Second Chances(106)

He turned a blind corner and had to hit his brakes. They were almost right on top of them. She had obviously slowed after taking the corner. He knew there was no way he could slow enough to stay behind them and for it to appear natural so he swerved into the empty oncoming lane and went around them, slamming the horn as he did. Once past them he gradually slowed a little, trying to keep them in his rearview.

He cursed when he saw them take a left off the main road a few moments later.

"Son of a bitch."

"Turn around and we can catch up to them."

"Yes we could, but then they would know we were following them."

Linda nodded, falling silent. She knew he was right. "So now what?"

Cameron pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped. "Now," he said, turning to her. "We hope your plan works. Otherwise I think we are screwed."

He looked at the slip of a smile on her face and wondered what the heck she could find amusing about the situation, but decided he'd rather not know. He put the car into gear again and made a U-turn.

Linda wanted to slap herself. She just found it impossible to concentrate. She knew he hadn't said what she thought he had. Her imagination was simply out of control. She closed her eyes and tried to focus before saying, "Okay, let's go find a phone."





CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE



Paige gunned the engine as soon as she turned out of the parking lot. Nathan grabbed the door handle. He looked over and saw a hint of a smile on her face. She barely let up on the gas as she slid into the curve of the road. They raced for another twenty seconds or so and then she hit the brakes as they took a sharp turn and then slowed to barely ten miles an hour.

"What are you doing?"

"Driving like a maniac," she said and then laughed. She looked into the rearview mirror, the road was clear.

Nathan laughed and nodded, understanding hitting him.

"So this mall, about how far away is it?"

"I don't know how far, but we should be able to get there in about thirty minutes or so. I feel like we are on some twisted scavenger hu...holy crap!"

Paige sucked in her breath and tensed, expecting an impact. The car in the rearview mirror was almost on top of them. It swerved into the oncoming lane, its horn blaring, and then was beyond them. Paige could swear she could hear the driver cursing at her.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded yes, while her trembling hands seemed to indicate otherwise.

"Okay, so how about we skip any further James Bond moves."

Paige managed to smile and nodded in agreement. She checked the rearview mirror again and then took a left hand turn.

"You sure you want to drive?"

"Yeah. I'll be okay. Just wasn't expecting that. You don't think they were following us, do you?"

He shook his head. "You were barely crawling along and that was a blind turn. Probably not the smartest move." She frowned and nodded her agreement. The car had kept going, but still he glanced back as they drove on, watching for any pursuit.

He could tell she was actually a little more shaken by the incident than she let on. The drive up to the mall took nearly forty minutes and Paige kept her speed at or below the speed limit the entire way. They turned into the mall parking area and she parked by the entrance to Sears.

They got out and entered the building, weaving their way around the store until they exited from the Sears and into the main body of the mall. Nathan looked around, spotted the directory map and walked over to it.

"Figures," he said. "Other side of the mall."

Paige reached out and took his hand.

"Let's get going then."

They slowly strolled through the mall. Nathan looked around at the familiar shops that seemed to be in every mall. He looked over his shoulder numerous times as they walked, but couldn't tell if they were being followed. After the twisting and turning route Paige had taken to get back to the main road from the beach he would've been surprised if anyone had managed to stay with them, but he wanted to be able to tell the woman on the other end of the phone that he had kept a vigilant watch.

They reached the far end of the mall and Nathan brought them to stop outside of Bath & Body Works.

"Here?"

He nodded and then they entered. Paige let go of his hand and began to walk around the store. Nathan looked around until he spotted the shower gel. He walked over to the display and looked over the lines of bottles. He grabbed the last bottle in the row of Candy Apple. A small slip of paper was taped to the bottom of the bottle. He pulled the paper free and then went over to Paige who was looking at bars of scented soap.

"Find what we need?"

He nodded and then tilted his head toward the exit. Once they were out of the shop, he unfolded the paper and read it.