Page 16 of Out of Sight

“Where are we going now?” Will asked, breaking the peace. Shame he couldn’t eat slower.

Blake met my eyes in the mirror, then Will’s, but didn’t respond.

“You’re seriously not going to answer me?” Will badgered him, not taking the hint.

Blake still stayed silent, but gripped the steering wheel just a bit harder.

“Come on, man, we deserve to know where we’re going!”

“Oh, just shut up, Will!” I glared at him, smacking him in the chest before continuing in a whisper. “The car could be bugged.”

“Yeah, right… I mean could someone really have done that?” He rubbed at his chest, giving me wounded puppy dog eyes. I looked away before he could think they had any effect on me.

“You never know where the leaks are,” Blake said solemnly from up front. “Antonio Conti, new in town, new to the fold, shows up at the station just as you two are getting ready to go into hiding? He manages to escape from a precinct full of cops seconds before a team is in place to surround him?” His phone beeped from its place mounted on the dash, lighting up with a text. I couldn’t see the words from the back seat, but Blake grunted in frustration. “And now nobody knows where Theo Gates wound up.”

“Wow. It seems like they heard everything I told you guys,” Will said, looking uncomfortable.

I gave him a sharp look, but he couldn’t possibly be the leak; not because I trusted him, but because he had been with us the entire time and hadn’t had a chance to tell his bosses anything. He didn’t even leave my side to go to the bathroom or anything. There was no opportunity.

I exchanged a look with Blake. He seemed to have the same unease, but his shrug told me he came to the same conclusion. Will wasn’t the mole.

“We’ll talk about it when we know we have more privacy,” Blake said, effectively closing the door on the subject.

We were in the car for another twenty minutes or so, swerving through traffic and taking turns at random before pulling into another parking garage. This time it was a tan, older model four-door sedan waiting for us.

The guy who hopped out of the car to greet us on the blacktop didn’t look like the typical FBI agent. He was in his mid-forties, wore work-casual, and had a small paunch belly. He looked…normal.

“Will, Claire, this is US Marshal Jim Marshall. Jim, meet Will and Claire.”

He nodded and gave a friendly smile. “You kids get anything to eat yet? Drink?”

We nodded.

“Good. Let’s grab a couple more waters for the road and be on our way.”

Will reached back for the cooler, but Jim held out a hand to stop him. “Leave that there. Just grab the bottles out.”

“Right, hidden bugging devices,” Will mumbled to himself, shaking his head. He took out the last few bottles and tossed the empty cooler back onto the seat of the SUV.

Once we were situated in Jim’s car—Will and I in the back with Jim and Blake up front—he hit pedal to the metal, boldly squealing out of parking lot at speeds that should have attracted unwanted attention, but hey, he was the expert. He drove in the same twisted way as Blake for a few minutes until both lawmen seemed to relax at the same time.

“I think we’re clear,” Blake said. “I haven’t seen any familiar vehicles since we left the last garage.”

“We’re good to talk then. I did a final sweep of the car right before you guys pulled in.”

“Sweep?” Will asked. I saw images of brooms dancing in his eyes.

“For bugs,” Jim clarified.Idiot.

“Right, that makes sense. But you can read my mind already? It must be true love!” He gasped theatrically at Jim, bringing clasped hands up to his heart. “Sorry, Claire. I know how disappointed you must be.”

I smacked him again.

Jim Marshall grinned but didn’t say anything. “Blake will pass you back some information,” he began as Blake handed us each a folder. “Inside you’ll find an ID and plane ticket. Both of which will contain your new identities.”

“Omaha?” I asked in surprise. “We’re flying to Nebraska?”

“What’s in Nebraska?” Will asked.

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