Chapter 13

Chapter

Thirteen

GRACE

T he weight of Voodoo’s hand on my leg snapped me back to the present. I hadn’t even realized I was zoning out until he touched me.

Jerking my head around, I stared at him. “What?” My brain was a little fuzzy. It had taken every bit of effort to not just burst into tears earlier when he played word games with my questions.

“I need you to focus,” he repeated his earlier statement. It was like I was on a dubbing delay and getting the words a half second behind when he was saying them. “We’ve picked up a tail.”

I twisted in the seat to look behind us. We’d been on the interstate pretty much from the moment we left the coffee place. There was still food in the bag at my feet, but the last thing I wanted to do was eat.

There were two cars behind us. A white four door sedan and a dark SUV that looked eerily like the ones in Manhattan. My stomach bottomed out. Alphabet had thrown that liquid bomb onto the other one and set it on fire.

“Do we have to throw something on it to blow it up?” I did not have the best aim. The one year I’d played softball, I’d done it with Am for fun. They’d eventually put me anywhere I didn’t have to throw a ball. I could catch one, but throw it?

Nope.

“That is not my plan,” Voodoo said, his tone calm and even which seemed utterly at odds with the idea of men following us. Well, following me . How were they still doing that? I didn’t even know where we were.

“You have a plan?” The knowledge rasped like sandpaper through me. “You planned for someone to follow us?”

Alphabet and Lunchbox had done the same. They’d even called someone. Then just kept right on going. At no point had it been serious, at least until Alphabet threw that jar with the liquid bomb in it.

So maybe this was what they did?

“You know what, let’s argue about that later.” If he had a plan, he must have assumed that someone finding us was a possibility. “What do you need me to do?”

The last time, I’d just hidden in the back. Oh, and I’d helped hold the jar while Alphabet got resettled.

“Take even, slow breaths. I don’t want you to start hyperventilating.”

Almost at once, I tried to calm my breathing. I had started panting, almost stupidly so. “Breathe, right I can breathe.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” He wasn’t looking at me. The calm draping him left me envious. Lunchbox and Alphabet had been the same way. At least then, they’d had each other and Goblin for backup.

“I’m not going to be great at backup,” I warned him, stealing another look at the side mirror. The SUV was still back there, behind the white sedan. Neither vehicle seemed intent on overtaking us.

That was good, right?

“You don’t have to be, firecracker.” He reached over to flip down the glove compartment. There was a gun in a holster right there. There was also a taser. “Those are right here if needed. If you aren’t comfortable with a gun, don’t pull it out. You’re more likely to hurt yourself. Use the taser instead and never point it at yourself.”

The sense of falling held me captive even as ice seemed to slick over my body despite the fact I was burning up. “Taser,” I repeated. “I’ve used one before. Does this fire or do you have to be up close?”

“Up close,” Voodoo warned. “You shouldn’t need it, but if you do, let them get right there and then you send a few thousand volts through them until they drool into the ground.”

“Are you sure they’re following us?” Because those cars hadn’t fallen back or gotten any closer.

“Hmm-hmm.” Voodoo glanced at me then flipped the glove compartment closed. “Sit back.”

I was, but he didn’t give me a chance to ask why before he suddenly depressed the gas and the Jeep rumbled with unexpected power. We pulled away from the white car, and I kept my gaze fixed on the side mirror as the distance between us grew wider and wider.

The SUV jerked out from behind the sedan and accelerated past it just as we reached a slight rise. I lost sight of them for a moment, but I didn’t have long to wait before they appeared in the side mirror. We were still pulling away though.

A ripple of apprehension seemed to skate over my scalp. The roots of my hair all seemed to tingle and if I were a cat, it would probably be standing a little higher. The road curved and I lost sight of the SUV again. The thud of my heart was far too loud, and it struck my ribs with dizzying force.

Flicking a look toward the dashboard, I clenched my jaw. We were well past three digits on the speedometer. Any complaints I had died unspoken. I gripped the sides of the seat and said nothing. The last thing I wanted to do was distract him.

Even more terrifying—the SUV behind us was working to close the gap. Cold flash-fired through me again.

“Tell me something, Firecracker,” Voodoo said as if we were just out for some casual Sunday drive and not driving at some reckless speeds. “What do you like to eat?”

“What?”

“Food. You have to have a favorite. Like I’m partial to caribou steak. Can’t really get it in many places, but when I can—nothing like it. Pair that with a huckleberry slump, and, let’s just say, there won’t be much I wouldn’t do for that combo.”

What was a slump? “Um… I’ve never had caribou.”

“No? What about bison?”

I shook my head. “Red meat’s a luxury. I don’t usually have it that often. Mostly steamed chicken, some fish—also steamed—and sushi. Love sushi. But I have to be careful on the calories.”

The SUV seemed to be getting closer. Unnerving when you considered the warning on the mirror said that objects may be closer than they appear.

“Not sure I like the idea of red meat being a luxury. Steamed chicken sounds terrible.” He actually cut a glance toward me which was more terrifying than the car approaching. Why was he taking his eyes off the road? “Is that a biological—you know health requirement? Like Gluten-free?”

Like gluten-free. A semi-hysterical laugh slipped out of me.

“Not exactly. Red meat can make you puffy. Cameras already add ten pounds. My job is to look my best for both video and still photography. There’s also not a lot of time to fix outfits, so they have everything sized to specification and it’s important to stay in that range. That means steamed foods, vegetables, controlled calories, low to no carbs with the occasional splurge.”

My mouth was so dry.

“Huh, do me a favor…”

“Sure.”

“When it’s time to explain to Lunchbox that you only want your chicken or fish steamed, make sure I’m there. I want to see the look on his face.”

That pulled my attention from the side mirror. “Why?”

“He likes to cook and steaming everything will be an insult to his culinary soul.” His grin held not even an ounce of malice. His amusement translated with his chuckle. “That will be popcorn worthy.”

A laugh escaped me before I could suppress it. “That seems mean.”

“Mean would be saving the information until after he prepared you something gourmet. Just remember, the man loves chiles on everything.” He shook his head. “Though I have to admit red chile in hot chocolate is way better than I ever expected it to be.” He made a little hum of sound. “Brace.”

Brace?

I barely processed the word when something hit us. The other SUV was right there, on our tail. They’d not only closed the gap, they were right on top of us.

“Hold on, firecracker.” He turned the wheel hard as he lifted the safety brake. The spin sent up a stream of smoke from his tires and the sound was jarring.

He turned into the swerve, until we were heading the other way and he crossed the green median to the other side. The vehicle jolted across the uneven ground, and then we bounced as he cleared the edge of the road and then we were racing back the other direction.

I twisted in the seat, heart racing, but I didn’t let go of the “oh shit” handle. No way I was letting it go. There was no sign of the SUV.

It couldn’t possibly be that easy.

Apparently, Voodoo felt the same way because we didn’t stay on the highway. He took the next exit to—a state route that was just a number and not a name. The road itself was empty. As soon as we were off the road, he turned left and headed south.

“But let’s get back to your favorites,” Voodoo said. “You eat a lot of steamed food, meat, and vegetables. But when you get to splurge—even if it’s just a one bite splurge, what do you have to have?”

Pulling my gaze from the mirror, I looked at him. “What?”

The words just weren’t processing. It didn’t help that I had no idea where we were and I kept feeling like any moment that SUV was going to pop up out of nowhere.

Maybe it would T-bone us. Or it would be blocking the road ahead.

They could even have flamethrowers.

“If you get to splurge, just—cheat all the diets and food requirements. What’s the one food you go for?”

“Um,” I said, swallowing a hard lump. “I guess it depends on where I am.”

“Okay, let’s say here—or where we were in Pennsylvania.”

“Um… banana pudding. Maman used to make that for Am and me. I loved it. Am would always let me finish her extras cause Nilla wafers were the best.” I’d almost forgotten that. “Don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate too. But Nilla wafers and bananas are just—heavenly.”

“Got it.” He turned a hard right onto a road I hadn’t even seen there and we were just following a road into the hills. “So, what if you were in New York?”

“I have a weakness for cannolis. But if I’m going to be in New York, it has to be cheesecake from Juniors. It’s to die for, especially the raspberry one.”

“Europe?”

“It depends on where… the patisseries in Belgium and France are just the worst. I love bread. I love bread in all its forms whether it’s dinner rolls or baguettes or donuts. So, pastries are excellent.” My stomach cramped as I could practically picture the smell of the fresh baked bread. “I used to love cornbread and beans when I was little too. Not the same there, obviously, but still good.”

“What about England? Or Scotland?”

“Sticky toffee pudding.” A nervous laugh escaped. “Italy it’s the gelato and Switzerland it’s the chocolate. I never try to splurge too much but I do like to enjoy it when I have the chance.”

He took another turn, this one a left and we were heading down what looked like a driveway. Were we at their base?

“I haven’t had sticky toffee pudding,” he said, slowing when we passed the treelined drive and into a clearing with a house, a barn, and an empty paddock. The house didn’t look like it had any functional windows.

So abandoned maybe?

He circled around the two buildings and then pulled straight into the barn. Despite being abandoned, it was relatively clean inside. Empty stalls lined either side of the aisle. The stall doors were all open and a ladder stretched up in the middle to the rafters.

“Get the taser,” Voodoo said, flipping open the glove compartment. “Take that and out, I want you up the ladder, and then laying flat against the boards over the feed room. You can’t see up there unless you’re directly under it.”

“What’s happening?” I was already moving. He’d turned off the Jeep and joined me in climbing out. Circling to the back, he flipped open the hatch and slid off his jacket. Next, he pulled what might be a flak jacket on. Or bullet proof vest.

It was something. He also had a gun out of his shoulder holster. Then lifted a rifle that he slung over his back, the strap securing it crossways. The last was a shot gun.

“Go,” he said. “Up there and think about what dessert you’d like to splurge on tonight. Because we’re going to earn that splurge.”

“They’re still coming, aren’t they?” My stomach was on the ground. Clearly, they were or why else would he be getting ready.

“Yep, they are, but you’re going to be just fine. This is a hiccup, Firecracker. Up the ladder, lay down flat, keep the taser in your hand. If anyone comes up there, you push that into them and squeeze the trigger. Don’t hesitate. Got it?”

I wanted to argue with him. I wanted to offer him something that wasn’t me scrambling up to the loft to hide.

“Like I said, think about dessert. I like ice cream,” he told me. “Whatever we splurge on, I’ll be sure to eat more than half so you don’t have to feel guilty about it.”

It was the most ridiculous thing to find comfort in, but I nodded. “Be careful?”

One corner of his mouth kicked up and his dark eyes seemed to sparkle. “This is going to be fun.”

He winked and then lifted his chin at me, an order to go.

The sound of a car outside had me racing upward. I climbed the ladder, taser clenched in my sweaty palm. Once I was up there, I sprawled, stomach down and ignored the dust that poofed up.

The engine idled outside and then cut off abruptly. A moment later, a car door opened.

Then another.

And another.

Eyes closed, I pressed my cheek to the wood. How the hell had they followed us so closely?

We were off the road and out of sight it was like…

It was like they were tracking me.

“Send the girl out,” a man called and I jerked my eyes open. “If you cooperate, we might even let you live.”

Voodoo didn’t say anything. In fact, it was totally silent below. The door in the front rattled open.

I forgot how to breathe.