Page 23 of Burn

“Who the fuck are these guys?”

“No idea. Did you get anything we can run?” I should have, but I wanted her out of there before the shock really set in. She’d been so quiet and withdrawn on the ride into the city. It didn’t surprise me she was shutting down.

Once in the car and with Goblin resting against her, she’d succumbed to sleep pretty swiftly. There was a picture she was holding close. Two girls in it. One of them was her and the other a mirror image.

Her sister was her twin—either identical or so close it didn’t matter. That would add another wrinkle to the problem.

“Fingerprints. Phone. Don’t worry, it’s off. And a wallet. Nothing in the wallet but some twenties and singles. I left them in the wallet. I might be able to get prints off them once I get back to my equipment.”

“That works,” I said, rolling my head from side to side. The sun had gone down a few hours earlier. According to the GPS, we were about an hour out from where we’d meet Bones and Voodoo. “How’s the leg?”

“Fantastic,” Alphabet lied even as he rubbed at his thigh. “I could probably run a marathon.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll make sure to put money on you next year in Boston.”

He snorted. “You need sleep,” he said. “Your jokes are weak.”

“Fuck off,” I responded and he grinned. The smile didn’t last long though. I wasn’t the only one who was tired. Once we had backup, we’d move to a safe house for rest. If necessary, we could find an off highway hotel to hunker down in.

A solid eight in the rack wouldn’t kill either of us. I still had a few more hours in the tank, but I didn’t want to risk another fight while running low.

Alphabet glanced in the back. When we’d stopped for gas the last time, he’d called Goblin up and out so the dog could relieve himself and have some water. I’d gotten her more comfortable and tucked her blanket around her.

“We’ll figure it out,” I told him. It was what we did. We were problem solvers. Whoever was after her, we’d deal with it and them. Grace Black was not the type to disappear without speculation or investigation. She had ties—a sister for example—business associates and I would imagine boyfriends.

Bones texted that they’d arrived at the rest area meetup we’d scheduled. Alphabet messaged him back that we needed sleep and Grace needed somewhere safe. Voodoo joined the conversation with an address.

It added another fifteen minutes to the drive, but it was definitely off the interstate. Bones was outside when I pulled in. He strolled down from the porch to meet us. The house wasn’t huge, but it was tidy and set back from the road. There were huge trees cutting the visibility.

I didn’t like that for sight lines. We’d have to check them later. But Voodoo wouldn’t have sent the address if it wasn’t secure. So I left it for now. Goblin hopped out to follow Alphabet. The fact he limped wasn’t lost on me or Bones.

“Hit the rack,” Bones told him. “Six hours, minimum.” You could take the captain out of the army but you couldn’t take the captain out of him.

The fact Alphabet nodded and Goblin trotted after him immediately told me all I needed. The lack of argument said he was definitely hurting.

“No injuries that I know of,” I answered Bones’ unasked question. “But it’s been a lot of driving, sitting, and it was five to two. Not really a fair fight for those guys.”

With a snort, Bones moved to the back door of the SUV. Gracie hadn’t so much as twitched. Her breathing was so deep, it worried me. I didn’t see any wounds on her and the guys might have had drugs, but they hadn’t had them out.

“What is she? A buck and change?” Bones shook his head. “She seems almost too fragile for me to pick up.”

“She’ll be fine, you should have seen her throwing shit at the guy who closed in on her. She tried to bash his brains in. She might be tiny, but she’s feisty.” I couldn’t quite keep the grin off my face and Bones just shook his head before he reached into the back.

He bundled her up into the blanket and lifted her out with care. As soon as he cleared the door, he headed up to the house. I grabbed our gear, and snagged the pair of framed photos. They were the only things she’d brought with her.

Guilt scraped against me. She’d been damn upset about leaving. I’d half expected a raging fight or a total denial, but she’d suppressed her reactions so damn ruthlessly, I wasn’t sure it was healthy.

Course, the past few days couldn’t have been the best for her mental health so she got a pass. After I locked the car, I headed in. The interior had low lighting. It was pretty basic, but comfortable.

It seemed to fit our basic needs, it was clean, had enough room for us and I hoped hot running water, because I was showering before I crashed.

Voodoo leaned against the counter in the kitchen where a coffee pot brewed the standard black. His neutral expression betrayed nothing. Then, he was cagey like that.

“You already assign rooms?” Since he called the place, it gave him the pick of rooms.

“I’m on the sofa. Bones is in the master with the client. Alphabet’s in the back on the left. There’s two more rooms on the right. Shower on the left. Supplies are in there.”

I set the photos down in the kitchen and the bag on the counter. “Clothes?”

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