This isn’t the right route.”
“She said he’s avoiding traffic.” Jonas studied his Google map. “You know the area. What would you do?”
“This isn’t avoiding traffic.”
Jonas pounded out another text, knowing he shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but he already had.
you’re not going the right way.
He stared at the phone, waiting for a response.
“Can you still see her?” Jonas asked.
“They’re still three cars ahead.”
give me an update.
He stared at the phone as if that was going to make her answer. Irritation mushroomed. She was a seasoned marshal who knew what she was doing, but that didn’t change the fact that they were after a man desperate enough to kill to ensure his escape route.
i can’t see you.
She’d been there a second ago.
driver heard from barrick. plans changed. taking me to south. think he’s spooked.
where?
driver doesn’t know. giving directions as we go.
This was what he’d been afraid of. Barrick had managed to stay one step ahead of them, and now he was switching routes again. And if he thought Bianca was leading him into a trap—like she was—the man was going to run.
“What’s the plan now?” O’Conner said.
“We keep following her, but we need to find out where they’re meeting.”
But that was impossible at the moment. Barrick could be planning to meet and drive to a dozen different airports in order to leave the country. Unless he was trying to take Bianca out of the equation.
“What if he’s planning to leave Bianca behind?” Jonas asked O’Conner.
“I don’t know. Six million dollars is a powerful motivator, but I don’t see them anymore.”
where are you?
No answer.
Jonas grit his teeth. “Something’s wrong.” And this time it wasn’t just his worrying. “She’s not answering.”
Suddenly his phone was ringing. His heart sank as he answered, putting the call on speaker. “Where is she, Patterson?”
“I’ve lost both tracking devices.”
“You’ve got to find her.”
“Give me a second.”
“We don’t have a second,” Jonas said. “She’s on her own. I need something.”
“I’ll find her.” Patterson ended the call.
Jonas slammed his hand into the dashboard. “Stop the car.”
He jumped out and stood along the side of the road, trying to spot the car, but all he could see was fields.
“Okay,” Patterson said. “I’ve got a signal.”
Jonas leaped into the passenger seat, while Patterson gave him directions. “Go back to the last road and take the next farm road to the left. Looks like she’s a quarter of a mile ahead. You’re right behind her.”
“Are you sure?” O’Conner asked.
“Positive. Both GPS markers are back online. She must have gone through a dead zone.”
O’Conner pushed on the gas as they flew down the deserted two-lane road. Here, beyond the city, there was nothing but cattle and open fields and a sprinkling of trees. She had to be out here. And Jonas was convinced Barrick was as well. They had agents ready to intercept the man at both airports in case he did decide to escape, but as far as he was concerned, six million was too big a pull to give up on so easily.
Jonas focused his eyes on the path ahead of them. There was no way they’d come this far to lose Barrick.
Or to lose Madison.
His gut twisted and dragged him back to a place he didn’t want to go.
They’d stood ready for the point man to initiate the raid. Something they’d already done three times that morning. Nothing was left to chance. Every decision was planned down to the minute detail of what could go wrong. But until they actually stepped into that house, they never knew for sure if the suspect was holding a gun or if there were hostages. A split-second decision was made. They were trained to avoid confrontation to avoid fatal mistakes.
Felicia hadn’t died that day, but everything she’d known was ripped out from under her and she was never the same. She lost her leg and he ended up losing her.
And now Madison . . .
I don’t want to lose her, God.
His knuckles whitened as his fingers formed into fists, every muscle on alert. Every action they took was a risk. It was why they trained and prepared. But sometimes, even the most thought-out plan went wrong.
His gut gnawed at him. He’d somehow managed to make this too personal and wasn’t thinking clearly. He couldn’t afford clouded judgment. He needed to focus on finding her—safe—and then he’d deal with whatever was messing with his head when all of this was over.
Barrick was a target.
Madison was the victim.
That was all. Nothing more.
O’Conner had slowed down. He looked down