Page 62 of Death Wish

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Good. Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Don’t mention my role in this, all right? I’d rather not have to spend most of my night at the police station.”

“You got it.”

Jesse clapped him on the shoulder, nodded at Hatcher, snagged his mike bag, and ushered Simone to their vehicle. He lifted her to the passenger seat and jogged around to the driver’s side. He didn’t want to be here to answer awkward questions by the cops.

“Are you sure we should leave them?” Simone asked. “What if Allison needs your help again?”

“The EMTs should be able to help her. Besides, if we stay, we’ll end up at the police station answering questions all night. With the drugs and ammunition I’ve got in my bags, I will more than likely end up in jail.”

She blew out a breath. “That wouldn’t be good.”

“We have to stay out of the hands of the local police, Simone.” If they didn’t, the authorities would toss them in jail and throw away the keys.

Jesse drove squares for 30 minutes to be sure he didn’t lead anyone back to the safe house. When he was satisfied they didn’t have a tail, he turned the last square and headed for their temporary house.

After parking in the back, he entered the house and searched for signs of intrusion. Nothing. He breathed easier as he returned to the vehicle for Simone. “Clear. Let’s get inside.”

“Worried?”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t like that someone tried to kill Allison Norbert.”

“Do you think she’s the one assigned to create the virus?”

“I’m not sure if it’s Allison or Beckett.”

“That’s why you told Beckett to stay with her. Protection for both of them.”

“Can’t think of a better way other than assigning someone to guard their six, and we don’t have the resources available to keep them safe.”

“Maybe we should encourage them to go on a long, extended vacation to a tropical island.”

“If I thought they would go, I’d do it. Unfortunately, if one of them is working on the computer virus, they won’t be allowed to leave if the work is unfinished.”

He grabbed his bags from the back of the vehicle and escorted Simone to the house and locked the door.

After storing the bags in his room, he returned to find his girl already booting up her laptop. “What’s the plan for the night?”

“Checking the results from the bots. We’re running out of time.”

Before he could reply, his cell phone rang. Jesse glanced at the screen and frowned. “It’s Jesse. What’s wrong?”

“That little weasel Trevor White has escaped.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

SIMONE’S EYES WIDENED. “Trevor’s missing? I thought the mercenaries had him locked down.”

Jesse looked disgusted. “Yeah, so did I. Turns out he’s as slippery and sly as you said. He got his hands on a knife, stabbed one mercenary in the chest, and escaped. They were so busy saving their teammate they didn’t stop Trevor from bolting into the countryside.”

She groaned. “Will the mercenary be all right?”

“The doc at the hospital said he’d be fine, but he’s in for a two-week hospital stay.”

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