Son.
Of.
A.
Bitch.
As they neared Kansas City, Quinn thought the others would be exiting the interstate soon, but the ambulance passed right through the center of the city and headed west into Kansas.
“Where the hell are they going?” Nate asked.
“We’ve got Lawrence and Topeka coming up,” Quinn said, after a quick check of the map. “After that it’s a long haul through farm country to Denver.”
“If we keep going much longer, you’re going to have to take over.”
Quinn looked at his partner. “You need me to drive now?”
There was no missing the exhaustion in Nate’s eyes. “I’m good for a little while longer.”
“Pull over.”
“I’m okay.”
“Pull over.”
With a resigned nod, Nate eased the car onto the shoulder. By the time they were on the road again, the ambulance was nearly a mile ahead.
They passed through Lawrence and soon after were driving through Topeka. By that point Nate was more asleep than awake, so when Quinn’s phone vibrated in his partner’s hand, Nate jerked and nearly dropped it.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “It’s, um, Orlando.”
“Speaker.”
As Nate hit the button, Quinn increased their speed to be back in sight of the ambulance in a few minutes.
“Don’t tell me you’re still following them,” she said.
“Driving through Topeka, Kansas, right now,” Quinn told her.
“If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll come all the way to California.”
“I’m not sure I’d call that luck,” Nate said, trying to stifle a yawn.
“How’s Helen?” Quinn asked. He’d been less than pleased earlier when Orlando told him about the rescue, but begrudgingly had to admit she, Daeng, and Ananke had done the right thing.
“Haven’t heard from her since she got back to San Francisco.”
“What have you guys been doing, then?”
“Sleeping mostly. Nate, just an FYI. Ananke is using your bed so you might want to burn it.”
“Noted,” Nate said.
“The others are still asleep?” Quinn asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“I had a few hours but I’m awake now. Thought I’d see what was going on with you.”
Quinn frowned. “Is everything all right?”
“Of course everything’s all right. Why wouldn’t it be all right?” She paused. “Oh, unless you mean the baby. I delivered a few hours ago. Should I have called you?”
“Hilarious,” he said. “Seriously, though, how are you feeling?”
“Annoyed that you keep asking me that every time we talk.”
The city was beginning to fall away, leaving only the great plains in front of them. Quinn eased around a big rig, thinking they should now be able to pick out the distinctive taillights of the ambulance. But while he could see lights of trucks and passenger cars, he didn’t see the ambulance.
Orlando was in the middle of saying something when Quinn blurted out, “Hang on.” He glanced at Nate. “Check their location.”
Nate put Orlando on hold and switched to the tracking app. A short pause, then, “They turned off.”
“Where?” Quinn asked.
“Back in Topeka.”
Quinn made a fast U-turn through the grass-covered center meridian and raced into the eastbound lanes.
“They’re in the north part of the city, across the Kansas River,” Nate said.
“Still moving?”
“Yes.”
“Where do I exit?”
“Checking.” Nate studied the screen for a moment. “First Avenue. It’s about three miles ahead.”
“Put Orlando back on.”
Nate took her off hold.
“What’s going on?” she said.
“Our friends left the interstate in Topeka.”
“Stopping?”
“Unclear.”
“Tell me as soon as you know.”
“I will.”
Orlando hung up and stared out the large window that overlooked the Los Angeles basin. The city lay before her like a brightly glowing carpet but she saw none of it, her thoughts focused on Quinn and Nate.
Though both men were extremely competent, there were only two of them. That would have been fine if they just had to worry about the men in the ambulance, but the auction meant others would likely soon be showing up.
Despite those odds, she knew Quinn would still try to rescue Dani.
She phoned her Los Angeles transportation contact. Once arrangements were made, she went downstairs and woke Daeng and Ananke.
By the time Quinn took the First Avenue off-ramp, the ambulance was already out of town, continuing north on Highway 4. The road was a single lane in each direction, but traffic was light. Quinn pushed their speed a bit above the limit.
“They’re slowing,” Nate said.
“Where?”
“Three and a half miles ahead. Yeah, they’re definitely stopping.”
Though Orbits needed to find someplace to hold the exchange before calling it a night, there was no way he would be able to sleep until he made a stop at Danielle Chad’s mysterious location. What he didn’t want, however, was for Stafford and Parnell to come along.
To that end, he had them drop him off near a small neighborhood so he could score his own ride, telling them he’d call when he was ready for them to pick him up. It wasn’t the perfect location to steal a car, but it was the best they’d seen so far.
The first house had a couple of trucks and an old Dodge Charger. The second, a minivan and another pickup. But the third had exactly what he needed, a late-model Ford C-Max hybrid. It barely made a sound when he started it up and pulled into the road.
As he neared the intersection with the highway, he saw the lights of a car heading his way from the south. It slowed, making him think it was going to turn onto his road, but then it increased its speed again and continued past his position, passing under the street lamp at the corner.
He stared after it in disbelief. The man behind the wheel was Quinn, and the place where he had slowed was the exact same place Orbits had been dropped off.
How did that son of a bitch end up here? Unless…
Clearly, he was the one who had bugged the girl, and given that he was still on Orbits’s tail, he must have put more than one tracker on her.
Orbits put the battery back in his phone and dialed Stafford as he pulled onto the highway.
“That was quick,” Stafford said. “You want us to pick you—”
“Listen,” Orbits said. “You need to get a new vehicle right now. You’re being followed.”
“Are you sure?”
“Hell, yes, I’m sure. The girl must have another homing beacon on her. Leave everything she’s got on in the ambulance. If you get caught, none of us gets paid. Understand?”
Quinn slowed as they approached the spot where the others had paused.
“Are you sure this is it?” he asked.
“Positive,” Nate said.
There were several houses ahead on the other side of the highway, but that was it. Nothing obvious to explain why they’d stopped.
Quinn increased their speed again and continued down the highway.
“They’re turning,” Nate said a few moments later. “Heading east on Eighty-sixth Street.”
Eighty-sixth turned out to be dirt, the surface creating a rhythmic rattle throughout the car, forcing Quinn to slow.
“What could possibly be out here?” Nate asked. “Safe house?”
“That’s as good a guess as any,” Quinn replied.