Page 114 of Dust and Ashes

This was unbelievable. “They should know better than to let someone go alone somewhere around here with no backup.”

Jax glanced at her. “Don’t you do it all the time?”

“Am I alone right now?”

He said nothing for a second.

“I’m being smart.”

“Right.” He paused again. “And now an agent is dead on foreign soil, no one is gonna rest until they find whoever did it.”

“I hope they do. He has a list of victims, and I didn’t have enough to figure out who it was.”

“I guess we can rule out Elliot Preston.”

She gripped the wheel and stared at the SUV up ahead. His crimes weren’t that, but they were sufficient for her. “And Ramon Santiago.”

“You really thought it might be him?”

She lifted one shoulder. “I was more interested in getting out of there, and getting all of us home.”

“We’ll get there,” he said.

“It’s taken too long already.” She flipped on the windshield wipers. “And this guy is driving right into a hurricane. Who does that?”

“Is the weather gonna make you stop, or will you get her back anyway?”

“I don’t need a pep talk!” She stomped harder on the gas pedal.

“Try not to crash us.”

“I’ve had enough car accidents for a month. I’m not running him off the road. It could kill her.” She sucked in a breath and tried to tamp down the panic.

Lord, help us.

She continued, “Once they stop, we find a place to intercept. And I hope those FBI agents drive fast, because I’m not hanging around waiting for backup if I have the chance to get her back.”

“Good thing you have backup right here.”

And an arsenal of weapons, thanks to Stairns. How he’d managed to transport them across the border—or pick them up locally—was a question she wanted an answer to. When he got out of surgery.

Kenna let go of the wheel with one hand. “Start praying.”

Jax clasped her hand. “I haven’t stopped.”

ChapterThirty-One

Rain battered against the windshield. Kenna had long since cleared her mind, focusing on nothing but each breath. Each foot of asphalt under the car. Each mile they traversed along the highway toward the harbor.

Where the shipment had come in.

And now Elliot was taking Maizie there? “He’s making a run for it.”

She tapped her index finger on the steering wheel while the wipers beat back the rain. Or, at least, they attempted it. The hurricane was back in full force. Not because it changed directions but because they’d driven right back into it.

“You think he’s gonna take her back to the US?” Jax said.

Kenna stared at the taillights up ahead. “Boat. He’s leaving this area, maybe the country. But why does keeping her hit back at me if he doesn’t contact me to gloat?”

---