to hear from you. Reese has been bugging me to find out what’s going on. You called off his lawyer so I assume you’re out of jail. Both of us have been worried sick.”
“I’m afraid we got a problem.” Bran ran a hand over the roughness along his jaw. “They crashed your plane, bro. Tampered with the fuel. Nothing I could do.”
A long pause. “You okay? You and Jessie are safe?”
“Made an emergency landing in a field south of Colorado Springs. Plane’s a mess but it didn’t explode. You’ll have to send a truck to haul it in for repairs.”
“I don’t give a damn about the frigging plane. It’s you two I’m worried about. What the hell happened?”
He was surprised at the comfort that came with his brother’s concern. “Piece of the prop came through the Plexiglas when the nose went into the ground. I’m bruised and a little banged up, but I’m okay. I’m monitoring Jessie for a concussion. She definitely got the worst of it.”
“Jesus, Bran.”
“We’re in a little town off the highway.” He purposely didn’t say the name. He trusted the encryption only so far. “They’ll be looking for us. I didn’t file a flight plan or send a Mayday so we won’t be that easy to find.”
“Christ.”
“I know. But we’re making progress. If we weren’t, they wouldn’t be coming on so strong. We’re heading for California tomorrow. There’s a woman named Mara Ramos. She’s ass-deep in this thing. Or at least that’s the way it looks.”
“You put Tabby on her?”
“Tabby found her after she disappeared. Now that our other lead has stalled, I’ll get back with Tab, see if she can go deeper.”
“You guys need to get out of there. I’m calling Reese. He’ll send the jet. I need your location. I’ll call you back as soon as we figure the closest airstrip that’ll work.”
Hoping the phone wasn’t being monitored, Bran gave him the name of the town and ended the call. It was worth the risk to bring in the jet. They really needed to get out of Colorado and get to California. They had to make this end. At the moment, Mara Ramos was their best chance of that happening.
He glanced over at Jessie, who was sitting on the bed, shoulders slumped, looking tired and pale and worried. “What did Chase say?”
“He’s worried about us. He’s sending the jet to pick us up, take us to California.”
Her eyes widened. “You have a jet?”
He grinned. “Company jet. Cessna Citation CJ4. Comes in handy sometimes.”
“Now that I think about it, Chase mentioned it that day in your office.” She cocked an eyebrow. “So I guess he wasn’t mad about the plane.”
“Like I said, he was worried. Of the three of us, Chase is by far the better pilot. I always paid attention when we flew together.” He smiled. “I mentally channeled him when I made the landing.”
“I think you’re a pretty damn good pilot yourself.”
He sat down on the bed beside her, took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips. “You were great today. No one I would rather have crash-landed with.” He leaned over and softly kissed her.
Jessie kissed him back. “Me, either.”
Bran urged her to lie back on the bed and rest, then used his phone to find a pizza place that delivered. But Jessie was too tired to eat. He was sure her head was still pounding like a hammer inside her skull.
“Get some sleep, baby.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “I’ll wake you every once in a while so we know you’re okay.”
“What about you? You were up all night last night. Today has been exhausting. You need sleep as much as I do.”
“I’ll sleep once we’re safe.” Which they wouldn’t be until they were long gone from the Mountain Pines Motel.
* * *
Jessie stirred as Bran gently shook her awake for the second time that night. “I’m okay,” she said groggily, then yawned, curled up, and closed her eyes. Her head still throbbed, but she was so exhausted she was able to ignore the pain and go back to sleep.
At dawn Bran nudged her awake again. It was barely light outside. “You have to get dressed. We’ve got a ride coming to take us to the jet. It’ll be landing at the Cuchara Valley Airport in half an hour. That’s about a twenty-minute drive from here.”
She tossed off the covers, swayed a little as she rose to her feet.