Page 50 of Master of Lies

“Option three, of course, consists of just dragging me along with you so that you can berate me and ignore me and insult me to no good purpose,” I said. “Option three sucks. Not useful. Not fun. Big waste of our time and energy.”

“Wow, Freya, thanks for laying it all out for me so clearly. There’s just the small matter of you getting killed as soon as I drop you off. Which is a mathematical certainty, if you try to rent a car or buy a bus ticket.”

“Whoever those guys are, they can’t be watching every single bus station within a hundred miles of Kalaharee,” I argued. “And no one could have followed you on the route you took. I’m in the car with you myself, and I haven’t got a clue where we are, or where you’re going. Do you know? Or is it random?”

He gave me his trademarked fulminating glare. “Nothing I do is random,” he said. “But if Boer hacked your phone, then he hacked Ethan’s and Holly’s. If you call your brother, Boer will hear you. He’s closer, and he’ll get to you first. Count on it.”

“I see.” I contemplated that unnerving idea for a minute as we bumped along a snowy road that bordered a field. I saw farmhouses and barns in the distance. “This place has possibilities,” I suggested. “Just let me off. I have money in the hem of my coat. I can pay someone to give me a ride out of here and never use phones at all.”

He shook his head. “Too many unknowns. I can’t let you off here on foot.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured him. “I’m very resourceful. Thanks for saving my life. If I get myself killed now, it’s on me. You are one hundred percent off the hook. Okay?”

“No,” he said darkly. “Too risky. Can’t do it.”

I felt that familiar twist of old, tired anger that dealing with my brothers so often provoked. “It’s not your risk,” I said wearily. “Let it go. Let me take responsibility.”

“No,” he said.

The man was driving me crazy. “For fuck’s sake, would you just tell me what’s going on!” I yelled. “Why is it risky? Who are those people? What do they have to do with Shane? Clue me in!”

Jed shook his head. “The less you know, the safer you are. You need to get someplace safe, with a security detail on you twenty-four-seven. Until you are, you stay with me. Now shut up. I’m working this through, and you’re distracting me.”

“Can we work through it together? I might be able to—”

“Shut up, or I’ll gag you.”

I subsided, fuming. The bastard was impossible to reason with. He wouldn’t share, wouldn’t let me help, wouldn’t let me go. Plus, he was furious with me, rude as hell, and twice my size. It made me feel exhausted, and very alone.

More hours crawled by as we jolted along. It was full twilight when the Jeep turned into the shadows of a thick forest on the road so faint and overgrown, the bushes rustled and scraped loudly against the undercarriage of the vehicle.

He parked the Jeep in a car shelter next to a small, ancient house, almost hidden in the overgrown trees and shrubs that surrounded it. Shrubs that hadn’t been pruned or trimmed in decades. We sat in silence for a moment.

“So, is this just someplace you found by pure chance?” I asked, because I just couldn’t help myself. “Will we be trespassing on someone else’s property?”

He gave me that ironic eyebrow tilt.

“Oh, I see,” I muttered. “Of course it’s not. It’s all part of your meticulous plan. Even though you’ve been in prison for months, these strategically chosen, well-supplied safehouses are just waiting patiently for your convenience. Who helped you with all this? The Unredeemables? The Drake brothers?”

“How about you stop chattering and help me haul the stuff inside?”

Oh, hell with it. I’m too tired to get my back up at this point. He pulled a key from behind a weather-beaten, termite-riddled shingle, and opened the door.

It was cold in the entry hall, the air stale, but it felt weathertight, not damp or moldy. Jed turned on a light, adjusted a thermostat. “It’ll warm up soon,” he said.

I set down the cases of electronic equipment and started to follow him back outside, but he stopped me in the doorway. “Stay here.”

“I’d rather help,” I told him. “It feels good to do something after all that sitting.”

“No,” he said. “Stay inside. Don’t argue with me.”

I knew that tone all too well, from Shane and Ethan. I also knew how to fight back and hold my ground, but maybe not tonight. I was the one in the wrong, he was furious, and I could keep my mouth shut for a little while, if I really made the effort.

But my resolve was sorely tried when Jed came back in, stomping snow off his boots, before he set down the cases. “There’s food in the freezer,” he said. “Go get some of it ready for us while I get the security system set up.”

Oh, of course. A job perfectly suited for the little woman. I almost said something snotty about it, but then my stomach betrayed me by growling loudly.

For just the briefest second, it looked as if Jed were about to smile. Then the moment passed, and I couldn’t be sure I hadn’t imagined it. Wishful thinking, maybe.

---