First Wave, page 20
He needed money. Transportation. Were friends waiting for him? Anything he said now, Sal could use to track him down.
If Sal didn’t catch up to them the second the SUV stopped.
Was he wondering where they’d gone? Talia would have their GPS. Both she and Josh had their phones with them in the car, and she was wearing her watch. Plenty of ways to track them if anyone decided they might need to be found.
They could be dead before the team thought to look.
“What do you care?” He shifted to bring the gun between the front seats again. “It’s not like I’m gonna to tell you where I’m going.”
“Then tell me what Clare is up to.” She wanted to shift and look him in the eyes, but didn’t risk it. “You’ll have a better shot at getting away if we’re all distracted looking for her.”
“Crazy woman.” He bit off another comment. “Don’t want to be under the thumb of the government and then take a job doing some guy’s dirty work he doesn’t want to do? And for what?”
Dakota remembered the woman’s comment. “Money, apparently.”
“I don’t care how good it is. You don’t give away your freedom. That only makes you someone’s slave.”
“She broke you out.” Dakota glanced over. Out the corner of her eye she saw Josh reach down between the door and his seat, slowly. Carefully.
“She owed me. Now we’re square.”
“So she’s following someone’s orders?”
He snorted. “You think I’ll tell you who?”
“Could help. When the marshals catch up, you’ll need leverage right? Get a deal.” She paused for a second. “But if you kill us, there’s nothing you could say that will make things easier for you. Not a single thing.”
He shrugged. “So I keep one step ahead of the cops. Don’t get caught.”
“Forever?”
“All I gotta do is get out of the country. Get somewhere they don’t make deals with America. Not that hard to find a country that doesn’t like us, considering we’re ticking people off left and right these days.”
And this was different than any other time of history how, exactly? Dakota had paid enough attention in school to be able to graduate, and then she’d gotten out of there. Still, it wasn’t like “world peace” had actually ever been a thing. From what she’d heard on the radio—that time she’d stumbled upon a pastor talking about end times—the idea and possibility of peace was literally a sign that “the End” was coming.
But how did knowing about that stuff help her right now?
The same way she’d purposely tried to forget the past, Dakota didn’t usually worry about what was going to happen tomorrow. Or five years from now.
She could be dead by then.
Right now there was a gun pointed at her and Josh, and that was her priority. Not setting the goal to drink more water next month.
“How about we pull over,” she suggested. “We’ll get the dog and get out. You can take the vehicle.”
“And get followed because this thing is equipped with GPS?”
“Then you get out.” She bit off the words, frustration a poisonous strike of that snake. “Because we have things to do.”
He chuckled. “Feisty. Maybe you should come with me.”
Josh said, “That’s not gonna happen.”
“I’m the one with the gun.”
Josh swung the wheel hard to the right. Dakota caught herself before her head hit the window. A concussion on top of a concussion wouldn’t help anything.
The escaped inmate didn’t do the same. She turned fast enough to see him fall almost all the way to the floor.
Dakota grabbed the hand holding the gun.
Josh slammed on the brakes. There was no time to say, “Thanks.”
She swayed toward the dash. With her hold on the inmate’s hand she pulled his arm hard in the wrong direction.
The gun went off. The front windshield shattered. In the confines of the vehicle, the noise was deafening. Her whole body flinched, and it was like her ears shut off…to a roaring noise like a waterfall.
He sat up.
She still had a hold on his hand. She tried to point the gun away from either her or Josh. The driver’s door flung open and Josh dived out.
He was running away?
. . .
Josh raced around the car. Neema barked from the back, but there was no time to wonder if she had moved or was bleeding still. Or more.
He hauled open the back door of the SUV and grabbed the inmate. His ears rang through his head, like someone had stuck hot pokers in both. Gritting his teeth, he pulled against the pain in his arm and shoulder.
The man slid out onto the ground, his arms and legs flailing. Josh let go, then kicked the guy in the head. It wasn’t nice, but he didn’t want to shoot him. This fight needed to be over. Right now.
The man’s head lolled to the side and he slumped. Out cold.
Enough of running for their lives. Enough of being shot and beaten. Kidnapped. Enough escaped prisoners, deadly substances, and having to face off with bikers who would kill anyone who threatened one of their people.
Dakota touched his face. Josh’s whole body flinched, but she didn’t let go or step back. He sucked in a breath and pushed it out slowly. He pulled her in, placed both hands on the sides of her face and touched his forehead to hers.
His breathing didn’t slow. Adrenaline still too high, his blood pumped at a fast pace, lighting synapses and making his muscles twitch. He needed to run. To expel this energy somehow.
He started to move, but Dakota held onto his arms. He opened his eyes and shifted his face down.
“You saved us.”
That, he heard. The sound was muffled, whispered against his lips. The ringing in his ears was still there, though not as loud. He wanted to smile. But exactly what was there to be happy about? She lifted her face closer, relief in her eyes.
He looked at the inmate again. Just to make sure he was out, and they weren’t going to get blindsided.
Again.
He should have checked the backseat. He should have—
Dakota tugged his face around and pressed her lips to his. The buzz of thoughts in his head dissipated, replaced by silence. Her touch was like closing your eyes against the sun. The best kind of peace. Of rest. Like coming home.
She pulled back and bit her lip.
“What?” He heard his own voice more in his head than out loud. He needed to check on Neema.
She said, “Sorry.” He started to shake his head, but she spoke again before he could. “I probably shouldn’t have done that. I’m just so glad that we’re all right—”
Josh kissed her back.
When he’d made his point, that she had nothing to apologize for, he pulled back. “I need to call the vet. Get him to come here and see to Neema.” He dialed.
Dakota shifted to pull out her own phone. “I’ll call Victoria.” She glanced at the unconscious man. “We should find some cuffs.”
Josh dug around in the SUV and found a pair, which he tossed to her while the phone rang.
“Thought you were headed here.”
“Got sidetracked.” He was more thankful than he could say that the vet was on the same page. “Any way you can come to me?”
“How is she?”
He looked over the dog. “Pretending she isn’t hurt as badly as she really is.”
The doc chuckled. “That’s a Shepherd for you. Got a first aid kit?”
“Good idea.” Josh gave him their location and hung up. He dug out gauze to hold onto the nasty wound on her side and climbed in the back of the SUV to be close to her. Dakota was on the phone still.
He saw her shift.
Josh lifted up so he could see the inmate. Hands cuffed behind his back. His right leg was bent up toward his hands. It appeared she’d tied the laces of one of his shoes to the cuffs.
Josh called out, “Did you tie him up?”
She moved the phone away from her mouth. “Better safe than sorry.” She spoke for a few more seconds, then hung up.
One hand close to her weapon, she circled the man on the ground and came closer to the SUV so they at least didn’t have to yell to hear each other.
“Victoria is sending Sal and the other marshals.”
“Is that guy awake?”
She nodded, keeping her attention on the restrained escaped prisoner. “How is Neema?”
He smiled at her, even though she wasn’t looking at him.
Then she glanced over for a second and caught him. She looked back at the inmate, shaking her head.
He said, “You like her.”
“It’s not nice to gloat.”
Josh laughed loudly before he could hold it back. He glanced at his dog.
Dakota said, “The doc will be here soon, right? He’ll fix her up.”
Josh figured the vet would take her with him back to his office. Neema needed stitches and medicines. She didn’t need them dragging her all over the countryside looking for Clare.
Sal and the vet turned up at almost the exact same time. Both climbed out of their vehicles, but the vet went to the back of his truck and pulled out a duffel.
“Let me see.”
Josh petted Neema’s nose, then slid out and went to Dakota and Sal.
“…take him in,” Sal was saying.
One of the marshals untied the inmate’s shoe from the handcuffs. Then he and another one lifted the man to his feet. The inmate glared daggers at Dakota and Josh as he was escorted away.
“One dead and the other is back in custody.” Josh couldn’t help the satisfaction. “Now we just have to find Clare.” He folded his arms across his chest, mostly to keep from touching Dakota.
Now that they’d shared several kisses, he wanted more. He was past the point of trying to convince himself there was nothing going on between them. It was far more than nothing, and he wasn’t going to disrespect whatever it was—or her—by pretending otherwise.
Maybe it wouldn’t go anywhere past this. And what a shame that would be. They at least needed to acknowledge the fact it existed. Still, Dakota might not need to have that conversation now, or any time soon.
She had killed her father earlier today.
Sal glanced between them.
Dakota said, “What?” She also folded her arms.
Josh put his hands in his jeans pockets, just so they weren’t standing the same way.
“You guys are weird.” Sal didn’t say more. Not before one of his marshal friends came over.
“We’re headed out,” the marshal said. “Are you going after Clare Norton?”
“Yes.” Sal motioned to them. “I have a ride.”
“Copy that.” The man jogged off, and they pulled out. Headed off to return the inmate to the prison. Or wherever they were putting the escapees, considering the facility had dissolved into chaos.
Josh helped the vet carry Neema to his vehicle. He told her bye even though she was a dog. That wasn’t the point, was it? And then the vet left as well.
“The SUV is a mess.”
Sal said, “Was that inmate wearing my dirty gym clothes?”
“Yep,” Dakota said. “Clare Norton?” Her smile quickly dissipated. “How do we find her?”
“She headed west, so we have people searching the woods between there and the next town. And we have roadblocks on the highway.”
Josh said, “Roadblocks?”
“She released VX and set free three dangerous inmates. You think we won’t use roadblocks?”
He shook his head, not sure what he was thinking. His arm really hurt. “And we have no idea where she’s going now.”
Dakota’s phone rang. “It’s Talia.” She tapped the screen. “You’re on speaker. Sal is here with me and so is Josh.”
“I think I know where Clare went.”
Chapter 24
Both guys shifted closer to the phone. Dakota gripped it, held out in the middle of their huddle. “What did you find?”
“I was listening to the police band. There’s a guy. Has a farm east of the compound. He came home about thirty minutes ago to find his wife killed and her car gone.”
Dakota’s heart squeezed. That was the only way she could explain her reaction. Probably being so close to Josh before Sal showed up was the reason. Why else would she care that a man’s wife had been murdered? It was her job to find and stop Clare. Not to get all emotional about another dead person.
She’d seen enough of that today. Maybe too much death. Some she’d killed herself. Like her father. So what did she care about one more?
But she was only kidding herself.
Josh’s attention was on her when he said, “And Clare?”
Dakota didn’t want either of their attention on her. Not when her eyes burned hot with tears.
Sal had been her friend for four years now. Then there was Josh, who had somehow gotten under her skin the past two days. Seriously, she could hardly believe they’d only just met on Friday night. Now it was nearly Sunday evening.
All kinds of insane stuff had happened, she could hardly process it all. Least of all the fact she’d killed her own father. Josh had stuck with her through it. Even when she ditched him, he’d forced her to explain why.
He made her care.
Because she cared about him.
Whether that would end up being a good thing remained to be seen.
Talia said, “Clare is at large. We have a BOLO out on her description and the car to all the local entities. Considering the level of police presence within fifty miles of Dakota, I’m thinking it won’t take long to get a result.”
“Wait, what—Me?”
Talia chuckled. “Honey, you’re a walking disaster.”
“I didn’t make Clare break those people out of prison.” Just like she wasn’t responsible for all of the deaths that had occurred today. “And I didn’t sell her that VX.”
Sal said, “Let’s get in the car. You guys can argue about whose fault this is while I drive.”
“It’s Clare Norton’s fault.” Dakota pulled the passenger door open.
Josh grinned at her, though she could see the pain on his face, and he climbed in the backseat. “It’s also the responsibility of whoever sold her the VX.”
“Certainly not mine.” She knew she was grumbling.
Sal turned the engine on and the call connected to the Bluetooth. Dakota set her phone on her leg and said, “Which way is she heading, anyway?”
Talia said, “East on highway eleven.”
“So, toward Spokane,” Josh said from the backseat.
“Or anywhere between here and there.” Dakota pressed her lips together. “Or nowhere in particular. Maybe she’ll just drive until she runs out of gas. Then she’ll kill someone else and take their car.”
Not a happy thought, especially considering Talia’s jab that this was Dakota’s fault. They’d been following the intel. It wasn’t like she’d been able to stop their plans, and Clare hadn’t jumped on this just because Dakota showed up.
Maybe she’d escalated the timeline a bit. They had dragged her father into this—with Victoria’s “help.”
Could the speed up in their plans have been prevented? The fact she’d forced Clare to accelerate things might have meant more people died than was necessary, but it also meant Clare was reacting instead of working through a calculated to do list. She was more likely to make a mistake if she was changing things up on the spur of the moment.
Dakota’s mouth tasted bitter at the idea that any of this had happened because of her. That anyone had been hurt because of a decision she’d made. Mrs. Johnson. A farm wife, hopefully happy at home, was now dead. Misty had been shot. Josh had been shot. Neema was hurt. Her own teammate had tried to stop her and Josh from moving forward with the case.
She said, “Have you heard from Niall?”
“Not since he sent me all the photos from the Terrence Crampton crime scene.”
“He wrapped up there?” She saw Sal glance at her for a second before he focused on the road again.
“The medical examiner picked up the body. Niall marked himself as off duty about thirty minutes later.”
“He probably headed to Portland.” Dakota explained about the threat to Patricia and his niece Siobhan. Basically the cutest Irish name ever. As well as being one of the more pronounceable ones. Dakota enjoyed saying, “shuh-vawn.” It was as cute as the girl was. She said a little prayer in her head for their safety.
Sal bit back a curse word.
Dakota grinned. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“Every time I see her, cupcake.”
“Gross.” She shook her head. “Talia, can you check on them?”
“I’ll notify local FBI of the threat. Have a detail put on them.” She paused. “Why did he tell us they were being threatened?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Dakota said. “We’re here to help, aren’t we?”
Josh leaned forward and squeezed her shoulder. She was thankful for his reassurance, but didn’t want Sal to know how close they’d gotten. She could tell him later. Talk to Josh later. Right now there were other things on their priority list.
He said, “Maybe one of Clare’s people is still working, trying to cover her escape?”
“Or the same person who sold Clare the contagion in the first place is the one covering for her. Trying to slow us down,” Dakota suggested.
“The one who runs that dark web server?”
She nodded, even though Talia couldn’t see her. “The inmate we took down said she was doing his bidding, taking his money and working for him. For whatever reason, I don’t even care why.”
Unless knowing Clare’s motivation could give them a clue as to what she was going to do with the rest of the VX.
Dakota continued, “But if he’s waiting for her to complete a certain task, then it stands to reason he’d be helping her. At least somewhat.”
“Maybe.” Sal worked his jaw back and forth.
“It’s the best suggestion we’ve come up with so far.”
“But taking down the seller doesn’t stop the threat. It just stops the money. And anything else he’s planning.”
“Or she.” Dakota fired at him, just because he was right. “You’re right that Clare should be our priority right now. But finding the seller could help us.”
If Sal didn’t catch up to them the second the SUV stopped.
Was he wondering where they’d gone? Talia would have their GPS. Both she and Josh had their phones with them in the car, and she was wearing her watch. Plenty of ways to track them if anyone decided they might need to be found.
They could be dead before the team thought to look.
“What do you care?” He shifted to bring the gun between the front seats again. “It’s not like I’m gonna to tell you where I’m going.”
“Then tell me what Clare is up to.” She wanted to shift and look him in the eyes, but didn’t risk it. “You’ll have a better shot at getting away if we’re all distracted looking for her.”
“Crazy woman.” He bit off another comment. “Don’t want to be under the thumb of the government and then take a job doing some guy’s dirty work he doesn’t want to do? And for what?”
Dakota remembered the woman’s comment. “Money, apparently.”
“I don’t care how good it is. You don’t give away your freedom. That only makes you someone’s slave.”
“She broke you out.” Dakota glanced over. Out the corner of her eye she saw Josh reach down between the door and his seat, slowly. Carefully.
“She owed me. Now we’re square.”
“So she’s following someone’s orders?”
He snorted. “You think I’ll tell you who?”
“Could help. When the marshals catch up, you’ll need leverage right? Get a deal.” She paused for a second. “But if you kill us, there’s nothing you could say that will make things easier for you. Not a single thing.”
He shrugged. “So I keep one step ahead of the cops. Don’t get caught.”
“Forever?”
“All I gotta do is get out of the country. Get somewhere they don’t make deals with America. Not that hard to find a country that doesn’t like us, considering we’re ticking people off left and right these days.”
And this was different than any other time of history how, exactly? Dakota had paid enough attention in school to be able to graduate, and then she’d gotten out of there. Still, it wasn’t like “world peace” had actually ever been a thing. From what she’d heard on the radio—that time she’d stumbled upon a pastor talking about end times—the idea and possibility of peace was literally a sign that “the End” was coming.
But how did knowing about that stuff help her right now?
The same way she’d purposely tried to forget the past, Dakota didn’t usually worry about what was going to happen tomorrow. Or five years from now.
She could be dead by then.
Right now there was a gun pointed at her and Josh, and that was her priority. Not setting the goal to drink more water next month.
“How about we pull over,” she suggested. “We’ll get the dog and get out. You can take the vehicle.”
“And get followed because this thing is equipped with GPS?”
“Then you get out.” She bit off the words, frustration a poisonous strike of that snake. “Because we have things to do.”
He chuckled. “Feisty. Maybe you should come with me.”
Josh said, “That’s not gonna happen.”
“I’m the one with the gun.”
Josh swung the wheel hard to the right. Dakota caught herself before her head hit the window. A concussion on top of a concussion wouldn’t help anything.
The escaped inmate didn’t do the same. She turned fast enough to see him fall almost all the way to the floor.
Dakota grabbed the hand holding the gun.
Josh slammed on the brakes. There was no time to say, “Thanks.”
She swayed toward the dash. With her hold on the inmate’s hand she pulled his arm hard in the wrong direction.
The gun went off. The front windshield shattered. In the confines of the vehicle, the noise was deafening. Her whole body flinched, and it was like her ears shut off…to a roaring noise like a waterfall.
He sat up.
She still had a hold on his hand. She tried to point the gun away from either her or Josh. The driver’s door flung open and Josh dived out.
He was running away?
. . .
Josh raced around the car. Neema barked from the back, but there was no time to wonder if she had moved or was bleeding still. Or more.
He hauled open the back door of the SUV and grabbed the inmate. His ears rang through his head, like someone had stuck hot pokers in both. Gritting his teeth, he pulled against the pain in his arm and shoulder.
The man slid out onto the ground, his arms and legs flailing. Josh let go, then kicked the guy in the head. It wasn’t nice, but he didn’t want to shoot him. This fight needed to be over. Right now.
The man’s head lolled to the side and he slumped. Out cold.
Enough of running for their lives. Enough of being shot and beaten. Kidnapped. Enough escaped prisoners, deadly substances, and having to face off with bikers who would kill anyone who threatened one of their people.
Dakota touched his face. Josh’s whole body flinched, but she didn’t let go or step back. He sucked in a breath and pushed it out slowly. He pulled her in, placed both hands on the sides of her face and touched his forehead to hers.
His breathing didn’t slow. Adrenaline still too high, his blood pumped at a fast pace, lighting synapses and making his muscles twitch. He needed to run. To expel this energy somehow.
He started to move, but Dakota held onto his arms. He opened his eyes and shifted his face down.
“You saved us.”
That, he heard. The sound was muffled, whispered against his lips. The ringing in his ears was still there, though not as loud. He wanted to smile. But exactly what was there to be happy about? She lifted her face closer, relief in her eyes.
He looked at the inmate again. Just to make sure he was out, and they weren’t going to get blindsided.
Again.
He should have checked the backseat. He should have—
Dakota tugged his face around and pressed her lips to his. The buzz of thoughts in his head dissipated, replaced by silence. Her touch was like closing your eyes against the sun. The best kind of peace. Of rest. Like coming home.
She pulled back and bit her lip.
“What?” He heard his own voice more in his head than out loud. He needed to check on Neema.
She said, “Sorry.” He started to shake his head, but she spoke again before he could. “I probably shouldn’t have done that. I’m just so glad that we’re all right—”
Josh kissed her back.
When he’d made his point, that she had nothing to apologize for, he pulled back. “I need to call the vet. Get him to come here and see to Neema.” He dialed.
Dakota shifted to pull out her own phone. “I’ll call Victoria.” She glanced at the unconscious man. “We should find some cuffs.”
Josh dug around in the SUV and found a pair, which he tossed to her while the phone rang.
“Thought you were headed here.”
“Got sidetracked.” He was more thankful than he could say that the vet was on the same page. “Any way you can come to me?”
“How is she?”
He looked over the dog. “Pretending she isn’t hurt as badly as she really is.”
The doc chuckled. “That’s a Shepherd for you. Got a first aid kit?”
“Good idea.” Josh gave him their location and hung up. He dug out gauze to hold onto the nasty wound on her side and climbed in the back of the SUV to be close to her. Dakota was on the phone still.
He saw her shift.
Josh lifted up so he could see the inmate. Hands cuffed behind his back. His right leg was bent up toward his hands. It appeared she’d tied the laces of one of his shoes to the cuffs.
Josh called out, “Did you tie him up?”
She moved the phone away from her mouth. “Better safe than sorry.” She spoke for a few more seconds, then hung up.
One hand close to her weapon, she circled the man on the ground and came closer to the SUV so they at least didn’t have to yell to hear each other.
“Victoria is sending Sal and the other marshals.”
“Is that guy awake?”
She nodded, keeping her attention on the restrained escaped prisoner. “How is Neema?”
He smiled at her, even though she wasn’t looking at him.
Then she glanced over for a second and caught him. She looked back at the inmate, shaking her head.
He said, “You like her.”
“It’s not nice to gloat.”
Josh laughed loudly before he could hold it back. He glanced at his dog.
Dakota said, “The doc will be here soon, right? He’ll fix her up.”
Josh figured the vet would take her with him back to his office. Neema needed stitches and medicines. She didn’t need them dragging her all over the countryside looking for Clare.
Sal and the vet turned up at almost the exact same time. Both climbed out of their vehicles, but the vet went to the back of his truck and pulled out a duffel.
“Let me see.”
Josh petted Neema’s nose, then slid out and went to Dakota and Sal.
“…take him in,” Sal was saying.
One of the marshals untied the inmate’s shoe from the handcuffs. Then he and another one lifted the man to his feet. The inmate glared daggers at Dakota and Josh as he was escorted away.
“One dead and the other is back in custody.” Josh couldn’t help the satisfaction. “Now we just have to find Clare.” He folded his arms across his chest, mostly to keep from touching Dakota.
Now that they’d shared several kisses, he wanted more. He was past the point of trying to convince himself there was nothing going on between them. It was far more than nothing, and he wasn’t going to disrespect whatever it was—or her—by pretending otherwise.
Maybe it wouldn’t go anywhere past this. And what a shame that would be. They at least needed to acknowledge the fact it existed. Still, Dakota might not need to have that conversation now, or any time soon.
She had killed her father earlier today.
Sal glanced between them.
Dakota said, “What?” She also folded her arms.
Josh put his hands in his jeans pockets, just so they weren’t standing the same way.
“You guys are weird.” Sal didn’t say more. Not before one of his marshal friends came over.
“We’re headed out,” the marshal said. “Are you going after Clare Norton?”
“Yes.” Sal motioned to them. “I have a ride.”
“Copy that.” The man jogged off, and they pulled out. Headed off to return the inmate to the prison. Or wherever they were putting the escapees, considering the facility had dissolved into chaos.
Josh helped the vet carry Neema to his vehicle. He told her bye even though she was a dog. That wasn’t the point, was it? And then the vet left as well.
“The SUV is a mess.”
Sal said, “Was that inmate wearing my dirty gym clothes?”
“Yep,” Dakota said. “Clare Norton?” Her smile quickly dissipated. “How do we find her?”
“She headed west, so we have people searching the woods between there and the next town. And we have roadblocks on the highway.”
Josh said, “Roadblocks?”
“She released VX and set free three dangerous inmates. You think we won’t use roadblocks?”
He shook his head, not sure what he was thinking. His arm really hurt. “And we have no idea where she’s going now.”
Dakota’s phone rang. “It’s Talia.” She tapped the screen. “You’re on speaker. Sal is here with me and so is Josh.”
“I think I know where Clare went.”
Chapter 24
Both guys shifted closer to the phone. Dakota gripped it, held out in the middle of their huddle. “What did you find?”
“I was listening to the police band. There’s a guy. Has a farm east of the compound. He came home about thirty minutes ago to find his wife killed and her car gone.”
Dakota’s heart squeezed. That was the only way she could explain her reaction. Probably being so close to Josh before Sal showed up was the reason. Why else would she care that a man’s wife had been murdered? It was her job to find and stop Clare. Not to get all emotional about another dead person.
She’d seen enough of that today. Maybe too much death. Some she’d killed herself. Like her father. So what did she care about one more?
But she was only kidding herself.
Josh’s attention was on her when he said, “And Clare?”
Dakota didn’t want either of their attention on her. Not when her eyes burned hot with tears.
Sal had been her friend for four years now. Then there was Josh, who had somehow gotten under her skin the past two days. Seriously, she could hardly believe they’d only just met on Friday night. Now it was nearly Sunday evening.
All kinds of insane stuff had happened, she could hardly process it all. Least of all the fact she’d killed her own father. Josh had stuck with her through it. Even when she ditched him, he’d forced her to explain why.
He made her care.
Because she cared about him.
Whether that would end up being a good thing remained to be seen.
Talia said, “Clare is at large. We have a BOLO out on her description and the car to all the local entities. Considering the level of police presence within fifty miles of Dakota, I’m thinking it won’t take long to get a result.”
“Wait, what—Me?”
Talia chuckled. “Honey, you’re a walking disaster.”
“I didn’t make Clare break those people out of prison.” Just like she wasn’t responsible for all of the deaths that had occurred today. “And I didn’t sell her that VX.”
Sal said, “Let’s get in the car. You guys can argue about whose fault this is while I drive.”
“It’s Clare Norton’s fault.” Dakota pulled the passenger door open.
Josh grinned at her, though she could see the pain on his face, and he climbed in the backseat. “It’s also the responsibility of whoever sold her the VX.”
“Certainly not mine.” She knew she was grumbling.
Sal turned the engine on and the call connected to the Bluetooth. Dakota set her phone on her leg and said, “Which way is she heading, anyway?”
Talia said, “East on highway eleven.”
“So, toward Spokane,” Josh said from the backseat.
“Or anywhere between here and there.” Dakota pressed her lips together. “Or nowhere in particular. Maybe she’ll just drive until she runs out of gas. Then she’ll kill someone else and take their car.”
Not a happy thought, especially considering Talia’s jab that this was Dakota’s fault. They’d been following the intel. It wasn’t like she’d been able to stop their plans, and Clare hadn’t jumped on this just because Dakota showed up.
Maybe she’d escalated the timeline a bit. They had dragged her father into this—with Victoria’s “help.”
Could the speed up in their plans have been prevented? The fact she’d forced Clare to accelerate things might have meant more people died than was necessary, but it also meant Clare was reacting instead of working through a calculated to do list. She was more likely to make a mistake if she was changing things up on the spur of the moment.
Dakota’s mouth tasted bitter at the idea that any of this had happened because of her. That anyone had been hurt because of a decision she’d made. Mrs. Johnson. A farm wife, hopefully happy at home, was now dead. Misty had been shot. Josh had been shot. Neema was hurt. Her own teammate had tried to stop her and Josh from moving forward with the case.
She said, “Have you heard from Niall?”
“Not since he sent me all the photos from the Terrence Crampton crime scene.”
“He wrapped up there?” She saw Sal glance at her for a second before he focused on the road again.
“The medical examiner picked up the body. Niall marked himself as off duty about thirty minutes later.”
“He probably headed to Portland.” Dakota explained about the threat to Patricia and his niece Siobhan. Basically the cutest Irish name ever. As well as being one of the more pronounceable ones. Dakota enjoyed saying, “shuh-vawn.” It was as cute as the girl was. She said a little prayer in her head for their safety.
Sal bit back a curse word.
Dakota grinned. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“Every time I see her, cupcake.”
“Gross.” She shook her head. “Talia, can you check on them?”
“I’ll notify local FBI of the threat. Have a detail put on them.” She paused. “Why did he tell us they were being threatened?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Dakota said. “We’re here to help, aren’t we?”
Josh leaned forward and squeezed her shoulder. She was thankful for his reassurance, but didn’t want Sal to know how close they’d gotten. She could tell him later. Talk to Josh later. Right now there were other things on their priority list.
He said, “Maybe one of Clare’s people is still working, trying to cover her escape?”
“Or the same person who sold Clare the contagion in the first place is the one covering for her. Trying to slow us down,” Dakota suggested.
“The one who runs that dark web server?”
She nodded, even though Talia couldn’t see her. “The inmate we took down said she was doing his bidding, taking his money and working for him. For whatever reason, I don’t even care why.”
Unless knowing Clare’s motivation could give them a clue as to what she was going to do with the rest of the VX.
Dakota continued, “But if he’s waiting for her to complete a certain task, then it stands to reason he’d be helping her. At least somewhat.”
“Maybe.” Sal worked his jaw back and forth.
“It’s the best suggestion we’ve come up with so far.”
“But taking down the seller doesn’t stop the threat. It just stops the money. And anything else he’s planning.”
“Or she.” Dakota fired at him, just because he was right. “You’re right that Clare should be our priority right now. But finding the seller could help us.”
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