Page 105 of Sheltering You

It was more than weird. It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. Derrick hated to suggest the idea that presented itself, but he had to, even if it ticked his brother off. “Is there any chance somebody on your end is feeding him information?”

“No. None.”

“But what if⁠—”

“Seriously?” Michael’s voice didn’t rise with anger but lowered so that Derrick had to strain to hear him. “Do you seriously not trust me?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Maybe somebody else, somebody you work with⁠—”

“I didn’t know where you were last night.”

“The car has a navigation system. If somebody knew what we were driving⁠—”

“They’d be there now. The car is with you, isn’t it?”

His brother made a point. But… “They could be waiting for us. The car isn’t parked outside our room.”

“They’re not there, Derrick. You’re being paranoid.” Michael exhaled audibly. “There isn’t some big government conspiracy going on here. You’re my brother. She’s my bride’s twin. You really think I’m going to take any chances with your lives?”

“Then how did they find us?”

“It had to be the backpack or something inside it.” Michael seemed convinced. “Maybe the tracker they had with the kid’s stuff isn’t very good. Maybe it has to have a great signal or something, and that’s why they didn’t catch up with you before. Maybe Dari’s having personnel issues. There’s no telling. But now that you don’t have the backpack, you really should be safe.”

Should be didn’t feel good enough. But Michael had gotten them this far.

“Okay, fine. What’s the plan?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

This was the riskiest part of the plan, but Michael wanted them to head to the airport in Pittsburgh, thinking that if somehow Dari’s men tracked their car down later, maybe they would assume Jasmine and Rabie had gotten on a flight.

So, after Derrick pulled the car away from the motel where they’d spent the day, Jasmine couldn’t help checking the road behind them, certain she’d see a black SUV on their tail.

As far as she could tell, nobody followed.

In the backseat, Rabie clutched his new bag to his chest as if terrified Derrick would try to pry it away and throw it out the window. Despite all Derrick had done for him, Rabie hadn’t forgiven him.

They didn’t talk while Derrick followed the signs and then drove into an airport parking garage. They remained quiet as they grabbed their bags and made their way to meet the shuttle that would take them to the off-site car rental facility.

It was after eleven at night by the time he plugged their destination into the Toyota sedan’s navigation system.

“This is all it will take?” She double-checked the arrival time on their latest car’s screen. “Only six hours to New York City.”

“Sounds right.”

New York was another state she’d never seen—and still wouldn’t because of the darkness. “We will be early, no?” They weren’t supposed to meet Basma and her cousin until eight o’clock in the morning, when the train station would be packed with people. But the map told her they’d arrive in the city a couple of hours before that.

“There’ll be traffic, and we’ll need to find a place to park. We can get some breakfast. That’ll kill some time.”

“What is the plan exactly?”

Derrick’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, and he shook his head.

She twisted and saw Rabie was staring out the window, wide awake. She reached back and patted his leg. “I think you should try to sleep.”

He didn’t bother to look at her. The joy at hearing that Basma was going to meet him had faded, leaving him sullen again. Or perhaps afraid something would go wrong. “I’m not tired.”

“You want to be well-rested when you see your sister, no?” One of the blankets they’d brought from the cabin had been shoved onto the floor at his feet. Jasmine tried to drape it over Rabie, though she couldn’t reach him to do it well. “The pillow is there too. Get comfortable. If you sleep, the time will pass faster.”