" X yelled.

I risked glancing in the direction we'd come, to see the deputy come skidding around the corner, his weapon drawn.

Oh, s.h.i.+t.

"X, we've got to go."

"What do you think I'm doing? Get in the f.u.c.king car!"

I didn't want to think the deputy would start shooting in the middle of town with people around, but I didn't know if someone was paying him to watch me. If he thought he'd end up with his b.a.l.l.s cut off if he lost track of me, it would make him more likely to take risks.

My heart hammered, my mouth running dry. I wished I'd thought to put one of the guns in an easy to reach place, but for some reason, having a shootout with the police hadn't been part of my plans for the day. I had thought to secure my knife in the sheath between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s right before we left the house, but a knife wasn't any good at a distance.

I yanked open the pa.s.senger door and threw myself inside, dragging the bag in with me. X had the engine running and was pulling out of the s.p.a.ce with a screech of wheels on asphalt before I'd even gotten the door shut. Deputy Kier had broken into a run, and was simultaneously speaking into the radio attached to the front of his s.h.i.+rt.

"f.u.c.k. He's calling for backup."

X glanced over at me. "Don't worry. We'll be long gone." And he put his foot down, the motion throwing me back in the seat.

The crack of gunfire made me duck.

"Motherf.u.c.ker," swore X, but continued to drive.

I reached into the bag, and my hands made contact with the cold metal of one of the handguns. Flicking the safety, I wriggled around in the seat, facing back the way we'd come. I used the pa.s.senger seat as protection, pointing the muzzle through the gap between the two seats, fully prepared to shoot out the rear winds.h.i.+eld if I had to. But I caught sight of the deputy running down the street behind us, slowing to a walk and finally a stop as he gave up, knowing he was never going to catch the car and that there was too much distance for an accurate shot now. X swerved around a corner, and I leaned with the movement.

"Don't worry," X said. "We've lost him."

I turned back in the seat to face the front. "Yeah, but for how long? He knows I'm running now. He'll check the house and find the bodies and Nickie gone. We'll have the cops after us."

"Then first thing we need to do is find a new vehicle. Know anywhere nearby we can get one?"

My thoughts went straight to the bar where I worked. Would Johnny lend me his truck? Could I trust the guy not to tell someone? He wasn't the type of man to turn to the police. He was as suspicious as I was, always thinking the cops were out to get him for one thing or another. He'd always been good to me, and I thought he would lend me his truck without too many questions if I asked.

"Yeah," I said, eventually. "Take me to the bar I work at. My boss will lend me his vehicle."

"We can always use a little extra persuasion if needed," said X, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel.

"There won't be any need for that, and I wouldn't go there if there was."

"No? Not even if it meant getting one step closer to getting your sister back?"

"There are lines I'd rather not cross."

"I thought you'd already crossed them all."

I scowled at him as he glanced over at me. I didn't like having my misdemeanors thrown at me, and it left me irate that this stranger seemed to know everything about me, when I knew absolutely nothing about him.

"Just drive to the bar. It's on the outskirts of town."

"Yeah," he nodded, "I know where it is."

I rolled my eyes, unable to stop myself. "Of course you do."

X took a couple of random turns, I guessed to try to make it harder for the police to follow us. The deputy would have had to turn around and run back to the patrol car, get in, start the ignition and chase after us, by which time we'd have put a decent distance between us and him. The bar was in the opposite direction of which we were headed, so as soon as X had put enough distance between us and the deputy, he turned east, and then back south. I hoped it would help put the cop off the scent as well. I imagined he'd think we would try to head straight out of town, rather than doubling back on ourselves and remaining in town.

The bar was located on the outskirts, thank G.o.d, and we were lucky enough not to see any sign of more cops. I knew the bar would be one of the places the deputy would think to send people looking for me, though I also suspected he would be busy searching the house and most likely getting onto the phone with whoever he'd been spying on me for. Maybe I'd gotten him all wrong, and he was just doing his job, but I didn't trust anyone. I still stayed on high alert for any sign of the cops coming after us.

"No one is following us," said X.

"Not right this second, they're not, but they will be soon."

He couldn't argue with me on that front.

X knew exactly where he was going to get to the bar-didn't even ask which bar I was talking about, what the name or address was. Had he seen me working there? Been watching me? The thought sent chills rippling through me. Had I seen him while I was working, and not clocked the threat in his eyes?

No, I was fairly sure I'd have remembered if I'd seen him. He was striking to look at, and he exuded danger. But then I guessed it was part of his job to go unnoticed.

"Did you ever come here?" I asked him, glancing over at his profile as he drove. "The bar, I mean?"

He glanced back, our eyes meeting, and then nodded. "Yes, last night. I was here when you came out on your break."

Realization pinged inside me. "The alleyway. I remember hearing something, feeling like someone was there, but then a guy from the bar came out ..."

I trailed off as fresh understanding sank in. "You saw me threaten him."

He chuckled. "I knew you were going to be interesting there and then. Of course, I hadn't figured out just how interesting."

I wasn't sure if I should be taking that as a compliment or if he was having a dig about me stabbing him.

"And then you followed me home," I said, trying to piece together his movements.

"I didn't follow you, exactly. I already knew where you lived. I was waiting in the bushes, but saw you fighting with your sister when you got home. I waited outside until I thought you were asleep, except then those other guys showed up, and well," he gave a shrug, "you know the rest."

"I heard you outside," I said. "I remember feeling like someone was watching me again, and pulling the blind in the window."

He nodded. "Yeah, it was strange because I don't think you could have heard me. But you sensed me, somehow. A part of you knew I was out there."

"I have good instincts," I said.

"I've guessed. And what do your instincts say about me?"

That we're made up of the same broken souls ...

I didn't know how to answer the question, so I was relieved when the turn for the bar came up on the right side. "This is the one," I told him, even though he already knew.

Knowing the police would be looking for this vehicle, X drove it straight across the dusty parking lot and down the back alley, where the industrial trash cans were kept, and where I'd come out for my break the previous night. He pulled the car up right next to the wall, I guessed figuring it would be less noticeable from the main road there. He climbed out of the driver's side, but I was unable to even get the pa.s.senger door open and so grabbed the bag with the guns and clambered over the seat after him.

"What do we do if he says no?" X asked me. "Do we get violent?"

"He won't say no, but we'll do whatever needs to be done. I don't want him killed, though, okay?"

X gave a brisk nod.

I led the way, and we entered the bar through the rear exit and through the seriously under-used kitchen, which acted more as an extra store room than anything else-cases of bottle beer stacked several high, boxes of potato chips, a mop and bucket.

Voices came from out front. I'd been hoping the bar would be empty, but it didn't look like things were going to go my way on this one.

I popped my head around the corner, X lurking behind me, and called out to Johnny, who was chatting with one of the regulars on the other side of the bar, while he wiped down the surface with a rag.

"Hey, Johnny. Have you got a sec?"

He turned to me and smiled. "Hey, Vee. Your s.h.i.+ft doesn't start for a few hours yet."

"Yeah, about that ... I could really do with borrowing you for a minute." I lifted my chin, jerking it back toward the kitchen. "Back here."

"Sure."

He threw down the rag and lifted a finger to the regular to tell him he'd only be a minute. Then he followed me back out into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," I started, "but I'm not going to make it in tonight."

He frowned. "You want me to see if I can switch you over with Maggie?" he said, naming the other barmaid.

"Nah, sorry, Johnny, but I'm not going to be able to come in for any other s.h.i.+fts either."

"You in trouble."

"You could say that."

His eyes flicked to X behind me, his gaze drifting down to the taped wounds in his arm and leg. "What the h.e.l.l happened to you?" he asked X.

"Vee happened to me," he replied.