Before she had a chance to reply, he disconnected and turned his phone off.
Nate glanced over at Quinn. “Sounds like the party just got hijacked.”
“It certainly does,” Quinn said.
“By The Wolf.”
“Apparently.”
They were silent for a few moments.
“So if he wants her in Minneapolis by seven,” Nate said, “and the meeting’s at nine, then, assuming they have to do some ground traveling when they arrive, wherever we’re headed can’t be much more than an hour and a half’s flight away from Minnesota.”
Quinn nodded. The direction they were headed narrowed the choices down to somewhere in an area consisting of western Illinois, most of Missouri, eastern Kansas, and the northeast corner of Oklahoma.
He figured that St. Louis, the biggest city in the target area, was probably their destination, but less than fifteen minutes later, the ambulance transitioned onto the I-72 westbound, knocking St. Louis out of the running.
Conversation in the other car had dropped to almost zero.
“How much battery life did your phone have left when you gave it to me?” Quinn asked.
“Not sure. Maybe eighty percent.”
Both phones had already been on and active for a few hours, and while Quinn’s had been plugged in as they drove, Nate’s had not. If the battery ran out of juice, they’d lose the ability to even passively track it.
Quinn hesitated a moment longer, and then disconnected the call.
CHAPTER 34
Orlando had Daeng take them to Nate’s house in the Hollywood Hills. Technically, it was Quinn’s, but he’d moved in with her in San Francisco and had allowed Nate to use the property rent free. Nate had, in turn, let Daeng use one of the guest rooms.
“So this is the famous L.A. bachelor lair,” Ananke said as they walked inside. “I’ve heard so much about it.” She looked at Orlando, an eyebrow raised. “Tell me, is this where Quinn made his move on you?”
And I was just beginning to tolerate her, Orlando thought.
Stifling the string of obscenities that wanted to leap from her lips, she asked Daeng, “First-aid kit still in the same place?”
“Yeah,” he said.
While Orlando was grabbing the kit out of the closet by the bathroom, the muscles in her lower abdomen contracted. She latched on to the shelf to keep from staggering, and took a few deep, quiet breaths. When the pain subsided enough for her to walk again, she returned to the living room.
Orlando sat next to Helen on the couch. The woman was clearly exhausted, but the dazed look she’d had in her eyes when they first found her was gone. Now there was only anger.
Using a damp towel Ananke had brought in from the kitchen, Orlando started to clean the dried blood from the director’s face.
“You don’t have to do that,” Helen said.
“I know,” Orlando replied.
“Did you get her?” Helen asked.
“Who?”
“Nanou Deschamps.”
“I don’t know who that is.”
“The Wolf. Did you get her?”
Orlando shook her head. “She wasn’t there.”
Helen stared off in the distance for a moment before turning back to Orlando. “Tell me what’s happening.”
Two hours later, weakened from her ordeal but out for blood, Helen flew north to San Francisco.
When the ambulance stopped to refuel in Hannibal, Missouri, Quinn and Nate did the same at a station a block away. While Nate filled the tank, Quinn walked down the street and found a place where he could watch the others without being noticed.
The driver was out of the vehicle, pumping gas. After a few moments, the ambulance’s back door opened and another guy got out. He shared a few words with the driver before heading toward the snack shop.
When the driver returned the nozzle to the pump, the third man got out and stretched. He was the one who’d been shielded from view back at the building in Broadview, so this was the first time Quinn was able to get a good look at him.
Suddenly, Dani’s disappearance at the roadblock in Washington made more sense. Quinn knew this guy. Orlando had forwarded him the man’s picture the night before.
Ananke’s hunter friend.
Ricky Orbits.
Thank God the ambulance had a good air conditioner, because even with the sun down, it was still blazing hot and sticky outside. Orbits let the thing run at full blast for a while after they left Hannibal before finally turning it down again.
He should be happy, he thought. He was on the cusp of receiving a fifty-million-dollar payday. He already had the account number for where half was waiting. He’d checked, and it was all there. The only problem was that it was time locked to prevent him from transferring it into one of his own accounts until 9:01 a.m. the following morning, and only after The Wolf gave a final authorization.
She could be tricky in her way, and he could be tricky in his. He was going to get a kick out of handing the girl to her within miles of her ultimate destination. No doubt, the woman would fly the girl somewhere else to question her. By the time The Wolf discovered the truth, Orbits would have already taken whatever was of value at the location and gotten the hell out of there. The only thing he would have to worry about for the rest of his life was whether or not he was getting too much sun as he lay on the beach of some tropical paradise. He just needed to get the combo out of the girl.
“Boss,” Parnell called from the back. “She’s waking up.”
Orbits unlatched his seat belt and worked his way to the rear of the ambulance.
Moaning, she moved her head side to side in a slow roll. Her whole body began to tense in a stretch, but when she knocked against the straps holding her down, she stopped and opened her eyes.
“Evening, princess,” Orbits said. “I trust you had a nice, comfortable sleep.”
Even though she was tied down, she lunged at him, rocking the gurney.
“Careful, sweetheart. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
She settled back, seething.
“Let me tell you what’s going to happen,” he said, smiling. “A nice lady with lots of money has shown a real interest in you. In the morning, she’s going to give me some of that cash and I’m going to give her you. She calls herself The Wolf. That familiar to you?”
He could see that it was.
“You know how much she’s paying? Fifty million. That’s dollars. Not bad, huh? I bet it’s even some kind of record.” He paused. “I wonder if Guinness keeps track of that.”
Again, she lunged. This time the gurney popped from one of its holds and moved a few inches toward Orbits. He jerked back, ramming his head into an equipment cabinet.
“You bitch! You think you’re so damn smart.” He wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed. “But guess what? I know your secret. I know about the numbers under your tongue. Who’s the clever one now, huh?”
He shoved her down and let go, then returned to his seat up front to the sounds of her coughs.
“Everything all right?” Stafford asked.
“Everything’s fine,” Orbits said, shutting down any further conversation.
Only it wasn’t fine. He had just screwed up big time. He should have never told her he’d found the numbers. She could tell The Wolf right after he handed her over and he’d have to kiss whatever treasure she had hidden good-bye.
Dammit, dammit, dammit!
He would have to do something to rectify the situation. At the very least, drug the girl so she wouldn’t wake up for a day or two. Of course, The Wolf wouldn’t be pleased by that. Maybe she’d even refuse to authorize the final payment.