NaturesBounty(23)
Nate set his mouth in a grim line and got on the highway. “It just doesn’t make sense. Why would he screw me over? He posted your bond. Getting you back sooner than later is in his best interest. That’s why he pulled me out of my brand-new retirement. He needed my expert nose to track you fast.”
He merged into traffic and stomped on the pedal.
“You were retired?”
“Barely. My last job didn’t go so well. It spun out of control.”
She grunted. “So far, this one doesn’t seem to be much better.”
Nate curled his lip while he changed lanes to stick to the I-10 East. “Considering someone wound up dead the last time, I’d say we’re still ahead of the game.”
There was silence for a moment. “I’m sorry,” she said somberly. “Was it someone you knew?”
He tightened his grip on the wheel. “An innocent bystander. He got caught in the crossfire when gunfire broke out.”
“That’s terrible. So you just quit, even though it wasn’t your fault?”
“Not my fault? I ducked, and he caught a bullet meant for me.”
“That doesn’t make it your fault.”
“So everyone says, but I decided to hang up my hat anyway. I just didn’t have the stomach for it anymore. Then Asa talked me into one last job. You.”
“Lucky me.” She flinched at his glare. “Maybe you just aren’t as retired as you thought. Maybe deep down, you know you can still work for the public good. Not in my case, of course.”
“The only reason I did it was because my cut of the bond amount would see me through another year. Even so, there were two conditions. One, I wanted a quiet capture. No team of macho mean stirring up a shit storm. Two, minimal force. No guns. Since you were a first-time offender wanted for a white-collar deal, it seemed more likely I’d get my wish.”
“But Asa obviously didn’t trust that I’d be taken that easily, so he sent backup and guns that you didn’t want.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s it.”
“What, then?”
The glow of red brakes lit up the dark road ahead, and he slowed down. He’d forgotten what a bitch Southern California traffic could be. “He didn’t send them as backup. He told me they weren’t supposed to be there.” When they’d stopped in the row of cars, he looked over at her. “They were supposed to jump us quietly after we got back over the state line.”
Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“He won’t tell me. Says we have to meet face-to-face first.” His eyes narrowed. “Except I highly doubt it’s so he can explain. He’s after something, and I think it’s sitting right next to me.” He gave her a pointed look.
“Well, obviously he’s after me. That’s his business, right? Tracking down fools like me who try to run away from lying, unscrupulous bosses.”
“Then he could have just let me do my job. You’d have been in his hands tomorrow.” He felt a jab of unexpected irritation at the thought of her in another man’s hands—in any capacity.
“Maybe those other guys tried to get me away from you because they want your cut of the reward. Whoever hands me over gets the money, right?”
“It doesn’t quite work that way. This isn’t the old days where anyone could capture guys on wanted posters to get the gold. Bond enforcers don’t go around stepping on one another’s toes because we aren’t all given the same assignments. We’re hired to do a specific job, and we do it. Asa trusted I could do this one, or he wouldn’t have brought me out of retirement.”
She shifted in her seat, obviously uncomfortable. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense.”
Traffic crept forward again. “He wanted me,” he muttered to himself. “Me in particular. He knew I could find you fast.” He glanced at her. “It’s a talent.”
“I’ll admit it bruised my ego a little. I thought I did pretty good throwing you guys off the trail.”
“I have my ways.”
The words sank in.
“My ways,” he repeated. “My conditions. That’s why he wanted me. He knew I could find you fast, but he also knew I’d do it alone and unarmed. The last time we talked, he made sure of it.”
“So?”
“That would make it easier to intercept you afterward.”
“Intercept me for what?”
“Good question.” He blew out a breath as the freeway resumed normal speed. He pressed the button for the window, took one final look at his phone, and chucked it into the freeway’s concrete center divider. “Shit. I liked that phone.”