“No prob. It was fun. You guys seemed pretty into each other. That doesn’t mean you’re planning on dumping him soon, doesit? Oh, that’s weird...” His voice trailed off as if he was focused on something else.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Just some idiot behind me. He pulled a U-turn after he passed me and now he’s tailgating me. Like, big-time. So, you’re not going to pull another family curse excuse and break up with this guy soon, are you? What the hell?” He swore under his breath.
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“The guy behind me. He can’t be more than a foot or two off my back bumper.”
Mackenzie’s stomach seized up. “What kind of car? Can you see the driver? What’s he look like?”
“Hold on. We’re coming to an intersection. Lemme see if I can tell.” Corey paused for a moment before he continued. “Two dudes wearing sunglasses. They’re in a Jeep—the kind with no doors. What freaks. It’s gotta be like forty degrees out.”
It’s them! But he’s not a sweetblood. This can’t be happening.
With the phone cradled against her shoulder, she yanked on her jeans and stuffed her feet into a pair of sneakers. “Corey, don’t ask me why, but you have to get out of there. Keep driving, stay on the main roads and for God’s sake, don’t go home or stop anywhere.”
“What the hell? What’s going on, Kenzie?”
“I’m not sure. But I had a similar thing happen to me the other night. Trust me, Corey, you’ve got to lose them. Hold on a sec.”
She threw the phone on the bed, heard the tinny sound of Corey yelling at her through the small speaker, and she grabbed the loft phone. She stabbed out Dom’s cell number, but it went straight to voice mail.
Damn.
“Corey, what’s going on now?” she said as she jammed her arms into the sleeves of her leather coat.
“Oh, shit. One guy is getting out.”
“You’re not still stopped, are you? I told you to drive. Drive! Get away from that intersection and don’t stop at any others.”
“Kenzie, what the hell’s going on?”
“Listen to me. They...they want to kill you, all right? You’ve got to get away from them.”
“Kill? What are you talking about?”
“Just fucking go!”
He gunned the motor—finally.
“Surprised ’em, Kenzie. They weren’t expecting that. Oh, man, he jumped back in. They’re following me again.”
“I want you to get onto I-5 North toward Seattle. Don’t go home. That will give me a chance to figure out something. Please tell me you have a full tank of gas.”
“I’ve got a quarter-tank.”
“Damn. How close are you to getting on the freeway?”
“I’m taking it now.”
“Good. Just keep driving. No stopping no matter what, okay? I’ll call you back in a minute.”
She picked up the loft phone again, but this time pressed the button that connected to the field office.
Please, Cordell, pick up.She knew he was over there but she didn’t want to take the time to run all that way.Goddamn it, pick up.
“Mackenzie?”
