Logan glanced out the window. They were in the desert again, the vast brown landscape seeming to go on forever.
There was so much to think about, to process. He’d seen enough of the bad in the world to know that people like Dr. Paskota existed. He just didn’t want to believe it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a choice.
“Now you know why we had to run,” Diana said, breaking the silence. “And why we’ll need to continue running once we have Emily. What other choice do we have?”
Logan couldn’t think of one.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
“Here comes another one,” Pep said, checking the rearview mirror of Dev’s Cherokee.
Barney watched the car go by on their left. “No, not them.”
The two men had left Braden forty-five minutes earlier. Barney had made it clear he was less than keen on the idea of Pep driving. In his opinion, Pep should have stayed at the motel. Barney had said he could do this on his own, but Pep wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Maybe we left too late,” Barney said, worried.
“We didn’t,” Pep said. He’d been the one who talked to Logan right before they hit the road, and knew that Logan was somehow able to track the other car.
When he was given the go signal, the other car apparently had been fifteen minutes behind them. Keeping their speed just below the sixty-five-miles-per-hour limit, Pep figured that the others would probably pass him and Barney somewhere in the next fifteen to twenty minutes.
He’d made sure Barney started checking early in case his calculation was wrong, and so that Barney could get some practice at not being obvious when he looked at the other cars. The old doc was getting better at it, but he still needed to refine his method.
“Act like you’re talking to me,” Pep suggested.
“That’s what I’m doing,” Barney said.
“Then actually do it. Say something.” Pep glanced at the mirror again. A blue minivan was pulling out to go around them. “Try it on this one.”
Barney shifted once more in his seat. “So, um, it’s…pretty…hot outside.” As soon as the van passed, he added, “Not them.” He turned back to the front.
“You know what?” Pep said. “Just keep looking at me even if there aren’t any cars. It’ll seem more natural that way. We can talk about whatever you want.”
“I don’t want to talk about anything. I want to find Harp.”
“Let’s talk about that, then.”
“What’s there to talk about?” Barney said. He looked at Pep, exasperated. “He’s gone. If I hadn’t fallen asleep, maybe none of this would have happened.”
“And how, exactly, would your staying awake have kept him from being taken?”
“I…I…I would have known sooner. Maybe we could have done something.”
“Like what?” Pep checked the mirror. Two more cars were coming.
“I don’t know!”
“Exactly. We’re doing everything we can to-”
“Harp!” Barney shouted.
He started to raise his hand to point, but Pep quickly grabbed it and pushed it back down.
“Which car?” Pep asked.
“The second one. The gray one. See? That’s him in the back on the left. I’d recognize his hair anywhere.”
Pep let the other car pull ahead, then he started to gradually increase the Cherokee’s speed. It was okay if the sedan pulled away a little. He knew which one it was now and would catch up.
“I counted four people inside,” Pep said. “How about you?”
“Yes, four. Two in front, two in back.” Barney leaned forward anxiously. “Hurry up, we’re going to lose them.”
“No, we’re not.” Pep grabbed his phone, put it on speaker, and conferenced in both Logan and Dev. “They just went by us.”
“Did you see my dad?” Logan asked.
“Yeah, he’s in the backseat.”
“Did he look okay?”
“He was sitting up, but staring out the other window. I couldn’t see his face very well,” Barney said.
“Were his eyes at least open?”
“I think so.”
“Okay, where are you guys?”
“About fifty miles west of Braden,” Pep said.
“How about you, Dev?” Logan asked.
“I should hit Braden in about fifteen minutes,” Dev announced. “Making pretty good time so far.”
“We’re about ten minutes behind you,” Logan said. “Stay on them, Pep. Don’t let them out of your sight.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
“Is that it?” Erica asked.
The old man looked out the window at the house they were driving slowly past.
“Mr. Harper, is that it?” she repeated.
“I…I don’t know. I think so. I wasn’t driving so I wasn’t paying attention.”
She scowled, and turned back around.
It didn’t really matter if the man didn’t recognize it. According to the address her researcher had found, this was the house where Sara’s husband was supposed to live.
A tricycle was parked along the driveway so a young child did live there, one who would be around the same age as the baby girl Sara had.
“Doesn’t look like anyone is home,” Clausen said.
“He’s probably still at work,” she said.
“What do you want me to do?” Markle asked from behind the wheel.
“Go around the block one more time. Let’s see if we can find a quiet place where we can wait.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
“They just parked at a school,” Pep said into the phone.
“It’s in the same neighborhood where Alan lives,” Barney chimed in, his voice louder than it needed to be.
“They’re just sitting there?” Logan asked.
“They were a moment ago,” Pep said. “There was no good place to watch them from so we’re a few blocks away.”
“Okay. Let me think for a second.”
The line went silent.
“We need to get Harp,” Barney said to Pep, his voice lower now.
“We will,” Pep whispered back.
“Maybe we can distra-”
“Okay,” Logan said, coming back on. “Here’s what I want you to do. Find someplace to park near Alan’s but not in direct sight. Then, if you feel up to it, Pep, I want the two of you to stroll around. It’s not likely they’ll recognize either of you, so you should be able to keep an eye on things. Barney, show him exactly where Alan’s house is.”
“Should we try to see if we can get Harp out, too?” Barney asked.
“No! It’s too dangerous for just the two of you. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Pep said.
“Okay, good. Call me the moment anything happens.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
“Why?” Alan had asked.
“I don’t have all the details,” Callie had told him. “Only that we were right. Sara is in trouble. But it’s more than just her. The people who are after her want Emily, too.”
“Emily? Why would they want Emily?”
Callie hadn’t had the answer for that, either. “I have a cabin in Big Bear. Take her up there. Don’t call anyone. Don’t tell anyone. I’ll have the management company I use leave a key under the mat.”
Since Sara had left, Alan had felt useless. Even though he didn’t admit it to himself at the time, he knew right after he read her note that she needed help. Later, when he really thought about it, he realized he should have known even before then.
It had been little things, moments when he’d caught her off guard, staring at the wall or the ground or nothing at all, a look of despair on her face. He knew it wasn’t him, that it couldn’t be him. She loved him so much. She told him that every day, not just in words, but in each touch and smile and glance. These were enough for him to dismiss her half-hidden anguish and moments of panic.
He was Sara’s husband, dammit. He should have pushed to find out what was wrong. He should have done everything in his power to help her before she left, not after. But he’d failed her, and now, if he made a mistake, he would fail Emily, too.