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“What did you take?” Gideon asked without looking at her.
Even though she trusted him, she hesitated. Knowing Jerry, he wouldn’t have bothered putting those files in the safe unless they were important. “Some of his paperwork,” she said, making it as vague as possible.
“Something he needs?” Gideon’s words were careful. As if he didn’t want to probe.
“I’m guessing it is, or he wouldn’t have put it in his safe.”
“You going to look at it when we get some breathing room?”
“Oh, yeah. I want to see what was so important to him that he hid it in his safe. Was he hiding it from me? Or from visitors he was expecting? I have no idea.”
He nodded at the clusters of houses on either side of the interstate. “We’re getting close to Bozeman. It’ll be another couple hours before we’re in Helena. The compound is about ten miles outside of Helena.”
“Thank God. I need some down time.”
“Yeah, I bet you do. It’s been what, a week since you overheard Trotter talking to me?”
She nodded. “Seems impossible that so much has happened in a week. But, yeah. Just a week.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’re something else, Alex. Most people would be hiding beneath the blankets on their beds by now.”
“Waiting for Jerry to find me?” She shook her head. “Hell, no.”
They drove in silence, but Alex couldn’t stop herself from looking behind them for Jerry’s car. She thought she saw a white sedan far behind them, but wasn’t sure it was his.
A short time after they drove through Bozeman, they turned onto Rt. 287, a two-lane road. It was the quickest route to Helena, but there was nowhere to hide. No other cars to disguise them. “Are you sure this is the best route?” she said. “It’s not very busy.”
“Which means we’ll be able to see who’s behind us,” Gideon said. But the way his hands tightened on the steering wheel didn’t inspire confidence. Maybe he was nervous about this, too.
The road was twisty, and the three cars behind them were some distance back. When they went around curves, the cars disappeared. Only to reappear on the straight sections of the road.
When she spotted the sign that said ‘Helena five miles’, she glanced behind her again. One car must have turned off, because there were only two cars back there now, maintaining a careful distance. One of them was white. “Do you think that’s Jerry following us?” she asked Gideon.
“It’s possible,” he said, glancing in the rearview mirror. “But Route 287 is the shortest distance between Bozeman and Helena. There are probably a lot of people who make that trip every day. It’s eight-thirty in the morning, so the cars behind us might be commuting to their jobs in Helena.”
“Or they could be Jerry and the Russians.” Alex glanced over her shoulder again. Could Jerry and the Russians really be that close?
“That, too.” He glanced at her with a tiny smile. “We’ll race them to the compound.”
“Not funny, Wolf,” she said, scowling. “If we’re almost there, they’ll be desperate. God knows what they might do.”
He reached across the console and touched her hand. “Sorry, bae. Just trying to lighten the mood.”
Alex sighed. “And I’m cranky and tired. All out of grit.”
Gideon squeezed her fingers, then let her go to grip the steering wheel again. He glanced in the rearview mirror again. “You have more grit than any woman I’ve ever known. You’re allowed a little freak out after a week of this.”
Alex slumped in the seat. “I usually have my freak outs in private,” she muttered.
“Well, this is as private as it’s gonna get for you until this mess is wrapped up. Until Jerry and the Russians are in custody.” His face darkened. “And maybe some people at the FBI.”
He glanced at her again. “Unless you’d rather have your own apartment at the compound. It’s up to you. They have visitor’s quarters.”
“As opposed to… what? Staying with you?” Her heart pinched a little. She’d assumed they’d stay together once they reached the safety of the compound.
“Yeah. I’d like you to stay in my apartment. It has two bedrooms, and I want you close.” He shot her a quick smile. “But it’s up to you.”“
“I want to stay with you,” she said, scowling at the tentative tone of her voice. Where was the self-confident Alex Conway who regularly stared down the prosecuting attorney in court?
