She glanced out the window and-finding the men still deep in conversation-shifted forward until she knelt between the two front seats. She cast another nervous glance out the window and continued to watch them as she spoke close to the cup holder.
"Nicholas? If you can hear me, this is Dani, the other woman you saved tonight." She paused and licked her lips and then continued, "Decker and Bricker are going to set a trap for you using the bug and the tracking device you left in the van. They know you probably think they don't remember the devices are here and are going to try to use them to catch you."
Dani paused again and closed her eyes briefly before continuing, "I'm scared. Decker told me he works for CSIS, but there's no way he could. He's crazy. I overheard them talking and he seems to think he's hundreds of years old.
"I don't know what to do," she admitted. "I'm torn between fleeing for my life and sticking with them because they can track the SUV that Stephanie is in. I have to find my sister, but want to get out alive with her. If you're what I think you are, some kind of bounty hunter or private detective or something, please call me."
Dani rattled off her cell phone number, and then waited a minute and repeated it. She said it once more before finishing with "Call me right away if you can, I'm not sure if they'll leave me on my own again, and I need to know just how dangerous these men are. Hopefully you can tell me that."
Much to her amazement, Dani had barely stopped talking when her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket.
Chapter Four
"Dani?" The voice on the phone was a deep growl that Dani didn't recognize.
"Nicholas?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes. They probably won't leave you alone for long. We have to keep this short so listen to me. I don't know the younger kid, but I know Decker and you're safe with him. He would never hurt you, and I don't think the fellow with him would either. All right?" he asked. "You're safe."
"But they're crazy," she protested, and then bit her lip and glanced out the window, afraid she'd spoken too loudly. Justin and Decker appeared not to have heard, however. In fact, they were now walking as they talked, moving away from the van.
"They may seem crazy, but they aren't. You are safe with them. Trust me on this."
"You don't understand," Dani said with frustration. "They stuck branches in the bodies of those men who took us, and-Are they CSIS?" she asked abruptly.
"No, they are in law enforcement, but not any organization you've heard of."
"What organization?" Dani asked anyway, unwilling to accept that explanation this time.
After a hesitation, Nicholas answered. "They're Council enforcers."
"What are Council enforcers?" she asked at once.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you know that you are safe with them."
"But my sister-"
"She's alive and well. I'm still following them. Your sister should be all right. He can't hurt her while he's driving, and I don't intend to lose them so he can hurt her."
Dani closed her eyes with relief at his words.
"You haven't called your family on your cell phone, have you?" he asked suddenly.
Dani's eyes popped open as amazement shot through her. She should have called them at once... and the police. "No," she admitted finally, and then added fretfully, "I should have done that right away. I don't know why I didn't."
"They probably put the suggestion in your mind that you shouldn't," he said calmly. "I don't know why they didn't take the phone away at the same time."
She was frowning, wondering whose side the man was on here, and then he said, "Dani, I risked being caught to save your life, so trust me. Stay with them."
"Caught?" she echoed with a frown. "Why are they trying to catch you?"
The pause this time was very long before he said, "I made a mistake a long time ago. I'm afraid I killed someone. They were sent to find me and bring me in for judgment. They are the good guys Dani, I'm the bad seed."
"And you're asking me to trust you?" she asked dryly.
"Yeah" Nicholas said with what sounded like bitter amusement. "So who's the crazy one here, huh?"
Dani didn't say anything. She didn't know what to think now. He'd killed someone?