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“No.” Max grabbed Ava’s hand and tugged her downstairs. He whispered in her ear. “When we get to the hotel room, throw your things in that suitcase. We’re out of here.”
Back in the room, Ava moved like a robot, but at least she moved like a fast robot. She swept the items she’d bought that afternoon into the new bag without one question on her lips. Despite the quick movements, she had a dazed expression on her face. That would change to fear soon enough when the shock wore off.
By the time they returned to the garage, the fire department had cordoned off every level except the first. In the confusion, people had abandoned their cars in the circular driveway. Max scanned the cars lined up, waiting for the valet.
“This one.” He propelled Ava toward an older SUV with its hatchback open. He threw his bags in the back and pried her suitcase from her fingers and tossed it in after his.
With his hand against the small of her back he maneuvered her to the passenger side of the car. She stalled and for a minute he thought he was going to have to pick her up and drop her on the seat.
Then she placed one foot on the running board and he helped her inside.
Glancing around him at the chaos, he strode to the other side of the car, turned the keys dangling from the ignition and rolled away from the curb.
He paused to let another fire engine careen into the garage, and then he floored the accelerator and whipped around the corner.
Ava kept her eyes glued to the street in front of them as he dodged between cars, glancing at his rearview and side mirrors at every turn.
Tempest had tracked them down. He’d figured someone had been monitoring the cameras at the lab, and chances were his car had been made. He should’ve ditched it at the first possible opportunity instead of shopping with Ava.
He’d let his guard down.
As he zigzagged around the city making sure to lose any possible tail, Ava maintained a stony silence on her side of the car. His eyes darted to the side once or twice to make sure she was still breathing.
At the end of his circuitous route, he took one more look at his mirrors and headed for the freeway on-ramp. They still had a date with Dr. Arnoff’s widow.
Ten minutes later, Ava shifted in her seat and expelled a long breath.
“Are you okay?”
“It’s my fault.”
He swiped a hand in the air between them. “Don’t be ridiculous. It was my idea to go shopping. We probably should’ve just stayed in the room and left the car in the parking lot.”
“No.” She hiccuped and then covered her mouth with her fingers. “I led them to us by using my ATM card.”
His gut rolled. “You used your ATM card?”
She nodded, covering her face with her hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I didn’t realize.”
“When? At the mall when I was getting drinks?” He opened and closed his hands on the steering wheel. He shouldn’t have left her alone for a second.
“Yes. I—I just wanted to pay you back. I guess it never occurred to me that they could track me that way.” She dragged her fingers through her long, chestnut-brown hair and sighed. “That’s not true. I had a moment right when I stuck the card in the slot, a moment of panic.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I convinced myself it meant nothing. It was too scary to contemplate that someone would be tracking me.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He couldn’t expect Ava to have the same instincts that he did. He should’ve warned her against using her cards. Obviously, she didn’t understand the significance of the large amounts of cash he carried with him. Or she understood the importance for him but not herself. It probably was a form of denial.
Hunching his shoulders, he braced his hands against the steering wheel and extended his arms. “Don’t worry about it now. It’s a done deal.”
“Your car...”
“Not mine.”
“Stolen like this one?”
“Yes.”
She blew out a ragged breath. “How did they find the car? How did they know what you were driving?”
“They probably have it on video from the cameras at the lab. I tried to take out as many cameras as I saw on my way into the lab, but I’m sure there were others hidden from view. Once you used your card at the mall, they knew where to look. They could’ve trained a satellite on the area.”
