Page 28 of Final Exit

He shifted in his seat to face the front and reached for his seat belt.

“No. No seat belt.”

He couldn’t help but smile. Without a seat belt, he couldn’t risk the old trick of unclickingherbelt and slamming the brakes once they were traveling at a high rate of speed. A woman as cunning as Bailey could go far in the FBI. Too bad she’d wasted her considerable talents on a life of crime.

Noting that she’d finally moved her finger off the trigger, he let out a small breath of relief. Without waiting for her next order, he backed out of the parking space and drove toward the front of the lot. “Where to?”

“I-25 South.”

Soon they were on the interstate.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Colorado Springs. We’re going to find Hawke.”

Chapter Nine

Saturday, 2:51 p.m.

She should have taken a nap.

Bailey squinted against the bright afternoon sunlight slanting through the Mustang’s windshield as Kade drove them down the interstate. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open because of the glare. Well, that and she hadn’t slept since Thursday night, which meant she’d been up for about forty hours, give or take.

Her right wrist ached from holding the gun, even though it was propped against her thigh. Curling up on the seat for a nap sounded like heaven. But she didn’t dare let down her guard.

She did, however, turn the bore of the pistol slightly to Kade’s right and kept her finger off the trigger. After all, she didn’t want to accidentally shoot him if the car went over a bump. And pointing it at him the whole time somehow seemed... rude.

Settling back against the seat, she checked to make sure he wasn’t watching, then allowed herself the luxury of closing her eyes for one, glorious, restful second.

“We’re in Colorado Springs,” Kade announced.

Bailey jerked upright, blinking her eyes. “What?”

“We’ve reached the city limits.”

She blinked again. They were in Colorado Springs already? She’djustclosed her eyes. Could she have dozed off? She jerked her gun hand up, then slumped with relief to see that she was still holding her Sig Sauer 9mm.

She covered her mouth to conceal a yawn. Shereallyneeded some caffeine. Maybe they should go through a fast food drive-thru and grab a supersized soda. Or a Red Bull. The last caffeinated drink she’d had was shortly before dawn when she’d taken her go bag into a convenience-store bathroom to change her clothes and brush her teeth. The soda and stale muffin she’d bought on her way out weren’t doing a thing for her now.

“We’ve reached the city limits,” he said again.

“I heard you the first time,” she grumbled, rubbing her bleary eyes.

“You snore, by the way.”

She gasped. “I do not.”

He didn’t argue. “Where to now?”

She narrowed her eyes. Something wasn’t right about what he’d said. And if she wasn’t so darn sleepy, she’d know what it was.

“No texts about Hawke from your men yet?” she asked.

He yanked his cell phone out of its holder and held it out to her.

“You check it. I’m not about to let you distract me.” She yawned again.

He put the phone away.