Long Road Home

by Maya Banks

  In answer to her question, Williams slid the cell door open. She glided through the opening, and with a satisfied smirk, stepped on the cop’s toe. He grimaced and shot her a glare.

  “The lieutenant wants to see you before you leave,” Williams said. His distaste was obvious. He clearly wanted them to be gone immediately.

  Manuel put a hand to Jules’s back and led her down the hall after the officer. They walked into a small office, and a fortyish-looking man scowled at them over the rim of his glasses.

  “Sit down,” he ordered, taking off his glasses and dropping them on his desk.

  Jules complied but Manuel stood, opting to lean against the bookcase that lined the wall. He wasn’t one to give up any advantage.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” the lieutenant asked. Manuel glanced at the nameplate toward the front of the desk.

  “’Fraid I can’t tell you that, Lieutenant Barnes.”

  “Bullshit. You idiots were shooting up my streets.” He glared over at Jules as he spoke.

  She stiffened, and Manuel willed her to remain silent.

  “I have no idea why they wanted to kill us,” Manuel responded evenly. “But my partner had no desire to see them succeed.”

  The lieutenant let out a string of expletives that singed Manuel’s ears. “Get the hell out of here. Get on I-10 and don’t look back. I don’t want to get so much as a hint of you coming back to Houston.”

  “We need a ride,” Manuel pointed out, trying not to piss the lieutenant off further.

  “And I want my stuff back,” Jules said in a steely voice. “All of it.”

  “Ask Williams to give you a ride to impound. As for your stuff, sign for it at the desk,” Barnes said with a grunt.

  Manuel and Jules left the lieutenant’s office to see Williams leaning against the wall. “Come on. I haven’t got all day.”

  They followed him out to his cruiser and slid into the back. “I think I’ve had enough of back seats for a while,” Jules muttered.

  “Let’s just hope the Bondmobile is drivable.”

  “You mean it’s not indestructible?”

  “Cut the sarcasm.”

  “Here you are,” Williams announced, roaring into the impound lot. “Check with McKilheny over there. He’ll get the keys for you.”

  No sooner had Manuel and Jules stepped out of the car than Williams peeled away.

  “I can feel the love,” Jules drawled.

  “Let’s get going.”

  A few minutes later, the two of them stood and surveyed the damage done to the Beamer. The back end was pretty much toast, but it should get them where they were going.

  Jules slid into the passenger seat and waited as Manny got in on the driver’s side. She was wound as tight as a rubber band at full stretch. All her instincts screamed that something was wrong. And not just the fact someone had tried to make road pizza out of them.

  She leaned her head back as Manny drove out of the lot.

  “You okay?” Manny asked, glancing over at her.

  “Yeah. Just thinking.”

  “About?”

  She remained silent for a long time. If she confided her suspicions, he’d think she was nuts. She wasn’t sure she wasn’t nuts. But nothing was adding up.

  “Jules? Care to share?”

  “Pull over somewhere,” she said with a sigh. “This might take a while.”

  He pulled into a shopping center parking lot and stopped the engine. “What’s bugging you? Besides the fact your former colleagues are trying to kill us.”

  “That’s just it. They weren’t from the NFR.”

  “Say that again?”

  “You heard me.”

  “I see, and how did you discern they weren’t NFR? Maybe they don’t like driving Hummers?”

  “Cut the sarcasm, Manny. I know what I’m talking about.”

  “Well, you see, Jules, my question isn’t whether or not they’re the NFR. My question is how they seem to know where we are no matter where we go. I find the coincidences to be staggering.”

  Her shoulder began aching in earnest, and she flexed it, rubbing her back in an attempt to ease the burning. Her memory nagged at her. She knew there was something important she was missing, but she couldn’t put the pieces together.

  He was staring expectantly at her, waiting for her to expound on her statement. “It’s simply not something the NFR would do.”

  No way could she explain that Northstar would’ve backed off now that she’d agreed to do his bidding. Which left the troubling question of just who was trying to kill her.

  “I see. Well, if it’s not the NFR, then who the hell is it? Have more than one group pissed off at you, Jules? Maybe it has something to do with the people you’ve assassinated over the years.”

  If he had lashed out and struck her full in the face, she wouldn’t have felt worse. She sucked in her breath and felt the blood drain from her face. “That’s low, Manny.” She opened the car door and got out. She needed the air, and she’d be damned if she spent another minute in the car.

  Manny bolted around the car before she could stalk away. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. “How do they know where we are?”

  Was it possible for him to think any lower of her? “Do you honestly think I’m leading them to us?” she asked in disbelief.

  His eyes glittered in anger. “I don’t know what to think. You just said it wasn’t the NFR. Yet whoever it is has the uncanny knack of finding us. They’re one step ahead of us no matter where we go.”

  She jerked away from him. “Get in the car and leave, Manny. I don’t need you. I can take care of myself. Everything I’ve done is to keep my family—you—safe.”

  “Goddamn it, I’m not going anywhere. I just want you to tell me the truth.”

  “The truth? I have no idea what the truth is. All I know is that this isn’t the work of the NFR. Doesn’t fit their M.O.”

  Manuel stared at Jules and bit his tongue to hold back his retort. That wasn’t all that didn’t fit their M.O., but he wasn’t about to get into the details of her forced recruitment again. “So who is it, then?”

  She shrugged and began rubbing her shoulder again. “I don’t know.”

  “Is there something wrong with your shoulder?”

  She looked up in surprise. “No, why do you ask?”

  He didn’t reply. “We’ve got to figure out how to get to D.C. without attracting any more attention. So far we’ve managed to make enough noise to wake the dead. I swear it’s like they have a tracking device on us, but I’ve checked the car.”

  Jules went pale. Her eyes flickered, and she shuddered uncontrollably. He frowned, wondering what private hell she was enduring now.

  “That’s it,” she whispered.

  “What’s it?”

  “A tracking device. I’m so fucking stupid. God.” She spun around and stalked back to the car, shaking her head the entire way. He followed her, perplexed by her bizarre behavior.

  She wrenched open her door and began to dig furiously in her bag. With a muttered curse, she threw the bag onto the seat. She turned back to him. “Do you have a knife?”

  “What? No knife in that arsenal?”

  “This isn’t the time for your attitude,” she snarled. “Do you or do you not have a knife?”

  He reached down and rolled up the cuff of his pants. Secured beside his spare pistol was a pocket knife. He pulled it out and handed it to her.

  She shoved it back at him. “You’re going to have to do it. I can’t reach.”

  “What are you talking about?” He ignored the outstretched knife.

  She shoved down the collar of her shirt.

  “Nice tattoo,” he remarked, noting the small serpent on her shoulder blade.

  She flipped the knife at him, forcing him to catch it. “You’re going to have to cut it open.”

  “You want me to do what? Are you insane? I’m sure there are safer ways of getting rid of a tattoo.�
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  “Not the tattoo,” she said through gritted teeth. “The tracking device implanted in the tattoo.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jules watched the disbelief spread across Manny’s face. She sighed. He was going to want a long, drawn-out explanation, and the truth of the matter was, she didn’t have one. But she knew without a doubt, the haunting memories she’d been experiencing had everything to do with the way they were being found out at every turn.

  “You want me to slice open your shoulder? Are you nuts?”

  “That point’s debatable,” she replied. “But yes, you’re going to have to dig out the tracking device unless you want the bad guys to keep turning up everywhere we go.”

  “You’re crazy. No way I’m cutting you open with a damn pocket knife.”

  “Don’t be a wuss, Manny. I’ve suffered a lot worse. You know it’s the only option we have, so just get it over with.”

  “I am not slicing you open in a public parking lot,” he growled.

  “Then let’s find a place you will. And quickly, if you don’t mind. I’d rather not deal with more attempts on my life today.”

  He looked horrified by the notion, but she also saw the realization in his eyes that she was right. Still, his distaste was evident.

  “Get in,” he said shortly. Then he strode around to the driver’s side.

  Jules slid into the seat and looked over at him. “Should we find another hotel? We’ll have to make it quick if we don’t want to be ambushed.”

  “No. I don’t want to box us in. We’ll find an open area. God, I hope you’re right, Jules. I don’t want to be cutting you up for nothing.”

  “I’m right.” She knew it without a doubt. She could still feel the searing pain of the knife as it sliced her back open. The fingers parting her flesh. They had planted the device then given her the tattoo to cover the scar. The bastards had always known where she was. She never had a chance. Mom and Pop never had a chance.

  So as it turned out, she had in fact killed them with her carelessness.

  “Why did you only now realize you were being tracked?” he asked.

  She closed her eyes. She knew how damning it looked. Someone wasn’t likely to forget they had a piece of metal in their back. She’d effectively blocked the events of that day from her mind until it had been time to tell Manny what had happened. “I don’t expect you to believe that I didn’t know until now. The important thing is for us to get rid of the device.”

  His lips thinned but he remained silent. She could see a slight tic in his jaw, though. He was angry. He had reason. She couldn’t fault him for that.

  He drove through the crowded streets, and she kept careful watch for suspicious activity around them. After several city blocks, the buildings gave way to a large, grassy park. She nodded approvingly. The area was wide open. No one would be able to sneak up on them.

  After parking in a place easily departed from, he switched off the engine and turned to her. “Can we do this in the car? I’d rather not chance you attracting attention with any hollering.”

  She stared steadily at him. “I’d prefer to do it outside.”

  He studied her for a moment then apparently decided she could handle it. Wordlessly, he opened the door and got out, taking the pocket knife with him. She opened her door and stepped out, her stomach lurching at what was to come. But she wouldn’t let him see her fear. She’d braved worse. She wasn’t going to make an ass of herself in front of him.

  Manuel watched as she slowly stood up and shut her car door. She shrugged out of her jacket and threw it over the hood. “Where should I stand?”

  He glanced around their surroundings. This was absurd. He couldn’t cut open her shoulder in broad daylight in a public park. Discounting the fact that he had no desire to hurt her, if they drew attention again, it was going to be damn difficult to extricate themselves.

  “Jules, you’re going to have to get in the car. We can’t do it out here. I can leave the door open.”

  She didn’t look thrilled by the announcement, but she nodded her understanding. He opened the back door then looked at her. “If you can just kneel down and face the door, I can shield the other side of you with my body.”

  She complied, her fingers gripping the inside armrest of the door as she knelt on the pavement. He pulled up her shirt and quickly looked around to make sure no one was close. She trembled as he thumbed the small tattoo. Damn. There was no way to make this painless.

  “Just do it,” she gritted out.

  He flipped open the knife and set the point at the top of the tattoo. Not wanting to prolong her agony, he sliced down in a quick motion, flaying open the skin about an inch. She flinched, and he could hear her sucking in her breath.

  Using the back of her shirt, he soaked up the blood that ran down her back. Then he gently pressed the point of the blade into the wound, feeling for any obstruction. To his surprise he came across a small, round disk no larger than a hearing-aid battery. He flicked it out into his palm and pressed her shirt firmly over the wound. “I’ve got it.”

  Frowning, he stared down at the metal object. He was familiar with the technology, and as far as he knew, it wasn’t something the NFR would have access to. Shelving his questions for the moment, he turned his attention back to Jules.

  He helped her up, keeping a steadying hand to her back. “Are you okay?” His heart lurched when he saw the pain in her eyes.

  She nodded. “Is it still bleeding?”

  “Yeah. It really needs stitches, but we’ll have to settle for stopping and getting some bandages somewhere. I’ll need to wash it out with an antiseptic too.”

  She stared pointedly at his hand. “What are you going to do with that?”

  “No sense tipping our hand by destroying it. Better to lead them away from us.” He glanced around, his eyes lighting on a nearby bus stop.

  “Get in the car and wait for me,” he directed. “I’m going to go plant the device on the bus.”

  She got into the car, and he could see the red stain at her back growing larger. He needed to get to a drugstore fast. He sprinted across the grass as he saw the bus approaching from down the street. When the bus pulled up, he boarded and looked at the driver. Pretending to dig into his pockets for change, he grimaced. “Sorry, must have forgotten my cash.” He quickly dropped the tracking device on the floor and stepped off the bus.

  As it drove away, he hurried to the car. He climbed in and looked over at Jules in concern. “You okay?” She was pale and shaking. Her eyes reflected an inner turmoil that he imagined had nothing to do with the wound he’d inflicted on her.

  “I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.”

  He nudged her forward and frowned when he took in the amount of blood covering her shirt. “After I bandage you up, you need to get another shirt on.”

  “Manny, can we just go?”

  He fired the engine and pulled away. As they drove from the park, he kept his eyes peeled for a place he could buy medical supplies. After several blocks, he spied a small drugstore and pulled over. “Wait here.”

  Jules watched him walk into the drugstore and marveled at how easily he trusted her. Had he forgotten how hard she’d tried to ditch him? She leaned back against the seat, not caring if she got blood all over the leather.

  So much had happened in the last few days. Her life had changed irrevocably. Manny’s life had changed. She wondered how much he resented her. He’d been nothing but caring, but when he found out the truth about her and what she planned… She shivered at the thought. Of all the things she’d suffered, his hatred was something she couldn’t bear.