Page 32 of Peace Under Fire

As he reached the exit, another cop car sailed down Mercy Ave. This one’s siren was silent and its flashers off. He tensed as it slowed, held his breath as its left blinker started pulsing. When it pulled in next to him and continued past without pausing, he started breathing again.

He shot a quick look up and down Mercy Avenue. It was clear. He pulled out, heading west, away from the clinic. Nobody had followed him out of the parking lot, but that didn’t mean much if the bastards had slapped a tracker on his rig. It was time to line up a new ride.

“I need you to call someone.” He waited for her to pull the phone from her pocket before rattling off Tex’s number. “And then give me the phone.”

She punched the number into the keypad but hesitated before handing the phone over. “Who are you calling?”

He stifled a spurt of annoyance. He wasn’t used to being questioned, particularly by civilians.

On the other hand, somebody had just tried to grab her. Someone who’d been following him. She had cause for her suspicion.

“I’m calling a friend. Someone who can hook us up with a clean set of wheels and a safehouse. Someone we can trust.”

She pondered that for so long, it forced him to speak again.

“Mandy,” he strove for a calm, reasonable voice, “we need a new car. The assholes after you will track my truck. A credit card and driver’s license are required to rent a car. If I use either, they’ll find us. My buddy Tex can line us up with a ride and a place to stay that won’t be traced back to either of us.”

“Won’t this Tex want to know why you need his help?” she asked quietly.

He almost told her Tex already knew about her and had been helping him track her down, but he swallowed the information in the nick of time. She might not be so cooperative if she knew Tex had been looking for her.

“He’s a good friend who trusts me. He’ll help us whether he gets his answers or not.”

When she finally handed the phone over, he shrugged off a squeeze of guilt. It was surprisingly hard to lie to her, even by omission. He pressed call and waited.

“Yo,” Tex said as soon as the call rang through.

The dude didn’t sound surprised to be receiving a call from an unknown source. Of course, considering his line of business, he was probably used to such calls by now.

“It’s Squish. I’m in the middle of a situation and could use some immediate help.”

“What kind of situation?”

“Mandy showed up at the clinic. Turns out I was being followed. To evade my tail, we took her car, but the bastards ID’ed me and attacked us. We made it back to my truck while the cops distracted them. But if they stashed a GPS tracker—"

“Gotcha.” Tex broke in. “Either of you hurt?”

“Mandy took a knock to the head. Not much blood or any signs of a concussion. I’ll check her out once we’re stable.”

Tex grunted. “Where are you?”

Squish looked at a street sign as they cruised past.

“Headed west on Mercy. Just passed Elm.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. The road was still deserted behind him. “No sign of pursuit, but if they stuck a tracker on my rig they could be hanging back.”

Although they sure as hell hadn’t hung back earlier. As soon as they realized Mandy was with him, they’d moved in. It still bothered him how they’d known she was even in the car with him. She hadn’t been visible. Had they just assumed she was with him since he’d been driving a different car?

“Right. I’ll arrange a pickup. You on your burner or Mandy’s?”

Squish suddenly became aware of Mandy’s absolute stillness beside him. Her eyes were locked on his face and dark with betrayal. He played his half of the conversation over in his head. It must be obvious that Tex already knew about her.

He mentally shrugged—nothing he could do about that now. “Hers.” He checked the rearview mirror again. Still clear behind them. “My burner’s back home. Didn’t think I’d need it today.”

A major miscalculation. The damn migraines and lack of sleep were turning him stupid.

“Okay. Stay on the line. I’ll be back as soon as I have your ride arranged.”

The tension in the cab climbed as Tex’s voice fell silent.

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