Page 63 of In Too Deep

“You shot him down like a dog when all he was doing was his job. Earning an honest buck.”

“Well, there’s his mistake. Honest jobs don’t pay for shit. Means you have to work long hours. Increases the risk of a workplace accident.”

Knight looked around for a chair but there were none in the room so she sat on the floor, cross-legged, six feet in front of Kane. She raised the gun so that it was lined up on his stomach. The muzzle was rock steady. She said, “You shot my father in the chest. Left him to bleed out. It took hours. I came to return the favor. Onlyyouran away after you pulled the trigger.I’mgoing to stay. I’m going to watch until the last breath has left your body.”

Kane swallowed. “Don’t do that. Let’s talk. There must be something—”

“What Icameto do. Past tense. I’ve changed my mind.” Knight lowered the gun and got to her feet. “See, if I shoot you, it’ll feel good for maybe an hour. But then I’d regret it. I know I would. Because you wouldn’t die fast. Oh no. But it would still be too fast. Faster than spending the rest of your life in jail. Which is what’s going to happen. The FBI will be here in minutes. They have a dead agent.” Knight looked Kane in the face. “I hope no one meets them outside. Tells them you’re to blame for that.”

—

Knight was quietuntil they were safely through the set of switchbacks. Then she glanced at Reacher and said, “So what’s next for you?”

Reacher shrugged. “I’ll get back on the road, I guess. You?”

“Go home. Get my job back. With Kane out of the picture there’s no reason not to.”

“I wish you luck.”

“Thanks. Where are you heading?”

“New Orleans.”

“What’s in New Orleans?”

“A new club opened. A band I like got a residency. I helped them with a thing, a while back. Thought I’d catch a couple of shows. See how they’re doing.”

“Some good clubs in Phoenix. You could come there.”

“Maybe I will, one day.”

“You’ll head out in the morning?”

“Maybe. Or tonight.”

“Tonight? So soon?”

“Why not? There’s nothing to keep me here.”

“I guess not.” Knight glared at him then leaned a little harder on the gas.

—

The four guyshadn’t taken much of a bite out of the drive back to Phoenix when they got the call from Kane. They had set out heading north on US 65 and then looped clockwise around the outskirts of Springfield. But instead of continuing until they hit I-44 like their phones told them to, they dived southwest onto US 60 and kept going until they reached a roadside bar between Monett and Yonkerville. The place was owned—indirectly—by a guy they had met in the state pen in Tucson. A live band was playing. The food was cheap. The portions were generous. The beer was cold. But the mostattractive feature in their minds was the barmaids. As the neon sign above the door promised, they were all topless, all the time.

—

The conversation gotoff to a rocky start. Kane didn’t know that Knight had sent the guys a text from his phone telling them to stand down so he was expecting them to still be a couple of miles away, watching the other Russian houses. He was expecting them to be sitting in their cars, keeping a low profile. So he couldn’t understand why there was so much background noise. And why, when he told them to come to his location, stat, they said they would need such a long time to get there. It took a moment to straighten things out. Kane couldn’t argue with them following “his” instructions, but he still wasn’t happy. There was only one reason he could think of for Reacher to have tied him up and left him in the house. Fletcher had been right. Reacher was working for the FBI. Agents must be on their way. He told the guys not to spare the horses.

—

Kane didn’t sayhe was worried about the FBI showing up but the guys weren’t stupid. They could listen between the lines. When they got back they drove past the house twice to be sure there were no nasty surprises waiting for them. Then one guy stayed in each car. One car was facing one way, one the other, and both had their engines running. The other two guys hurried to the house. One of them entered the number Kane had given them into the keypad. Panicked for a moment when the door wouldn’t open. Then the other guy remembered to pull it. They hurried inside. Ran down the hallway. Found Kane in the kitchen. Cut his ties. And helped him to his feet.

—

Kane led theway out of the house. He moved slowly at first. His joints and muscles were stiff after being tied in an unnatural position for so long. He was back to something like full pace when he reached the front door. But after he took one step out onto the driveway, he stopped.

He said, “Where the hell is my truck?”

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