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“He was waiting on the shoulder when we merged onto the interstate from the rest stop.”
Gabe and Molly had met up with Xavier and his group at a gas station outside of Lafayette, where Cicely Morrow and her friend had gone inside to use the facilities. Molly had told Gabe to hunker down in the front seat. Gabe hadn’t wanted to hide, but he also didn’t want Xavier hurt if the Paul Lott imposter suspected they were onto him, so he’d conceded. That one time. He wasn’t as big as Burke, but he was still six feet tall, and hiding in the footwell had been damned uncomfortable.
Carefully watching their surroundings, Molly had topped off her gas tank at the station while the ladies were inside. Whoever was posing as Paul Lott hadn’t gotten out of his SUV. After ten minutes, both ladies emerged from the restroom, deliberately not looking at the red truck, just as Molly had instructed them.
Then they’d all gotten back on the interstate toward New Orleans. Gabe hadn’t noticed the green Jeep merge from the shoulder, but he believed that Molly had.
Being around Molly and Burke made him wish that he’d honed his observational skills over the years. But he was a chef, not a former cop. He was going to have to cut himself some slack and let Molly do her job.
“You’ve got a good eye,” he said simply, and she flashed him a tight smile.
“Thank you. Can you text Burke and ask him to run that plate? I saw the Jeep following us when we got back on the road, so I drifted back so that traffic could pass and get between us. I’ve been behind him for at least fifteen miles and he’s glued to the same spot—four cars behind the white SUV. Every time someone pulls into the next lane, he compensates, drifting back until someone gets in front of him. He’s maintaining a four-car gap and, while it could be his way of staying awake as he drives, I’m not gonna bet on it.”
“Me either,” he muttered, because it had been that kind of day already. Burke’s reply flashed onto his phone’s screen. “Burke says that he’s running it now.”
“Tell him the vehicle is following Xavier. And ask him if Antoine has found anything yet.”
Gabe typed in her messages to Burke then waited for the man’s reply.
The first text, which Gabe figured was a reaction to the Jeep following Xavier, said: WTF!
A minute later, the next text was not much wordier. No.
Molly scowled when he passed it on. “What is taking Antoine so damn long?”
Gabe shrugged. “How long does it usually take him to recover a wiped hard drive?”
“A few days maybe?”
“It’s only been a day.”
“Why are you so logical right now?” she asked with a frown.
He smiled at her. “Because you’re on the job.”
She laughed. “Bullshit.”
“Maybe a little,” he allowed. “But only a little. You saw the Jeep, and you chased away the dog poisoner. You make me a little calmer.”
Her expression softened, her gaze still locked on the road in front of them. “That’s nice, Gabe. Thank you.”
He considered his next words, then figured why the hell not. “You used to calm me whenever you’d come to the Choux.”
She startled at that. “I did?”
“You did. I’d be having a bad day, and then I’d see you having lunch with your friends or even all alone. I’d bring your meal out and after that my day would go better.”
She chanced a quick glance at him, eyes wide. “I... I didn’t think you even knew I was there.”
He huffed a quiet chuckle. “Oh, I knew. Do you think I take meals out to everyone?”
“I guess I didn’t notice.”
“Patty did. Teased me unmercifully.”
Her lips quirked up. “I guess I should say that I’m sorry, but I’m not.”
“Neither am I.” And then he relaxed even more because she laid her hand on the console, palm up. He slid their hands together, twining his fingers through hers.
