Page 10 of Dirty Gambit

“I’d do anything for you guys. I hate that this might be the last time we talk.”

Her friend snorted. “Please. You’re not that lucky. We’ll meet up again.”

Lena nodded slowly, not believing that for a second. “Be safe, eh?”

Pablo pulled her into his arms. “You too,nina.”

They embraced for several minutes before Lena pulled back. With a wave, she hurried around the hood of the car and slipped into the driver’s seat. Pablo didn’t join them. He watched after them as Lena backed out.

“This is very elaborate,” Jaxon observed. “Whose idea was it?”

Lena ignored him. Her face was set in a determined line as they bumped their way back onto the main road. But rather than continue west, she turned and headed back in the direction of home. Jaxon frowned. Why go so far west only to turn back around?

Wary, he cast his companion a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye, trying to judge his chances of grabbing the wheel from her. But the thought was as fleeting as it had come. He couldn’t risk Jessie’s life if the car flipped or if they hit something. He would have to play along for as long as he could and wait for an opening. The first chance he got, he was taking her down.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked finally, breaking the silence. “Who are you?”

“I told you,” she said, focusing a little too hard on the deserted road. The watch on her wrist beeped. Lena checked it and cursed.

“What’s with the watch?” he asked.

Lena said nothing, but the speedometer jumped a notch as they picked up speed.

The car was a Volkswagen Station Wagon the same ancient year as the Nissan. He couldn’t see the outside in the dark, but he would have bet money that the paint had faded and it was splotched with patches of rust. In the back, Jessie lay in peaceful slumber, oblivious of the adventure she was on. Jaxon arched up out of his seat as far as the cuffs would allow to peer into her car seat.

Completely oblivious.

“Do you have a blanket for her?” he asked, dropping back into his seat.

Lena nodded. “I’ll be pulling over soon.”

Jaxon didn’t know what that meant or if he needed to worry, but he kept quiet as they drove back a quarter mile and veered off some unmarked road.

“Where are we going?” he demanded. “Are we just going to drive around for the rest of our lives?”

Lena spared him a fleeting glance from the corner of her eye. “I…” she trailed off, faced forward, and clamped her mouth shut.

Jaxon didn’t bother encouraging her to speak again. All the driving around was beginning to make him sleepy, plus his wrist was beginning to throb where the steel was cutting into his flesh. Was she really worried he’d jump out of the car? He’d just as soon toss her out.

“We’ll be stopping soon.”

Having been nearly dozing, Jaxon blinked. He opened his eyes wide and scanned their surroundings. Nothing familiar. Still on some back road headed north? Maybe east. He couldn’t be sure anymore and he realized that had been her plan the entire time.

“Where are we?” he snapped with more force than intended.

“Not far,” she replied simply.

He didn’t push her again as they drove, too exhausted and annoyed to properly string words together.

It was nearly fifteen minutes later before she pulled into a motel parking lot. Jaxon instantly became alert as the blinking neons alerted him to the possibility of freedom if he played his cards right.

Lena parked, pulled out the keys, and pocketed them. Then she turned to him. Her brown eyes were dark, made darker by the shadows playing across her weary features. He would have felt a small measure of sympathy, but he smothered it.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said softly. “You think that if you cause enough ruckus, someone will come to your rescue. You’re also thinking that you can overpower me.” She sighed heavily. She sat back, pressing her back against the door. “You probably could. You outweigh me by a good two hundred pounds and two feet. You’re stronger, probably faster, and no doubt as determined as I am right now. But I’m sorry to tell you that it won’t work here.”

Hating that she could be so flatly honest while simultaneously bashing his anticipation, Jaxon glowered. “Why’s that?”

She turned her head to peer at the single door before them. The headlights spilled over the red slab of wood, a harsh contrast to the white of the building itself. She stared at it a moment, a sad sort of glint in her eyes.

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