Run, Hide - By Carol Ericson Page 0,36
and Sonia his coworkers. They represent the enemy.”
“Do you think Jim was an ideological traitor or did he do it for money?”
“Does it matter?”
“I guess not.” She turned in her seat again and pulled a blanket over Gavin, who was already nodding off. “Where to now?”
“We’re heading to Albuquerque. It’s a big enough city.”
“Is it safe there?”
“What do I know?” He smacked the steering wheel with both hands. “I thought a Prospero outpost would be safe.”
She flicked his ear. “Don’t start that. Of course you figured a Prospero outpost would be safe.”
“Ow.” He rubbed his ear. “How’s Gavin?”
She twisted in her seat and patted their son. “He’s falling asleep.”
“I mean, how did he handle all the commotion back there?”
“The gunshots scared him. He covered his ears, but everything happened so fast I don’t think he realized what was going on.”
“He’s our hero. If he hadn’t seen Sonia and told you about her, we’d still be sleeping in our beds—sitting ducks for Zendaris’s men.”
She walked her fingertips along his thigh. “You’re our hero, Cade. You’ve gotten us out of every jam since we started this journey.”
“Now you have two guys looking out for you.” He jerked his thumb at the backseat. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore, Jenna.”
“You’re going to have to get rid of Zendaris to remove the threat completely, aren’t you? It’s not just the plans he wants. He wants revenge against you.”
“True, but finding out I don’t have the plans will slow him down. His first order of business is getting those back and putting them up for bid on the world market.”
“He’d sell them to anyone, wouldn’t he?”
“Yep.”
“Even the U.S.?”
“We don’t operate that way.”
She blew out a breath. “Who developed the plans in the first place and who says he doesn’t have a million copies of them?”
“The engineer who developed the prototype of the anti-drone now works for us.”
Her nails dug into the denim of his jeans. “How did that happen?”
“Let’s just say we persuaded him to work for the good guys.”
“Persuaded?” She slid a glance his way. “Did we persuade him the same way Zendaris is trying to persuade you to give back the plans?”
“That’s not my area.”
Jenna shook her head. “When did it become okay to use people’s families in matters of war?”
He pressed one finger to her lips. “We don’t know if that’s how it went down. Maybe we just offered him a better life here. He’s now working with us on ways to neutralize the anti-drone in case someone does develop it.”
“How did Zendaris get his hands on this man’s work?”
“The guy developed it for Zendaris.”
“Voluntarily?”
“You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“I just want to gauge our chances against this guy.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the ends of her fingers. “And I just want to get you and Gavin out of his way and off his radar. We have a few hours until we hit Albuquerque. Try to sleep like your son back there.”
Jenna yawned. “I can do that. Where are we going once we get there?”
“How about a hotel like normal people?”
She closed her eyes and slouched sideways. “Normal? What’s that?”
Once they got through this, Cade intended on giving her normal for the rest of her life...if that’s what she wanted.
* * *
JENNA TURNED HER HEAD from side to side, rubbing her neck. She pressed her nose against the car window and drank in the sight of city streets. Even slightly deserted city streets beat the unrelenting emptiness of the desert.
“We made it to Albuquerque.” She poked her head in the backseat to peer at a sleeping Gavin. “Did he wake up at all?”
“No. I think I would’ve had to wake you up if he had.”
She straightened in her seat and stretched her arms over her head, placing her hands flat against the top of the car. “He’s getting used to you.”
“I think so, too. When are we going to tell him about me?”
His question knocked the wind out of her. “I—I don’t know.”
“I think the sooner the better. He’s three. He seems to have accepted a lot in his short life. What’s one more surprise? And I hope it’s a good one.”
“You’re right. At three, he’s not going to experience much angst over a father popping up out of nowhere.”
Cade rolled his eyes. “That’s one way of putting it. Has he asked about me much?”
“Here and there.”
“And your answer?”
Cade seemed to be holding his breath, and she didn’t blame him after the reception she’d given