Page 81 of Billion-Dollar Ransom

“WHERE ARE WE going, exactly?”

“We are looking for a car.”

“Something wrong with the one we’re currently using?”

“Sooner or later the owner is going to notice it’s missing. Won’t take long before they realize it was taken within walking distance of—”

“Your top secret hideout?” Boo Schraeder asked, smiling.

God, that smile. It absolutely melted him.

This woman was funny, smart, beautiful, and worth a billion dollars. (Okay, that price tag included her adult stepson and two grade-school stepchildren, but still.) How on earth did a disgraced bruiser ex-cop like Tim Dowd—currently the kidnapper known as Two—wind up with his life hitched to hers?

Two said, “Let’s find something that’s more us .”

“Oh, we have a specific type of car now, do we?”

“Yes. Something luxurious that runs insanely fast.”

Boo laughed. “That sounds about right.”

Two suggested stopping at one of those long-term parking lots near LAX or maybe in nearby El Segundo to do a little car shopping. But Boo countered with posh Manhattan Beach, just a few more miles down the 405.

“The richer the people,” she explained, “the better the selection.”

How could he argue with that? They were far enough away from their near capture in Culver City that Two could breathe a little easier.

Also, he could stop thinking of himself as Two; he’d already told Boo his real name.

Things would be different from now on. He could just be Tim Dowd again.

A man with a future. Possibly one with the most amazing woman he’d ever met.

Boo steered him down Valley Drive and into a quiet, palm-tree-studded neighborhood. The hour was late, so there wasn’t a soul in sight.

“How about that one?” Boo nodded at a 2024 BMW X3. “You know how to boost a Beemer?”

Dowd laughed. “I worked TRAP for years. We had, like, a ninety percent recovery rate.”

“TRAP?”

“The Task Force for Regional Auto Theft Prevention.”

“Everything has an acronym, doesn’t it?” Boo asked. “Did Two stand for something? Maybe ‘The Wild One’?”

Dowd felt his cheeks flush. She was funny and knew how to make him feel like a shy high-school dork. “The BMW looks fancy enough. But does it have the muscle we need?”

“How about muscle that goes a hundred and eighty miles an hour?” Boo asked with an amused smile. “Plus, it’s an SUV. Which, you know, is practical. All leather too. Okay, that’s not so practical. But it also has puncture-resistant tires and a panoramic sunroof.”

“You know a lot about luxury cars.”

“I do a lot of online shopping.”

“Why do we need a sunroof?”

“To see this great land of ours as we cross it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I think once we change cars, we should just keep driving. You wanted a fresh start, right?”

Dowd stared at her. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?