Headed for Trouble - By Suzanne Brockmann Page 0,121
he returned his attention to the road, even as he shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “You’re not going to shoot me. I mean, seriously, Pheeb, if you were really going to do that, you would’ve pulled the trigger before I got the car up to speed. You do it now, you’ll probably die, too, you know, in the fiery crash? But if it makes you feel better—more in control—by all means, keep your weapon”—he made quotation marks with his fingers even as he held onto the steering wheel with the palms of his hands—“securely aimed at me.”
“What is wrong with you?”
Dunn glanced at her again and sighed. “For starters, my mother was sixteen when I was born, my father barely older. He already had a criminal record, which made it impossible to find work, so he got in too deep with a gang of total, well, assholes, if you’ll pardon my French. There’s no other word for them, at least not less offensive. Anyway, that nearly killed him, but it didn’t quite, so now he was a one-legged ex-con—yeah, that sucked—who really couldn’t find a job, so when I was three, he trained me to gain entry of houses through doggy doors—”
“That’s not what I meant,” Phoebe interrupted, but then interrupted herself. “When you were three?”
“Well, three and a half,” Dunn said as if that were better.
“God! That’s child abuse.” She caught herself. He was trying to distract her. “What I meant was …” She took a deep breath and rephrased. “There’s just no way someone in your alleged position wouldn’t be grateful to be released early. Therefore you had a reason to want to stay in, which I really hope you will share with me, so I can work with you, and whichever agency you’re working for, to find a solution for this problem with Mr. Griffin.”
He’d adjusted the rearview mirror, and was now fixing the ones on the side as well. He seemed to be a very good driver, except for the fact that he was going much too fast.
“I’m not working for any agency,” he said, completely unapologetically. “Good guess, but no. You’re wrong about that. I can’t tell you anything more. If I did, well, I’d have to kill you.”
He spoke the words so casually, as if he were joking, his eyes on the road in front of them. But just the same, Phoebe knew he meant it at least as a partial threat. An intentional reminder that he was a dangerous man, regardless of the fact that she was the one in possession of a weapon.
“No, you wouldn’t have to,” she told him, choosing not to let his statement go unchallenged. “As your lawyer, you can tell me anything.”
He glanced at her again. “You’re not my lawyer.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
This was petty. And childish. “Yes, Mr. Dunn, I am.”
“Really?” he asked. “We’re going to keep this up? Because you’re not my lawyer, Jerry is.”
“I don’t have anything else to do while being abducted,” she pointed out. “Except defend the fact that, yes, while Mr. Bryant is away, I am your attorney. At least slow down so Mr. Griffin can follow us more easily.”
“It’s not a fact, because I never agreed to it.” Dunn didn’t slow down.
“Yes, you did,” she countered. “You called me your cute new lawyer in the parking lot.”
“That was bullshit,” he said with another glance at her. “Not the cute part, the lawyer part. You’re very cute. But bullshit doesn’t count.” He added, “I do have something else to do right now. I need to use your phone.”
She hugged her bag more tightly to her chest. “Am I or am I not your lawyer?” she asked, adding, “No bullshit this time.”
Dunn actually laughed. “You’re freaking kidding me.”
“If you’re my client, Mr. Dunn, you can use my phone,” she told him as matter-of-factly as she could manage. “If you’re my kidnapper, you can’t.”
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Troubleshooters Series Timeline
When Frank Met Rosie
(from the Force of Nature promo book)
Thoughts on When Frank Met Rosie
(from the Force of Nature promo book)
When Alyssa and Sam Met the Dentist
(first published in the back of Flashpoint )
Waiting (first published in the back of Hot Target )
Sam Takes an Assignment in Italy
(first published in the back of Into the Storm )
When Jenk, Izzy, Gillman, and Lopez Met Tony Vlachic
(from the Force of Nature promo book)
Interview with Tom and Kelly
(from the Troubleshooters Reader’s Guide )
Trapped (from the Force of Nature promo book)
Conversation with Navy SEALs Mark “Jenk” Jenkins , Dan Gillman, Jay Lopez, and Irving “Izzy” Zanella
(from the Troubleshooters Reader’s Guide )
Interview with Kenny and Savannah
(from the Troubleshooters Reader’s Guide )
Home Is Where the Heart Is, Parts I and II
(Part I: from the Into the Fire promo booklet, Part II: new)