Page 80 of Long Road Home

“His brother. Not Earl, the other one.”

“Doug.”

The office guy nodded. “Yeah. It was him.”

The cop said, “Got it. I’ll get an alert out. We’ll find him.” It was always better when local cops went after local bad guys. They knew where to look, or who to ask.

Kenna said, “I’ve got to get back to work, get out of your jurisdiction. Call Gingrich if you have any questions or if you need a follow-up, yeah?”

“Sure. Yeah.” The guy looked a little star struck.

Maybe she was his type, or he just liked lady cops.

She patted his shoulder on the way past. “Thanks. You have a good night.” Then jogged to the car, not wanting to face any more delays. The quicker this job was done, and they were away from anyone looking for Jim, the better.

Destain joined her, sliding in the back seat. She got in front, since Jax had slid the seat all the way back to accommodate his height and he had the engine running.

Kenna clipped her seatbelt in. “That way, where the gate is. Then hang a right, that’ll take you to the highway.” As he sped away, she pulled off the beanie, making her forehead itch, then ran her hands through her hair. “They were locals, the guys who hit the plane. Hired guns?” She glanced in the back where Pilsborough and Destain sat either side of Jim.

Pilsborough shrugged. “Fits. Someone hires locals, it can get passed off as random.”

“I’ve got a plate full of coincidences right now. I don’t need anymore.” She also had someone, definitely not a local, who was here stirring up trouble for her.

Kenna got on the phone, calling Gingrich. When he picked up, she said, “Am I supposed to say that the ‘package is en route’ or something?”

He chuckled. “No, but that’s good to know.”

“Well, here’s the bad news,” she said. “You knew they were coming in. So did I. Who else is on the list? Because someone gave out information, and I’m guessing these marshals keep their operations pretty tight.”

“You think one of mine leaked information?”

“That’s exactly what I think.” Given the state of loyalty—or lack thereof—in his department, she wouldn’t be surprised at all at someone angling for a promotion. The idea they might be passing information to a criminal and putting lives in danger, including cops’ lives, was unbelievable. “Who else knew?”

“I’ll make a list and send it to the marshals.”

Because he had as little loyalty to them as they had to him? She wasn’t surprised about that. “Figure out who knows. And don’t tell anyone where I am. Don’t leave any electronic record. I want verbal instructions only.”

Visibility in front of the windshield had narrowed to a few feet amid swirling snow that didn’t seem to know where to land. Jax held the wheel and kept a good pace on the highway that was thankfully mostly empty at this time of night.

“I know how to keep people safe,” Gingrich said.

“So do I,” Kenna said. “Now tell me where I’m going, because this snowstorm is starting, and I need a place we can hole up if it gets bad.”

“I have a cabin you can go to. It’ll be about a half hour from where you are.” He told her the highway number, the turnoff, and visual markers only a local would know.

She wrote them on a napkin she found in the glove box. “Got it.”

“There’s supplies, and you should be good if this lasts a day. Call me when you get there.” Gingrich hung up.

Kenna mapped the location where they were supposed to turn off the highway and started directions for Jax. He put her phone in the cupholder to the left of the steering wheel.

Then she turned. “Okay. Now that you know you can trust us, it’s time for someone to fill in some details.” If she was going to have a clue about what they would face getting Jim to a secure place where he could stay while he testified in Chicago, she needed information. “Who’s going to start talking?”

Destain closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the headrest.

Jim grinned at her. He lifted his cuffed hands and patted Jax’s shoulder. “Got yourself a keeper.”

“I know.” Jax didn’t sound amused, but maybe he was concentrating on driving in wintery conditions.

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