Page 1 of Wild Escape

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"Iwant you to find those scumbags and bring them in, ASAP!" the sheriff barked into the phone.

"What happened?" I asked.

"A guard is dead, and two dirtbags are on the loose.” He filled me in on the situation.

"How did they escape the pod?”

"It doesn't matter how they escaped. I want you to get down here and talk to one of their co-conspirators. See what you can find out about these two—where they might go, people they might lean on for support. I've got every deputy in the county on the lookout, and I've contacted the US Marshals." The sheriff was pissed. This was personal. We were one big family.

"We’re on our way," I said, before ending the call.

I filled JD in on the situation. We left the Avventura, hustled down the dock to the parking lot, and climbed into the Lugano Blue convertible 911. Jack had picked it up in Hollywood during our last adventure. We had a hell of a road trip back. I wouldn't exactly call it a vacation, but now it was time to get back to work.

I slid into the passenger seat, and Jack cranked up the engine. Classic rock pumped through the speakers. He dropped the car into gear and hurried out of the lot. It was a nice ride. With any luck, we’d hang onto it for a while. But there were no guarantees.

At the station, we caught up with the sheriff. We chatted as we walked the hallway toward one of the interrogation rooms.

"I’ve got the prisoner in room #2," Daniels said. "She allegedly ripped off some precious artifact with the other two sleazeballs that escaped. One of them rolled over on her when they got pinched on an unrelated charge." He handed me her file.

"When did the heist happen?"

"When you two were dicking around in California," Daniels said in an annoyed voice.

"What did she steal?"

"It’s in the file," Daniels muttered.

The three of us stepped to the door of the interrogation room. The sheriff looked me dead in the eye and said, "Be careful with this one. She's trouble waiting to happen."

Daniels continued down the hall and slipped into the observation room. JD and I pushed into the interrogation room and took a seat across the table from the inmate.

I knew exactly what Daniels was warning me about.

Even in the orange jumpsuit, she was a knockout. Red hair, emerald eyes, fair skin, elegant cheekbones. She looked cute and adorable—not a hardened criminal.

That was the dangerous part.

The jumpsuit hid certain talents. Even without makeup, she was something to look at. The kind of woman who makes your heart beat a little faster and your stomach flutter. I would imagine she could talk a man into doing just about anything. Maybe that's exactly how she got here.

The overhead fluorescents buzzed, and the walls of the tiny space closed in.

With her file in hand, I looked over the details without saying a word. I drew the moment out, so it was long and uncomfortable. Most people can't stand to sit in silence. They'll fill it up with anything.

She finally said, "Anytime I can get out of that cell, I'll take it. But do you want to tell me why I'm here?"

"Looks like you are here because you made some bad choices," I said.

She gave me a flat look.

"Your buddies, Dane and Brock, broke out of prison. Killed a guard in the process.”

Her eyes rounded with surprise. There was a little something more in there. Concern.

"Where would they go?”

"How should I know?”