Bounty Hunter Honor

“Nadia Penn, it is you, right? It’s Annette, from Michigan?”

“Annette!” Nadia said, hoping she had inherited at least a smidgen of acting ability from Nana Tania. “I haven’t seen you in a million years! You look different. Have you lost weight?”

“Only about fifty pounds.” Lori came in for a hug and whispered in Nadia’s ear, “We’re getting you out of this.” After releasing Nadia from the hug she said, bright and cheerful as could be, “Is this your husband? I thought I heard you were getting married.”

“That must have been a while ago,” Nadia said. “Peter and I are divorced. But we, uh, have a daughter. That’s why we’re, uh…” She was blathering. She had to get control of this thing. Peter, who’d looked merely annoyed by the interruption a moment ago, was starting to frown and turn red.

“Come on, Nad, I do not have all day,” he said. “You can gossip with your girlfriend another time. Denise and Lily are waiting for us in the car.”

“Oh, that Russian accent is so cute,” Lori simpered. “You sound just like Boris Badenov from the Bullwinkle cartoon.”

What in the hell was Lori doing? Nadia wondered wildly. Stalling, maybe, so the team could get into place? She was also making Peter angry. What if he took it out on Lily, or the hapless Denise, whoever she was?

“We really have to go,” Nadia said with as much conviction as she could muster. How far were they from Peter’s car? she wondered. How close was Lily?

“I’ll walk with you,” Lori said, sounding ridiculously perky. “I’d love to see your daughter.”

Peter turned on Lori, his temper erupting. “Why don’t you mind your own business, you stupid cow? This is a private matter.”

“Hey, nice manners.” Lori’s chin jutted out, challenging Peter. “God, Nadia, no wonder you divorced him.”

Without warning, Peter took a swing at Lori and Nadia reflexively screamed. But Lori blocked the blow with amazing agility, Peter’s fist glancing harmlessly off her forearm. Realizing he’d tangled with more than he bargained for, Peter took off running.

Lori started to follow, but Nadia grabbed onto her arm. “No,” she said insistently. “If you chase him, he’ll know you’re not just an old friend.” Nadia watched in despair as her chance to see Lily vanished with Peter as he dodged in and out of the rows of cars.

Lori nodded, seeing the wisdom of Nadia’s logic. “Beau’s out here, too. He’s in his car. He’ll be able to follow Peter.” Even as the words left her mouth, a black Mustang sped past them.

“Peter will know he’s being tailed,” Nadia said.

“Not if we double-team him. Come on, my car’s over here.”

Certain Peter was focused on escape and no longer paying attention to them, Nadia sprinted beside Lori’s long-legged lope. “Why did you do that?” she demanded. “Why did you confront me? He was taking me to see Lily.”

“It was too dangerous, letting Peter take you to his car. Strict orders from Rex not to let you go with him.”

The burning in Nadia’s lungs was the only thing that prevented her from dissolving into tears. She wouldn’t be able to breathe if she started crying, and she had to keep up with Lori. Lori was going to chase Peter, and Nadia couldn’t slow her down.

When they reached Lori’s vehicle, an ancient gray van with mirrored windows, Nadia had her doubts that this old bucket of bolts could catch anything, but she climbed into the passenger seat.

Her doubts about the van melted when Lori started her up. Sounded like she had a souped-up V-8 under the hood. “Batjushki,” she murmured, borrowing one of Nana Tania’s favorite curses. She quickly fastened her seat belt as Lori whipped out of her parking space with a roar and a screech of tires, driving the behemoth as if it were a sports car.

Lori grabbed the CB radio, driving with one hand. “Beau, this is Lori, you read?”

“Ten-four, Blondie. You got Blue Dog here, runnin’ and—”

“Shut up with that stuff. What’s your twenty? Over.”

Beau sounded more serious when he answered. “Heading south on the service road. The target just crossed Augustine Road. Over.”

“What’s he driving? Over.”

“Green Plymouth Reliant, older model. No license plates. You can’t miss it. Over.”

Nadia grabbed the mike out of Lori’s hand. “Beau?”

“Push the button, hon,” Lori said.

Right. “Beau?” she repeated. “This is Nadia. Can you see who’s in the car with him? Um, over.”

There was a pause before he answered. “There’s no one else in the car, just Peter. I got a good look when he almost bashed into me. We’ve hit some traffic now. He’s about five car lengths ahead of me.”

The mike dropped out of Nadia’s hand. There was no one in the car. Lily wasn’t with Peter at all. He’d lied. The implications made her sick to her stomach. Peter had had something else in mind when he’d lured Nadia out here, something other than allowing her to see her daughter. If Lori hadn’t intervened, she would be in Peter’s car right now, under his complete control.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” Nadia said.

“Roll down the window, then, ’cause I’m not stopping.” To prove her point, Lori ran the next light, which was Augustine Road. “Look, I think that’s Beau’s Mustang up ahead. But this damn traffic! Maybe I can turn left under the freeway and find an alternate route.” She veered to the left lane, but it was no use. The traffic had come to a standstill.

Beau cursed over the radio. “He’s going over the median and into the U-turn lane. I’m boxed in, I can’t follow.”

“Neither can I,” Lori moaned. “Rex, are you there? Gavin?”

There was a loud burst of static. Then, “Where the hell are you? What happened? Where’s Nadia?” The angry voice was undeniably Rex’s, and Nadia wanted to dissolve into the van’s tattered upholstery.

“I’ve got Nadia,” Lori said. “She’s safe. Beau has the suspect’s car in his sight. Over.”

“Correction,” Beau interjected. “I had the car in my sight. It’s gone now.”

Rex let loose with a string of curses over the radio. Nadia was sure the FCC would yank his license if they caught him. “We’ll debrief back at the office,” he concluded. “Now.”

Nadia’s whole body burned with shame a few minutes later as she pulled her Volvo into a parking spot next to Lori’s in front of the First Strike offices. When she entered, she saw that Beau, Gavin and Rex were already there, along with a man she didn’t recognize. He was a robust-looking guy in his fifties with a tan and very short, silver hair. All the men were discussing something in hushed voices. They went silent when Nadia joined them, and she imagined they all stared at her with accusing eyes.

Rex opened his mouth, but Nadia beat him to it. “I know, I screwed up.”

“Monumentally.” His face was hard as quartz crystal, his jaw working. She could tell he was forcing himself not to explode. “When I give an order, I expect it to be followed.”

Lori put her hand on Nadia’s arm. “Oh, Rex, shut up. This isn’t the Marines. Peter said he was going to let her see her baby out in the parking lot.”

“I th-thought you would see what was happening,” Nadia added, feeling her excuse was a poor one. He was right to be angry with her—she shouldn’t have gone against the plan they’d laid out.

The older man pulled out a chair for her. “I’m Ace McCullough. You want some coffee? You look a little shaken up.”

“Some water. I can get it.” She started to rise, but Lori pushed her back down in the chair.

“Just sit for a few minutes. I’ll get your water.” She shot an accusing look at her brother as she passed where he sat, perched on the edge of a desk.

Rex took a deep breath, his muscular chest expanding beneath his black T-shirt. Nadia slid out of her windbreaker in deference to the office’s overactive heater.

“Okay,” Rex said in a calmer voice. “Does Peter know Nadia went to someone for help?”