Page 81 of Long Road Home

Pilsborough said, “You know enough.”

“Testifying in Chicago, all very hush-hush.” Kenna paused. “Against who? They seem to be going to great lengths to stop it. And despite the secrecy, they knew when you were landing and where. They hit precisely at the right moment.”

His expression shifted.

She didn’t much care if he didn’t like it. This was the truth.

“He’s testifying against a dirty federal agent,” Pilsborough said.

“Someone with the connections to hire localsand find out information from a sheriff’s department.” Kenna tried to think if she’d heard any rumblings but hadn’t been in the loop for a long time. “Let’s get somewhere safe and warm, and you can practice giving your statement on me.”

Jim nodded. “That’s fair.”

She spotted headlights behind them. “Someone is coming up fast.” An idiot who thought they should speed in freezing conditions.

“Everyone hold on,” Jax said. “This might get bumpy.”

Kenna gritted her teeth. She didn’t need to be in another car accident.

She glanced at Jax. “Get us out of here.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“That’s the plan.” Jax gripped the wheel, the rush of adrenaline making restless, but the weather outside didn’t look inviting. “You’ve already been in one car accident this week.”

The vehicle behind them had to be an SUV. The sheriff’s department car was a mid-2000s model. He couldn’t outrun them if this was the black vehicle he’d seen in the hangar. Whoever had landed after their jet, they’d maneuvered into the hangar and gotten in this vehicle behind them.

So their pursuers had switched from local hitters to a different team that had flown in from out of town.

Or that was the plan all along, given the timing. Assume the locals wouldn’t get the job done—or count on them to slow down the people in this vehicle long enough to be there and scoop up the remains.

Hopefully figuratively, not literally.

The radio on the dash stayed silent. They were a few hours from the safety of that sheriff’s department building, and too far north on the peninsular to have anywhere theycould make a stand. If they were going to get to this cabin, they couldn’t be followed or it would be the worst idea to leave the vehicle and flee inside. They would only end up trapped.

Jax held the wheel tight. He scanned the mirrors.

No one in the back said anything.

Between Jim and his two marshal babysitters, Jax had enough of an idea of what they were up against. Kenna wasn’t going to like it—or her connection. But if she did, she’d be even more onboard with getting this guy to the federal courthouse in Chicago than she already was.

Kenna didn’t need a personal connection. She went to bat for anyone, anywhere, at any time, if they were innocent or in danger. She fought that fear which lived in her, raging and trying to drag her down. She fought it and managed to keep on moving.

The road up ahead angled to the right, a sweeping bend of the two lanes on this side.

He’d have to…

The SUV sped up angling for his left side, trying to get around them. Or the plan was to side-swipe them.

Three miles until the turnoff, he’d have to take to get to the cabin.

But it looked there was at least a gas station at the next exit, along with a couple of fast-food restaurants. Probably all closed down due to the storm coming through. Perfect time for a clandestine operation—if it wasn’t also the worst time for one.

At the last second, Jax yanked the wheel hard to the right and got them over the V onto the exit ramp. The SUV sailed onward, down the highway.

He braked hard, then remembered to pump the brakes.The sheriff’s vehicle fishtailed, but he managed to keep control as he slowed them down and pulled up at the intersection. The SUV on the highway braked.

“Did we lose them?” Pilsborough asked from the back seat.

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