Page 40 of Jericho

My lips curl up in a small smile. The woman was addicted to chocolate milkshakes years ago, and it seems not everything about her has changed.

"We can make a stop," I assure her, wanting to give her anything that will help her keep calm and not freak out.

I quickly answer my phone from the on-dash console when a call comes through.

"We got a tracker out," I say when the call connects. "We're currently headed southeast."

"I'll get an address for a secondary check," Hemlock says. "Drive safely."

The call ends, and I feel her eyes burning a hole through the side of my head.

"A secondary check?"

"I'm so sorry, Peach," I tell her.

Chapter 22

Aspen

I'm not keeping track of time, but it only feels like half an hour or so before he pulls off the highway. His first stop is a fast-food drive-thru where he orders me the chocolate shake I requested, but I don't feel the same joy I think I would've felt if I didn't know what was coming.

I knew the instant the man on the phone said secondary check, that it was possible there might be another tracker inside of me. The wound at the back of my neck throbs from him pulling the first one out. I can't imagine where a second one could be hidden.

I have only taken a single sip of my milkshake before he pulls the vehicle into a secluded but empty parking lot. I can see the hint of the sunrise kissing the edge of the sky, but we're still probably a full hour before it's fully visible.

He seems cautious as he pulls closer to the only other vehicle in the lot, rolling down his window as he approaches the man standing outside of it.

"You got a fucking problem?" he snaps, and I start to shake at the aggression in his tone.

Why would we meet with someone who would cause us problems?

"No, sir, " the other man answers, completely unoffended by Nolan's tone. "I'm here to help you with your problem."

Nolan relaxes beside me, and I have to guess it is some sort of test or code. Whatever it is, I don't understand it at all.

"Come on, Peach," Nolan says as he shifts the SUV into park. "Let's get this over with."

Every muscle in my body trembles as I climb out of the vehicle and make my way around to his side. The man pulls a larger machine out of the back seat of his car and walks toward me with it. Instinct has me taking a step back until I feel the warmth of Nolan's body against mine.

"You got this, Peach," he says, lifting my arms up and holding them while the guy runs his scanner along every inch of my body.

He looks up at Nolan, not me, when it's time for me to turn around, and I get the feeling that he's doing it because he's scared of the man and doesn't want to step over some invisible line.

It makes me feel like I'm in a protective cocoon, and I turn to face Nolan, looking into his eyes as the man scans the backside of my body.

"She's clean," he says as Nolan urges me to turn back around so I don't have my back to the man.

I feel like a fool in these oversized clothes, but it's so much better than having to stand in front of this man in nothing but a towel.

Nolan steps around me, handing the man a thick envelope which I presume has money in it, but instead of us getting back into the SUV, they exchange keys and Nolan escorts me to the passenger side of the sedan the man arrived in.

The other man wastes no time getting behind the wheel of the SUV and driving away.

"Who was that?"

"I don't know. Someone we can trust," he says before closing my door and walking around the front of the car to climb into the driver's side.

He doesn't speak again as we buckle our seatbelts. I feel his gaze on me as he pulls out of the parking lot, but I don't know what to do with the attention, so I close my eyes.

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