Conard County--Christmas Bodyguard Read online

  Her stomach rolled again. If Max thought this was good, safe, she would do it. “After that?”

  “Then we’re getting the hell out of this city. First night out you’re going to dye your hair. Then we move again.”

  “Oh, God,” she whispered. Appalled. A nightmare was descending.

  Hale rose. “Don’t call your friends. Don’t tell them you’ll be away. Leave no hint of our plans.” He looked at the impressive black watch on his wrist. “We go to the bank first. They’ll still be open. Apartment next. Then we leave. Together.”

  He gave her one last look. “Ellis probably thinks he has a few days. You went to work today, right?”

  She nodded.

  “Then he probably thinks you don’t suspect anything yet. We’ll get going because tomorrow morning he’ll know you’ve slipped the noose.” He paused. “Wait here. I have some friends I need to speak with.”

  * * *

  HALE MET HIS best buddy at a small out-of-the-way coffee shop. Stu Dembrowski had fought beside him and worked beside him since Afghanistan. They’d each saved the other’s life, and a deep trust had grown between them. More trust than Hale could usually muster.

  “Jasper Ellis,” he said to Stu.

  “Oh, man, you’re not going up against him!”

  “I need to. And what I need from you and the rest of the crew is tracking devices. Get them on as many cars from Ellis’s local security team as you can. If necessary, follow some of them on the road until you get an opportunity to tag them. Then I’m going to call in frequently for position reports.”

  Stu nodded. “And you’ll be where?”

  “Driving all over like a maniac. Can do?”

  “Will do,” Stu answered firmly. “Just remember, those transmitters don’t work everywhere. There’ll be some gaps.”

  “I can still get enough information to put it together.”

  Stu nodded and rose. “We’ll get to work.”

  Hale waited five minutes before leaving the coffee shop. Then he followed a circuitous route back to Max and Alicia Burton.

  There wasn’t any time to waste.

  Chapter Two

  Hale followed Allie to the bank as he’d said he would. The huge sum he wanted her to withdraw made her catch her breath.

  “You’ll have to sign some kind of papers for the IRS,” he warned her. “Just do it.”

  She did this while he waited outside with a black duffel for her. She practically had to swear to the bank officer that she knew what she was doing. Then she signed all the paperwork, and twenty minutes later walked out with a very large bank bag containing small denominations of an unbelievable sum of money.

  Hale stepped into the outer lobby and opened the duffel. She dropped the heavy bank bag in it.

  “Now to your apartment.”

  Allie drove her car, her hands shaking, and hoped she didn’t have an accident. Well, that was one way to kill her.

  She made it into the parking garage. Hale was right behind in his massive black Suburban, pulling into a guest slot. As promised, he carried several duffel bags as he followed her into the elevator.

  For the first time she wondered if he was armed. If so, it wasn’t showing under his windbreaker.

  Rather rudely, she thought, he supervised her packing. She wasn’t overloaded with jeans or sweatshirts or heavy jackets. Or anything really. She mostly limited herself to summery weekend hikes with friends. Some lazing-around clothes.

  “Bring just a few days of underwear,” he told her. “We can pick up other clothes for you along the way.”

  With the untraceable cash, she supposed. Maybe the best thing to do would be to pretend she was starring in a suspense movie. For now. Just pretend and get this part over.

  “Leave your cell phone behind,” he ordered. “It can be tracked and there’s no way to prevent it even if you turn it off. Every cell tower we pass will ping you.”

  Leave her phone? It would be like cutting off her arm. She wasted a few minutes and he waited while she deleted apps such as her bank.

  “My friends will notice I’m gone.”

  He answered. “I’m sure they will, but you don’t want to draw them into this mess. I’ll arrange for you to call them in a few days.”

  Hale carried her bags and threw them in the back of the Suburban. He waved her into the passenger seat, then they were driving away. Away from her life as she knew it.

  Sickened again, all she could do was look out the darkly tinted windows at the passing familiarity of her neighborhood. Then she closed her eyes, trying not to care anymore.

  Hale never spoke a word.

  * * *

  ALLIE MUST HAVE fallen asleep, amazingly enough, because when she next looked out at the world, night had fallen and they had driven into the spreading suburbs. Traffic on the highway had lightened from its usual rush-hour crunch. Hale drove near the top of the speed limit.

  “We’ll stop when we get out of this mess and get something to eat,” he said, speaking for the first time since they left. “You must be getting hungry by now.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever want to eat again.”

  “Think of it as survival.”

  Allie apparently needed to think in those terms now. Horrifying. “Do we have to travel like this?”

  “Trust me to know my job.”

  No conversation. She got it. Well, no entertainment there. “Radio?”

  “Lady, I ripped off everything on this truck that could be traced by anyone. No friendly voice giving me directions or asking me what kind of music or who I want to call.”

  She figured she would come to hate this man before long. “So nothing?”

  “I didn’t even leave the radio. Taking no chances. You never know what technology can do these days. Maybe along the way we’ll find some CDs you like.”

  Like she was going to be shopping for CDs during this awful trek. She smothered a sigh, fearing it might be audible over the quietly purring engine. “It’s almost Christmas,” she remarked irrelevantly.

  “I heard.”

  End of subject. Allie wasn’t accustomed to sitting around with nothing to do. If friends didn’t come over or call, she had music, she had books, she had cooking. Now she had nothing except this taciturn man who obviously wasn’t going to provide much in the way of distraction.

  Max, what did you get me into?

  Several hours later, when houses and people had dissipated to almost nothing, he pulled over at a gas station with a diner beside it. Oh, man, the best food in the world, she thought sarcastically. Fat and more fat. Overcooked veggies that might have come out of a can.

  “Stay in the car while I gas up,” Hale told her. “Then we’ll find you a bathroom and food.”

  The bathroom would probably be awful. She gave up her internal struggle. Whatever else happened, she was here for now.

  To her amazement, Hale didn’t follow her into the bathroom, and the bathroom sparkled. Somebody cared. The tables and booths were clean, too, and the menu made a stab at catering to urban tastes.

  “Eat more than a salad,” Hale ordered her. “We may not see food again until tomorrow.”

  Planning ahead, she thought, but for once she didn’t get stubborn. What was the point? She heeded him. Besides, this gave her an opportunity to eat foods she liked but normally avoided because they weren’t healthful.

  A hamburger and fries with a side of salad. When was the last time she’d eaten fries and a burger? And this proved to be good food. Tasty. She decided to enjoy her excuse.

  Hale ate in silence. Surprise. Not. He had two burgers, a double portion of fries and some onion rings.

  He apparently felt this diner with its short-order cook and two waitresses would keep her safe enough for twenty minutes while he took his own bathroom break. Then he threw cash on the t
able, and insisted she head for the locked SUV. He followed at a distance, probably keeping an eye out.

  Once they were on the road again, she spoke. “I bet you don’t come cheap.”

  “Not since I was in the Marines. Worried about my retainer?”

  “Just curious.”

  “You ought to be. Twenty grand.”

  Ouch. “You definitely aren’t cheap.”

  “For this you don’t want cheap.”

  He had a point. “Max seemed awfully sure about you. He didn’t call anyone else.”

  “Max and I go back a ways. I’ve done jobs for him before.”

  Allie wondered what kind of jobs but figured he wouldn’t tell her. Nor should he, she guessed. She’d want her own privacy.

  She tried to settle more comfortably into her seat and resign herself to this road trip continuing for a while.

  * * *

  AS HALE WATCHED his Suburban eat up miles of highway, some of it winding away from major arteries and into narrower roads through small towns, he decided Allie Burton might be a handful.

  He felt nearly constant resistance in her, even when she didn’t argue or protest. Eventually some of that was going to burst out of her. Not everyone could be like his previous protectees, terrified and willing to do anything.

  Maybe the seriousness of this threat hadn’t really sunk in yet. He’d find out, he supposed.

  He needed to find a pharmacy or retail store to get her the hair dye. Her ash-blond hair was striking, striking enough to be noticed.

  But Jasper Ellis. The idea that Allie was in trouble with that man seriously worried Hale. He knew Ellis’s reputation, knew how concerned the police were, and knew from his web of contacts that the body count was getting high.

  Now, for the first time, he had someone to protect from Ellis. He didn’t think it was going to be easy. Hale had a small business, relying a lot on friends who knew how to glean intelligence. He didn’t begin to have Ellis’s resources. Not even remotely.

  But he also knew his own capabilities.

  First he had to get Allie far enough away, surreptitiously enough, that she’d be somewhat protected from whomever Ellis sent after her. Then he could deal with that threat and maybe gather information that would help the cops get Ellis. There was no other way to keep Allie Burton safe long-term.

  This was an unusual case for him. Most people he protected suffered from a single personal threat. Allie was a whole new ball game.

  And he didn’t doubt that at some point in this flight she was going to dig her heels in. He just hoped it didn’t come too soon.

  That first night he booked them into an out-of-the-way seedy motel. Not what she was accustomed to, he was certain.

  He had phony IDs and checked them in himself, paying in cash. Allie glumly watched the entire process. Her money, being used for this.

  “Retail store or pharmacy nearby?” Hale asked the clerk when he received the keys.

  “Up the road about half a mile. Small grocery, good enough. Has nearly everything we need around here.”

  Hale hoped that included hair dye. He expected a struggle from Allie over that. He was not to be disappointed.

  But first he insisted she remain in the locked car while he went in to find the dye. Trying to avoid notice, he added a few bottles of water and some small snack items to his purchase. The kinds of things most travelers might buy.

  When he climbed back into his car, he sensed annoyance once again. Well, he’d be pretty annoyed himself at having everything taken out of his hands.

  Small talk had never been his thing. Since he’d never practiced it, he didn’t know how to make it. Less said the better.

  But Allie must feel like a lump on the seat beside him. He spared some thought on figuring out what he might say but was soon relieved of the necessity by the return to the motel.

  He left all the bags in the car, taking only the hair dye. They wouldn’t be here for long, anyway.

  He could hardly wait to hear her reaction, first to the dye, then to the news they’d be moving again tonight.

  As he expected, she looked at the box of dye he handed her and said, “No way.”

  “You have distinctive hair.”

  “I like it.”

  He reached into his well of patience. “I understand why. It’s very pretty. It also makes you easier to recognize. You’ll have to resign yourself to this.”

  Her response was a mulish look, but after a minute she headed to the bathroom. “Are you immovable?” she demanded over her shoulder.

  “When it’s best. If you need help with that stuff, let me know.”

  * * *

  LIKE ALLIE WANTED his hands all over her head. No way. She pulled out the contents of the box, angry enough to tear it a bit, then scanned the directions.

  If she needed his help? Did he take her for an idiot? She looked one last time in the mirror, then started the job. Max had recommended him. She must have reminded herself several times as she destroyed her hair.

  The woman who looked back at her no longer looked like Allie. All that dark brown hair... She grabbed another towel to dry it off with quick, impatient movements. No comb. Then she looked at the stained towels. Screw it.

  When she walked back to the other room, doing her best to finger comb her fluffy cut, Hale said, “Much better.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  He nodded. “You would. Let’s go.”

  Her jaw dropped for the second time that day. “Go where?”

  “Get on the road.”

  She felt her face settle into stubborn lines. “Why the hell? You checked us in for the night.”

  “And we were in this town too long. I went into that grocery. Time to kick the dust off our heels.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake. Hale, you’re out of your mind.”

  “I know my job. Let’s go.”

  She studied the immovable monolith that was Hale Scribner and tried to tell herself he knew what he was doing. He was right, it was his job. That didn’t mean she had to like it.

  “Damn,” was all she said and headed for the door. “After this is over, I’m going to find a way to get even with you.”

  He didn’t answer. She no longer expected it. Although he’d already explained why they had to move on, they hadn’t been here that long and it seemed unlikely to her that anyone would notice them.

  He was paranoid, she thought grimly as she climbed into his SUV. Paranoid as hell.

  But that seemed to be part of his job, too.

  Chapter Three

  Miles of country road fell away behind them. Wiggling like a snake, this way and that, Hale was always keeping an eye out for a tail. Nothing yet.

  They had until morning to get as far away as possible. As soon as Ellis or one of his minions realized Allie hadn’t come to work and wasn’t answering her phone, the hunt would begin—if it hadn’t already.

  Hale said nothing as Allie fell asleep beside him. She must be exhausted after such a stressful day, but when she awoke she was bound to pepper him with questions. Rightfully so, since the only reason she feared Ellis was because of Max.

  God help her if she hadn’t had such a good friend.

  The eastern sky had just begun to lighten with a hazy red when Allie stirred.

  “Dang,” she muttered sleepily, “I don’t think I can take another minute in this seat. I ache all over.”

  “I’m not surprised. Hang in there for a bit longer. There’s a rest area a few miles ahead, amazingly enough considering we’re on a back road.”

  She stirred again and sat up higher, looking around them. “Where are we?”

  “In the middle of nowhere.”

  “Well, that sounds inviting.” Her answer was sarcastic.

  In a way, he agreed with her. Other than the fact that the
y were getting into the mountains of Northern California, which were beautiful. Ahead, Mount Shasta’s perennial snowcap burned with the sun’s early glow. At least the glaciers hadn’t melted, not completely. Rolling land surrounded them.

  “Why are we here?”

  “How well do you know Jasper Ellis?”

  She sighed. “He seems like a nice enough man. Not at all threatening.”

  “He wouldn’t.” Hale paused, turning them onto a different road, this one heading east. “He wouldn’t have made it this far if anyone thought he was a villain.”

  A minute of silence from her. “I guess so. But why are you and Max both so certain he’s dangerous?”

  Hale pondered how best to answer that question, given that there was no evidence. He put words together because sometimes he couldn’t choose reticence.

  “Because,” he said slowly, “too many people who work for him have disappeared or died by suicide. More than can be explained by statistical averages.” He figured she’d understand that because she was an accountant. She worked with numbers all the time.

  Naturally she had an answer. “But statistics can only show correlation unless the numbers are high enough.”

  “The numbers are high enough that the police have been investigating for years.”

  That hushed her, but not for very long. “How can anyone be certain Ellis is behind it?”

  “As tight a grip as he keeps? Because no one would dare do any of this without his approval. Too much risk.”

  Then, after a few minutes, Allie asked, “What are we doing?”

  “Ellis will figure out you’ve taken a runner shortly after you haven’t come to work. When they can’t call you to find out what’s wrong.”

  “That still doesn’t explain this.”

  “Actually it does. I need to get you as far away as I can before he sends someone out to find you. I have to make us untraceable.” Unless someone had managed to put a tracker on his car. He couldn’t imagine how, though, as fast as they’d moved. He’d check soon anyway. For now he didn’t mind the possibility because it might reassure Ellis’s men that they could find Allie. Might make them slower.