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“Salt Lake,” she said, the words sounding over-loud in the quiet van. She glanced at Marcus for his reaction.
His nod and affirmative smile meant more to her than any words he could have said.
They drove in silence for a while before Marcus glanced at her. “I ken what a difficult decision that must have been. Are ye okay, lass?”
“Yes,” she nodded, thinking she just might be. Perhaps not safe from outside forces, but safe from internal doubt. It wasn’t just the right decision; it was the only decision. For Luca, for herself, and especially for Evan and his family. If she could just survive the next few days, maybe she had a chance at a normal life again.
“We’ll need a map, unless ye ken the route tae Salt Lake,” Marcus said as he glanced at the gauges in front of him. “We’ll also need petrol by the time we get tae Jackson Hole. Mayhap we can pick one up there.”
“I only know the general direction. But I think Evan mentioned our options were down through Star Valley, or over through Idaho. But I can Google it,” Tait said, pulling out her phone and turning it on.
Ugh. One tiny bar.
“Not enough service here. Maybe we have to be out of the Park. But we should be by now.” She held her phone up again. “Still just one bar. But we’re probably only an hour or so from Jackson and we should have coverage long before th—”
She gasped, staring at her phone in shock and disbelief. Fumbling as she hurried to turn it off, she dropped it like a hot rock. “How could I be so stupid?” she groaned. “I know better!” Her heart raced and her pulse thrummed in her ears as she turned to Marcus.
He took one look at her and pulled off the side of the road. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” She shoved both hands into her hair. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Habit, I guess.”
“Tait!” Marcus’ sharp voice echoed through the van as he grasped her arm. “What’s wrong?”
“The phone. I turned on the phone,” she shrieked.
His brows dipped in confusion as he studied her. “Aye. And..?”
“And it can be traced,” she cried, sick at the thought of what she’d done.
Marcus shook his head and shrugged. “But ye said it wasnae workin’.”
“A bar. There was one small bar. I don’t know if that’s enough to ping off a cell-phone tower, but if it is, I’ve just told them where to find us.”
Marcus’ brow wrinkled as he considered her words. “Who, exactly, isthem? The two in the Camaro?”
Tait shook her head. “No. The police. Which would mean the Feds, as well. Which could also mean the traitor on the inside that Evan mentioned. And,” she winced, “we can’t rule out the electronic surveillance capabilities of whoever Giannetti is involved with.”
“Wi’ just one bar?” Marcus asked, incredulously.
“I don’t know,” Tait cried, slumping back in her seat. “I just don’t know. I hope not. But I think we have to assume so.” She pounded on her forehead with her palm. “Evan told me to throw it away.He told me!But when I explained why I needed to keep it, and promised not to turn it on, he gave in.” Heartsick, she turned to Marcus. “I’m so used to relying on it, I just reacted. I’m sorry!”
Sighing, Marcus gave her a wan smile and brushed a thumb across her cheek. “Dinnae fash, lass. We’ll do what we need tae do.”
Tait caught his hand and held it to her lips, drawing comfort from his warmth. “If you hadn’t been in the right spot at the perfect time, I don’t know what I’d have done. How many times are you going to save me before you give up?”
“I never give up on a worthwhile endeavor,” he smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to her temple. “But we should put as much distance as we can between us and whatevertowerye spoke of. Ready?”
“Ready,” she whispered, releasing his hand. She picked up the phone to slip it back in her pocket and hesitated. “Wait, Marcus. I wonder if they can track this, even if it’s turned off.” She turned to him with a questioning look.
“I dinnae ken anything about ’em,” he shrugged. “They’re…uh…different in Scotland, ye ken.”
“Oh.” Though that seemed odd, she turned her attention back to the problem. “I guess thinking they can is another thing we should assume.”
She hated giving it up. Not for the phone itself. That was replaceable. But the 2 photos of old pictures stored on it, one of Hannah and one of her parents—all taken years ago—were irreplaceable now that she couldn’t return home. She had no idea what happened to her personal items after she went into Witness Protection.
Now, all she had left of her family were the symbols inside this phone. But it had to go. She carried Hannah’s picture in her locket and all three of them in her heart. It would have to be enough.
“Maybe we should destroy this as much as possible before we toss it, just to be sure.” Tait held the phone out to Marcus. “Will you…I don’t know, stomp on it, or try to crush it with a rock or something? And then scatter the parts?”
