The Bad Judgment Series: The Complete Series

by Leigh James

  Walker had used that phone to call Levi. But we couldn’t call his sister, Adrian, and we couldn’t call my father. It was too dangerous, for them and for us. I hoped that my old friend, Attorney Mimi Johnstone, followed through on her threat and called Richie when I hadn’t called her back; I had no idea what she could say to make it better, but it would still be a comfort to him.

  I didn’t know what the people we’d left behind were thinking. On the news, they said that Walker and I might have set off the bomb as a distraction so that we could escape. They said there was evidence that we’d been planning something, that we were having an affair and were trying to run away together. There were reports that I’d taken a flight from Boston to Las Vegas and that Walker had just vanished, his GPS bracelet briefly disabled and left in the men’s room at Logan Airport. That bathroom was stormed by Federal agents and Federal Marshals not too long after we’d left.

  We’d also seen the footage of the scene outside of my law firm after the bomb went off. Swarms of police and emergency workers were trying to clean up the mess. Then there were scenes of the airport being partially shut down and swamped with officers. That was the one piece of luck we’d had. Everyone — including the people who’d been following us — had been so busy with the explosion that we’d had a precious few minutes to make a plan and escape. So I bought a one-way ticket to Vegas that I had no plans to use, and Walker turned off the GPS on his bracelet for one nanosecond, slid it off, and stuck it in the men’s room.

  Of course, to call it luck, with Mandy and the driver dead…well, none of it was good luck.

  But still. We’d had that brief window and we’d used it to run. On foot, no cellphones…just the cash that we pooled between us, which admittedly wasn’t much. We had just enough to rent the crappy apartment for the week and buy some food. But that was it. That was it, and we didn’t dare use a credit card or try to get money out of one of our accounts.

  I finally had a boyfriend who was a billionaire and I was the poorest I’d been since law school.

  My mind went back to the people we’d left behind. Richie, Tammy, Adrian, Mimi…I even briefly thought of Alexa. The people we loved, what did they believe? I wondered if they were worried if we were alive…if we were in danger…if we were ever coming back.

  I wondered if they were worried that we might be guilty.

  “This is it,” Walker said, motioning with his chin towards a cafe and breaking me out of my reverie. He looked around briefly and squeezed my hand. “Levi is sort of a weird guy. He’s been living off the grid for a while. But he’s going to help us, and I don’t think he’ll talk afterwards. That’s what matters.” Even though his comments sounded casual, he looked tense. This was the first time we’d met someone from the outside world since everything had happened.

  “It’ll be okay,” I said. I hoped.

  “As long as I keep you safe, it will be,” he said. “I can handle just about anything else that comes our way.” He pulled me through the doors to the busy cafe; Levi had suggested that we meet him on a Tuesday, during lunch time, when a lot of people would be around. He’d told Walker that we’d be safer then, less noticeable. I hoped that Levi was just weird and not crazy. I also hoped he was right.

  Walker guided me towards a corner table where a lone man was sitting. He was wearing a blue-checkered shirt that matched his cloudy blue eyes. His hair was light brown, shaggy, and hung over his collar a little. He looked too young to look as old as he did. He saw us and smiled, and the smile changed his face, making the lines that crisscrossed it seem pleasant instead of sad.

  “It’s been a long time,” Levi said, standing up and shaking Walker’s hand.

  “It’s been years,” Walker said, and clapped him on the shoulder.

  Levi turned to me. “You must be the lawyer,” he said quietly. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m not going to use your names since I shouldn’t. And I won’t use your new ones ‘cause you don’t know them yet.”

  We all sat down, an uneasy silence at our table, in contrast to the lunchtime bustle around us. I wondered what my new name was going to be and, rather stupidly, if Walker was going to like it.

  “Did you buy us lunch?” Walker asked. I could hear some hope in his voice. We hadn’t been eating well this last week — dinners had been boxed macaroni and cheese or pasta with cheap, sugary marinara sauce from a jar. I heard his stomach rumble and I reached over and rubbed his back. Levi watched me carefully, but I didn’t care.

  “No time for lunch,” Levi said. “You should probably get used to roughing it a little, buddy. I’m sure it’s been a while since you had to skip a meal.”

  “I’m adjusting,” Walker said, and his stomach gave one last, desperate snarl. “Are you still moving around a lot?” he asked, changing the subject, studiously not watching the people carrying large, delicious looking salads and sandwiches to their tables.

  “I never stop,” Levi said. “I prefer the mobile lifestyle.”

  “I remember,” Walker said and smiled at him. A look passed between them and I wondered what they knew about each other. Walker had said that they’d served together on a tour of Serbia, but he hadn’t gone into more detail.

  “I expect that you’re going to have to go mobile soon, too,” Levi said.

  “As soon as we’re out of here,” Walker said, taking me by surprise. I knew it was going to be soon, but I didn’t know it was going to be now.

  Levi pushed an envelope across the table to us. “This doesn’t have anything but a key and a set of instructions,” he said. “It’s to a safe deposit box. Everything you requested is in there.”

  “So I’m going to pay you lots of money — lots and lots of money when I can get it — and you’re giving me a key? And that’s it?”

  “Yup,” Levi said. He leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

  “I understand that. I just don’t know if I can,” Walker said.

  “Well, I’m taking an IOU from you, and that’s good enough for me,” Levi said. “Think of that key as an IOU. I owe you my loyalty. I’m not going to tell anyone that I saw you. The government is offering a reward, but I’m not interested. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, you know what I mean, buddy? I’m done with my service. You, I’ll make an exception for.”

  “So my money is good enough for you, but not the government’s?” Walker asked.

  “That’s right,” Levi said.

  “I hope that doesn’t change,” Walker said, taking the envelope.

  “I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Or ever,” Levi said, and his face was back to looking lined and tired. “The papers should be good. I couldn’t get you a credit card or anything, but you have licenses and some other stuff. I left you a present in there, too.”

  “Thanks, Levi.”

  “You’re welcome. You need to read the paper in that envelope — it gives you the name to use to get into the box. I named you as a co-renter, but I didn’t use your real name. And I didn’t use your new name. I left my new number for you in there, too. I tossed my phone after you called,” Levi said.

  We all stood up and the guys shook hands. “Good luck. And get the hell out of here soon,” he said, motioning to Walker. “It’s too obvious you’re you. You’re eminently recognizable.”

  I sighed and watched Levi as he sauntered out; from a distance, he looked casual and relaxed.

  “We need to go. Now,” Walker said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. “We have more to do than I thought.”

  Chapter 2

  “This is for a bank close to here,” Walker said, looking at the paper Levi had given us. He looked around the crowded street.

  “I think we need to wear hats, or something,” I said nervously. “I’m starting to freak out that we’re out here in plain sight. And you’re eminently recognizable, like Levi said.”

  He laughed and in the light of midday, I saw how the lines in his face had deepened since we�
�d met. “Levi always could turn a phrase.”

  “I didn’t expect him to have a vocabulary that included the word ‘eminent,’” I said. “What’s he like, anyway? I mean, he seemed nice….”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Walker said. “Right now, we need to be ‘eminently’ unrecognizable and we need to get our stuff from the safe-deposit box. Then get the hell out of here.”

  I saw a kiosk across the street, next to the bridge that led to downtown Boston. I tugged on Walker’s hand and we went over. He got a green Celtics hat and I selected a black Bruins one, using the last of the cash that I had in my pocket.

  “What are we going to do if Levi just screwed us over?” I asked, panicking, thinking about the amount of money I had left — which was none. And Walker had mentioned he had about eight dollars remaining.

  “I know him. He wouldn’t do that,” Walker said. He was reading the note from Levi. He folded it back up and turned to me. “But if this doesn’t work out, there are other options.”

  “Like what?” I asked. I wasn’t aware of any other options, and I didn’t like the tone of his voice. It was dark and edgy. And rebellious.

  “Later, Nic. We’ll talk about it later,” he shushed me. “Keep your head down.”

  We made it to the bank, which was located one block past the bridge, right at the beginning of the Financial District. We waited for a teller and when it was our turn, I felt a cold sweat start to run in rivulets down my back. I tried to be normal like Walker was being. He took his sunglasses off but kept his hat pulled low when he spoke to the teller. He also slouched, which he never did in real life; it distorted his posture and his height. I didn’t know what to do besides sweat, so I just looked at the ground.

  “The name on the account?” the teller asked.

  “William Gray,” Walker said, casually.

  “Okay, Mr. Gray,” she said, and she seemed calm, professional and slightly bored. Not at all suspicious. “Go back through those gold doors. The safety deposit boxes are on the right, listed numerically. There are separate rooms back there so you can view the contents privately.”

  She was innocuous, polite. I truly hoped that she didn’t recognize us from the news and wasn’t pressing a secret buzzer somewhere, alerting the authorities to our presence. I continued to sweat as Walker grabbed my hand and led me through the doors. I knew he was watching everyone, taking everything in, but he appeared normal, casual in his Celtics hat, tank top and cargo shorts.

  I was going to have to take some lessons in casual from him. My heart was pounding and my breathing was harsh. He squeezed my hand, sensing my discomfort. “It’s okay,” he said quietly, while he was searching for the number that matched the key. He found the box and pulled it out, then motioned to a curtained-off room in the corner. We went in and closed the curtain behind us, not speaking. I felt certain that we were being recorded by the bank’s surveillance. Probably all the other customers were, too.

  We just happened to be a little more interesting than all the other customers.

  Walker unlocked the box. Inside was a large plastic bag that held all of the contents; he peered inside without taking it all out. He pawed through it for a second and removed a neatly folded canvas bag. He unfolded it and placed all of the contents directly inside. We could look through it back at the apartment, where it was safe. Or safer, at least.

  He grabbed the bag and my hand. We left the bank without looking back. The whole way home, I was worried that there were eyes on us. It was our first visit back to civilization, and it had left me rattled.

  * * *

  “Five thousand dollars. That’s it,” Walker said, counting the money again.

  “That’s not enough?” I asked, trying to sound encouraging and failing by a mile.

  He looked up at me, his eyebrows raised over the blue eyes that already knew me too well. “Don’t play dumb, Nic. You can’t pull it off.”

  “Well, I know we can’t get very far on just five thousand dollars,” I admitted. “What else did he give us?”

  “Papers for both of us, including licenses and passports. They say we’re from Florida; we can memorize everything on them in a little bit. I’m William White and you’re Vera White.”

  “We’re married?” I practically squealed, and then I clapped my hand over my mouth.

  He looked at me and grinned. “Yes, Mrs. White. I’m sorry the honeymoon isn’t going to turn out quite how we planned.”

  “Ha-ha,” I said, recovering myself. “What else do we have?”

  “Two guns. Two TracFones. A laptop. A note, which says that he stripped the laptop of any location services. But that it still gets internet. Fuck that,” Walker said. He picked up the computer and smashed it on the ground. I jumped at the noise. Then he took out a small metal piece from within it and smashed it on the countertop with a pan, breaking it into smithereens. I jumped again, but he didn’t even flinch.

  “I know my tracking,” Walker said. “Any internet and they could find us.”

  “You should tell Levi that,” I said.

  “He should have known better,” Walker said. “He’s been off the grid for a long time. Maybe he’s just getting lazy in his advanced age. Or maybe he doesn’t have enough people chasing him.”

  “Or maybe he’s trying to get us caught?” I asked, worried.

  “I doubt it. Levi has no love of the government. It’s more likely that he thought he did everything to strip it. But being in the business, I happen to know it’s not enough. Anything that connects to a satellite, they’re going to be able to find us, eventually.”

  My mouth went dry. Whenever he talked about eventually, I had no idea of what was coming before that. “Are we safe right now?” I asked.

  He looked at me and smiled. “Nic, you haven’t been safe since you met me. But unless Levi told someone about us, no one knows about the computer he gave us.” He stated cleaning up the pieces of the laptop from the floor.

  My stomach churned again. “Walker,” I said, trying to keep my voice light, “when do you think this is all going to be over?”

  “When I hurt everyone who’s hurt you,” Walker said. “And everyone who’s tried to tear apart my company, my family. My life.”

  “What do you mean by hurt, exactly?” I asked. I had no love of the people who’d killed Mandy and the others. I wanted justice. But could I kill people? Could I aim one of the guns that Levi had given us and shoot it at someone? Even if they were a killer?

  I didn’t know the answers to those questions. And I didn’t want to find out.

  “I don’t know what I mean by it, yet,” Walker said, studying my face closely. “But I can promise you, you might not want to be around when I figure it out.”

  “Please stop saying things like that.”

  “Like what?” he asked. He was checking the chambers in one of the guns. Watching him with it gave me the chills. His hands moved over the weapon with skilled assurance and absolutely no fear or apprehension. It was the opposite of how I would touch a gun.

  “Like we’re going to be separated. Like you’re going to leave me, and try to do this alone,” I said.

  He looked up at me and there was a flash of dark pain on his face. “I should do this alone. You’re too good for this sort of stuff. You’re innocent, Nic. You’re young. You got dragged into this by accident.”

  “It’s no accident,” I said. I’d told him that I loved him so many times, and he’d said it back…but I wondered sometimes if he understood how much I meant it. I’d left behind my whole world — my apartment, my family, all of my obligations — to be with him.

  It was the biggest risk I’d ever taken, and I’d never been one to gamble.

  I went over to him and tentatively ran my hands over his bristly head. He buried his face in my shirt, and although I relished the closeness, I could feel the remorse rolling off him in waves. “Just don’t say things like that anymore,” I whispered. “I made a choice. I chose to be with you. Don’t tr
y to undo it.”

  I saw a mixture of guilt, longing, and sadness on his face. Then he gave up and just looked sheepish. “I can’t say no to you when you’re touching me,” he said, hugging me back, breaking the tension. “I become useless. As soon as I can feel you, I melt.”

  I laughed too, but it was a little ragged. He must have heard it in my voice, because he raised himself up and pulled me tenderly into his chest. “What a sucky time for me to fall in love,” he said. “I finally meet the right person, and now I’m putting her in mortal danger.” He kissed the top of my head and I let myself relax a little against him, feeling his arms around me.

  “You have to promise me,” I mumbled, my face still buried in his chest. “I mean it, Walker. I can’t do this if I feel like you’re going to pull the rug out from under me and leave me behind.”

  He released me, taking a reluctant step back. “Nic, you have to understand a couple of things,” he said, sitting back down at the table. I made a sound in protest, but he held up his hand, stopping me. “First of all, I can’t change how I feel about this — these people are after me. I am the problem, here. Mandy is dead because of me, and so are those other people. The government is after my technology. Lester Max and your firm may or may not be involved in this because they are after my money. Those people who were following us were after me. Not you. Can you at least admit that?”

  “Yes, but….”

  “There aren’t any buts to what I’m saying,” he said. “I need you to understand how guilty this makes me feel. I feel like shit, Nicole. Because this is my fault, all of it. And I can’t ask you to leave.” He looked at me for a beat and ran his hands over his shaved head. “I should leave you behind, and I can’t. Because I love you. And that selfish fact is putting you in even more danger.”