Tracked Through the Woods, page 9
“Five minutes,” was his curt response. “My office is this way.”
They followed him down a hallway, passing several other offices along the way. Associates, no doubt.
Twain gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. He sat, facing them. “What’s this about Gardner’s death being related to his clients?”
“I have reason to believe there is a source inside the FBI working with the top players in organized crime. This man was working with the Marcheses, but now that they have been arrested, he is likely working with their rival, Johnny Raffa. I was planning to discuss this matter with Jerome Gardner yesterday, I left a phone message for him, but obviously that’s impossible now.” Wyatt leaned forward. “Are you planning to take on Tony and Franco Marchese as clients? Because if so, you’re in danger, too.”
Abby found herself holding her breath as Kevin Twain drummed his fingers on the glossy desk while staring at Wyatt.
“I will not be taking Tony and Franco on as clients,” he said, breaking the silence.
She tried to mask her disappointment.
“May I ask why not?” Wyatt asked. “Are you handing the case over to an associate, instead?”
“No, our firm is no longer representing either man.” Kevin Twain paused, then added, “I learned this morning that they were found dead in their respective jail cells.”
She sucked in a harsh breath. “Dead? When? How?”
Attorney Twain glanced at her, then back at Wyatt. “Supposedly they committed suicide. But based on what I’m hearing now, I’m sure they were murdered. Just like my partner, Jerry.”
“Would you be willing to share any information your partner may have gotten from the Marcheses? I’m mostly interested if they mentioned working with someone specific within the Bureau. Obviously, whoever is involved is ruthlessly killing anyone who may threaten to expose him.”
Twain grimaced. “I wish I could, but attorney-client privilege remains even after death.” He hesitated, then added, “I will tell you that Jerry never mentioned anything like that to me. We had status update meetings once a week, and if that was something he was aware of, he would have mentioned it, because it would have impacted how he was handling their cases.”
“Thank you for letting me know.” Wyatt reached across the desk to grab a pen and sticky note. “I’m going to leave my phone number with you, and that of Sheriff Liam Harland from Green Lake, Wisconsin. If you find anything within Jerry’s notes about a source inside law enforcement, federal or local, I would appreciate knowing that.” He sighed. “I want to prevent anyone else from being murdered.”
Kevin Twain nodded, reaching for the note. “I will. There may be a way around the privilege if I find evidence of an ongoing crime.”
“Thanks.” Wyatt glanced at her and stood. She followed suit. “Again, we appreciate your time.”
Kevin stood, too, but called out as they headed for the door. “Agent Kane? Be careful.”
Wyatt glanced somberly over his shoulder. “We will.”
“I can’t believe they’re dead,” she whispered as they rode the elevator back down to the lobby level.
“Yeah, although I shouldn’t be surprised.” He took her hand. “Anyone ruthless enough to kill a lawyer isn’t going to balk at killing two prisoners.”
“I get it, but how are we going to get the proof you need?” She tried not to sound as dejected as she felt. For every step forward, they were shoved three steps back. At this rate, they’d never get to the truth.
“We’ll find a way. I also think Kevin Twain will go through Jerome’s files. If there’s something in there, I’m confident he’ll let us know.”
She hoped he was right. When they reached the lobby, Wyatt held her back long enough to scan the area for threats. Then he tugged on her hand, indicating she could step out.
“Okay, I need to make sure the hoodie guy isn’t still outside.” Wyatt kept his tone low, as there were other people in the lobby now, all dressed professionally, which would help the hoodie guy stand out. “Stay behind me.”
“I will.” Releasing his hand, she latched on to the back of his jacket. She was keenly aware of how several of the pedestrians in the lobby looked curiously at them.
So much for trying to keep a low profile.
Her pulse kicked up as Wyatt headed to the side entrance they’d used just fifteen minutes ago.
It had only taken a quarter of an hour for their quest for truth to hit a brick wall.
Wyatt stayed to one side as he peered through the glass door. A second later, he gently pushed her backward. “He’s still out there.”
Not good. Wyatt eased her away from the door to the main lobby. This time, he went in the opposite direction, to the northern doorway.
She held her breath as he slipped up to the door and peered out. Long seconds passed before he turned to glance at her.
“I don’t see anyone lurking nearby, but that doesn’t mean much. Once we’re outside, we need to blend into the crowd as soon as possible.”
“Understood.” She steadied her nerves. “Ready when you are.”
He looked again for a long moment before pushing the door open. Still holding tightly to his jacket, she followed.
They’d only taken a few steps before Wyatt urgently whispered, “Run!”
The sidewalk to their right contained several people, so she didn’t hesitate to head that way.
Desperately praying there wouldn’t be another crack of gunfire.
* * *
The moment Wyatt caught a glimpse of a man wearing a black leather jacket, he realized the entire office building had been under surveillance from all sides.
Keeping himself behind Abby, he all but pushed her toward the crowded sidewalk.
He heard the pounding of footsteps behind him. Rather than shooting at them, the leather jacket guy was following!
“He’s behind us. Find another building.”
Abby nodded and picked up the pace. Thankfully, she was fast and easily wove between pedestrians. Several complained loudly, but they ignored the irate comments.
Abby made an abrupt turn into another office building. Wyatt quickly followed her lead.
“This way.” He gestured for her to head straight to the back of the building. She didn’t hesitate to push through the door. Close on her heels, he glanced around. There was no sign of hoodie or leather jacket yet, but he had to assume there were two other unknown assailants out there. There had likely been four guys total watching each side of the Dettmer office building.
They couldn’t slow down now.
Abby read his mind about the need to keep moving. She quickly turned right to join another group of pedestrians.
“Keep up the good work,” he whispered as they merged with the others.
She nodded and broke into a run. He remained close behind her, wishing he could wrap her in bulletproof gear from head to toe.
Abby darted into a restaurant next, leading him through the kitchen. He was glad she was experienced in evasive techniques, no doubt learned from her father over the years.
“We can’t stop yet,” he urged as they continued along another sidewalk. He tried to bring a map of downtown Chicago to the forefront of his mind. “There’s a park up on the left. That will be a good place to look for a taxi.”
“Okay.” She sounded breathless but didn’t slow down. He risked a glance over his shoulder.
From what he could see, no one was following them.
So far, so good.
Abby put on a burst of speed to get through the next crosswalk. Then she veered to the left.
The park wasn’t big enough to hide in for long. He followed Abby to the other side, where she finally slowed down.
“Is this okay?” she asked, between gulping breaths.
“Yeah.” He quickly scanned the street. The good thing about Chicago was there were always cabs around. “Up ahead, see the taxi? Let’s grab it.”
She nodded and rushed forward, raising her arm to grab the driver’s attention. He nodded and eased forward. Then he unlocked the doors.
Abby scrambled inside as Wyatt slid in right next to her. “Can you take us to the Fresh Family Restaurant?” He thought for a minute, then added the address. “And there’s no rush.”
“Of course.” The driver glanced at them in his rearview mirror, obviously curious about the sweat beading their brow from their mad race through the city followed by the lack of urgency in getting to the restaurant.
He wasn’t about to explain.
“Thank you.” For the first time since leaving the Dettmer office building, Wyatt relaxed against the seat.
They’d made it!
Abby leaned close, speaking in his ear. “All that and we haven’t learned anything helpful.”
“I know.” He understood and shared her frustration. With Tony and Franco dead, his boss could continue with business as usual.
He couldn’t keep investigating the case alone for much longer. At some point, he’d have to trust Larry Turks, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office.
Yet, without something tangible, he feared Turks would ignore him. Or worse, believe Hawthorne’s lies that he was the one taking money from the Marchese crime family.
It was difficult to prove a negative. Especially now that both Marchese men were dead.
His only hope was to find Abby’s father. Something he knew she wanted, too.
And if that didn’t work?
No, don’t go there. He straightened in his seat, refusing to accept defeat. They would find Peter Miller.
They had to find him.
When the taxi driver stopped at the next light, he caught a glimpse of the guy wearing a black leather jacket. He turned his back toward the window, cupped Abby’s head and drew her in for a kiss.
She seemed surprised but melted against him in a way that made his head spin. On some distant level he knew she’d be upset that he’d kissed her to hide their faces from leather jacket guy, but that wasn’t enough to make him stop.
He’d dreamed of kissing her again since yesterday.
He didn’t want to ever stop.
The taxi lurched forward. He forced himself to break off from the kiss, but continued holding Abby close.
“Don’t be mad, but I caught a glimpse of leather jacket guy at the intersection back there.”
Despite his request not to be angry, she stiffened. “That’s why you kissed me?”
“Abby.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “I always want to kiss you. But yes, the timing was because of the guy. I assume the men who were watching the office building spread out to see if they could find us.”
She stared, her bright blue gaze accusing. “You could have told me so I could hide my face against your chest.”
“Yeah, I could have.” He shrugged, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. “But kissing you was more fun.”
“This isn’t about fun!” She kept her voice low so the driver couldn’t hear. “Next time let me know what’s going on!”
“Okay, I hear you.” A pang of regret hit hard. Maybe she hadn’t enjoyed the kiss as much as he had. Although her response to the kiss seemed to indicate otherwise. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the situation.”
“It’s fine.”
He risked a glance through both side windows, but didn’t see hoodie or leather jacket. He hoped that meant they’d lost them.
“Excuse me, would you mind heading to a hotel, instead?” Wyatt met the driver’s gaze. “It’s about five miles from here.” He gave him the name of the hotel where they’d spent the night.
“Sure, why not?” The man smirked as if imagining the were heading there for a quick liaison. Wyatt didn’t intend to correct his erroneous assumption.
“Thanks.” Wyatt lowered his mouth toward Abby’s ear. “We’ll get another taxi from the hotel to the restaurant, just to be on the safe side.”
“Fine with me.” She peered around him to look out the window, too. “I assume it’s safe to sit back now?”
“Ah, yeah.” He reluctantly released her. If the driver noticed the sudden coolness between them, he didn’t comment.
When they reached the hotel, he paid the man in cash, including a large tip. He also surreptitiously keyed in the 800 number painted on the side of the taxi. Once the driver left, he drew Abby toward the side of the building.
“We need to wait a few minutes before calling another taxi, or the same guy might show up.” He showed her his phone. “I took down the toll-free number.”
“I understand.” She didn’t look him directly in the eye, her gaze focused on the traffic moving up and down the street. “I hope the SUV is safe,” she added. “We weren’t planning to leave it at the restaurant for this long.”
“I know.” It would put a serious dent in his cash reserves if he had to get the vehicle out of a boot, a contraption used by the city to lock up car tires of vehicles illegally parked. It was easier than towing them to another location and cost a couple of hundred bucks to get removed.
He forced himself to wait at least fifteen minutes before calling the number to request a taxi. He was promised one would arrive in five to ten minutes.
“I can’t wait to get out of Chicago,” Abby said. “I hope these guys don’t follow us all the way back to Green Lake.”
“We should be safe once we’re on the interstate.” Even as he spoke, he continued watching for potential threats. “They staked out the Dettmer office building because they don’t have our vehicle information.” He grimaced. “And they knew we’d show up there to talk to Kevin Twain.”
“That’s somewhat reassuring.” She frowned. “I just hope he’s not in danger.”
“I don’t think he’s a target now that Tony and Franco are dead.” He saw a taxi two blocks down, making its way toward them. “Here’s our ride.”
Thankfully, this driver was a woman. He opened the door for Abby, then scooted in beside her. He asked the driver to take them to the Fresh Family Restaurant, and she seemed to know right where it was.
Wyatt wished he could relax, but his nerves were still on edge. Seeing the leather jacket guy so far from the Dettmer office building made him wonder how far the men, all four of them he assumed, had spread out their search.
Traffic was its usual mess. Their driver was more conservative in threading through the vehicles, unlike most taxi drivers in the city.
When he finally saw the restaurant up ahead, he considered asking the driver to let them out here so they could walk the rest of the way.
Then changed his mind. Better to remain in the taxi for as long as possible.
The driver pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. He paid her, then followed Abby out of the car.
To his relief, no boot was on their vehicle. Still, the restaurant wasn’t nearly as far from the office building as he’d have liked.
“Get in. I need a minute to check it out.”
“Okay.” She didn’t argue.
After glancing around one last time, he searched for a tracking device. He made his way to the front of the car, and froze when he saw it.
Pulling the device off the vehicle, he stared in shock. Somehow the men outside the office building had discovered this was their vehicle. How, he had no idea.
He quickly attached the device to another car, then got behind the wheel. “We need to get out of here.”
“Why?” Abby’s eyes widened with concern.
“Those guys from the office building put a tracker on the car. They know what we’re driving.” He quickly backed out of the parking spot and merged into traffic.
How long before he picked up a tail? Moving the tracker wasn’t enough, not if they had his plate number.
He needed a plan, ASAP. Before more bullets began to fly.
NINE
“How did they know what we were driving?” After escaping the four men stationed around the Dettmer office building, Abby had hoped they would be able to head straight to Green Lake to find her father.
Obviously, she’d been wrong.
“I don’t know for sure, but the Wisconsin license plates may have been a clue.” His expression was grim as he navigated toward the interstate. “They may have decided to track several cars, figuring we’d be in one of them. They also knew we went to the office building on foot. It’s not a stretch for them to think the SUV belonged to us. Especially if they had someone run the plates to discover it’s registered to Green Lake County. Unfortunately, my boss has many resources at his disposal.”
She swallowed hard, the very real threat they were facing overshadowing her annoyance over the way he’d kissed her. “What can we do? Ditch the car?”
“It might be better to swap the license plate with another SUV.” Wyatt glanced at her. “I don’t want to waste our cash to buy a replacement.”
“We can ask Liam for help.”
“I’m not going to risk bringing more bad guys all the way to Green Lake.” Wyatt sighed, then added, “Not on purpose, anyway. I’ll find someplace to get a new license plate once we’re back in Wisconsin.”
“Maybe it’s better to do that here, in Illinois,” she pointed out. “That way the tolls won’t register this license plate number at all.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s a good point. I guess that means we should head for the airport.”
“That’s a good idea. By the time they discover a plate missing, we’ll be long gone.”
“That’s the goal.” He flashed a wry grin. “Never thought I’d be the one breaking the law.”
“It’s for a good reason.” She reached over to squeeze his arm. As much as she’d been hurt by knowing he’d only kissed her to hide their faces, she couldn’t stay mad at him. Especially when he claimed he always wanted to kiss her. She felt herself blush, and did her best to stay focused. “I know you wouldn’t normally do this sort of thing.”
They followed him down a hallway, passing several other offices along the way. Associates, no doubt.
Twain gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. He sat, facing them. “What’s this about Gardner’s death being related to his clients?”
“I have reason to believe there is a source inside the FBI working with the top players in organized crime. This man was working with the Marcheses, but now that they have been arrested, he is likely working with their rival, Johnny Raffa. I was planning to discuss this matter with Jerome Gardner yesterday, I left a phone message for him, but obviously that’s impossible now.” Wyatt leaned forward. “Are you planning to take on Tony and Franco Marchese as clients? Because if so, you’re in danger, too.”
Abby found herself holding her breath as Kevin Twain drummed his fingers on the glossy desk while staring at Wyatt.
“I will not be taking Tony and Franco on as clients,” he said, breaking the silence.
She tried to mask her disappointment.
“May I ask why not?” Wyatt asked. “Are you handing the case over to an associate, instead?”
“No, our firm is no longer representing either man.” Kevin Twain paused, then added, “I learned this morning that they were found dead in their respective jail cells.”
She sucked in a harsh breath. “Dead? When? How?”
Attorney Twain glanced at her, then back at Wyatt. “Supposedly they committed suicide. But based on what I’m hearing now, I’m sure they were murdered. Just like my partner, Jerry.”
“Would you be willing to share any information your partner may have gotten from the Marcheses? I’m mostly interested if they mentioned working with someone specific within the Bureau. Obviously, whoever is involved is ruthlessly killing anyone who may threaten to expose him.”
Twain grimaced. “I wish I could, but attorney-client privilege remains even after death.” He hesitated, then added, “I will tell you that Jerry never mentioned anything like that to me. We had status update meetings once a week, and if that was something he was aware of, he would have mentioned it, because it would have impacted how he was handling their cases.”
“Thank you for letting me know.” Wyatt reached across the desk to grab a pen and sticky note. “I’m going to leave my phone number with you, and that of Sheriff Liam Harland from Green Lake, Wisconsin. If you find anything within Jerry’s notes about a source inside law enforcement, federal or local, I would appreciate knowing that.” He sighed. “I want to prevent anyone else from being murdered.”
Kevin Twain nodded, reaching for the note. “I will. There may be a way around the privilege if I find evidence of an ongoing crime.”
“Thanks.” Wyatt glanced at her and stood. She followed suit. “Again, we appreciate your time.”
Kevin stood, too, but called out as they headed for the door. “Agent Kane? Be careful.”
Wyatt glanced somberly over his shoulder. “We will.”
“I can’t believe they’re dead,” she whispered as they rode the elevator back down to the lobby level.
“Yeah, although I shouldn’t be surprised.” He took her hand. “Anyone ruthless enough to kill a lawyer isn’t going to balk at killing two prisoners.”
“I get it, but how are we going to get the proof you need?” She tried not to sound as dejected as she felt. For every step forward, they were shoved three steps back. At this rate, they’d never get to the truth.
“We’ll find a way. I also think Kevin Twain will go through Jerome’s files. If there’s something in there, I’m confident he’ll let us know.”
She hoped he was right. When they reached the lobby, Wyatt held her back long enough to scan the area for threats. Then he tugged on her hand, indicating she could step out.
“Okay, I need to make sure the hoodie guy isn’t still outside.” Wyatt kept his tone low, as there were other people in the lobby now, all dressed professionally, which would help the hoodie guy stand out. “Stay behind me.”
“I will.” Releasing his hand, she latched on to the back of his jacket. She was keenly aware of how several of the pedestrians in the lobby looked curiously at them.
So much for trying to keep a low profile.
Her pulse kicked up as Wyatt headed to the side entrance they’d used just fifteen minutes ago.
It had only taken a quarter of an hour for their quest for truth to hit a brick wall.
Wyatt stayed to one side as he peered through the glass door. A second later, he gently pushed her backward. “He’s still out there.”
Not good. Wyatt eased her away from the door to the main lobby. This time, he went in the opposite direction, to the northern doorway.
She held her breath as he slipped up to the door and peered out. Long seconds passed before he turned to glance at her.
“I don’t see anyone lurking nearby, but that doesn’t mean much. Once we’re outside, we need to blend into the crowd as soon as possible.”
“Understood.” She steadied her nerves. “Ready when you are.”
He looked again for a long moment before pushing the door open. Still holding tightly to his jacket, she followed.
They’d only taken a few steps before Wyatt urgently whispered, “Run!”
The sidewalk to their right contained several people, so she didn’t hesitate to head that way.
Desperately praying there wouldn’t be another crack of gunfire.
* * *
The moment Wyatt caught a glimpse of a man wearing a black leather jacket, he realized the entire office building had been under surveillance from all sides.
Keeping himself behind Abby, he all but pushed her toward the crowded sidewalk.
He heard the pounding of footsteps behind him. Rather than shooting at them, the leather jacket guy was following!
“He’s behind us. Find another building.”
Abby nodded and picked up the pace. Thankfully, she was fast and easily wove between pedestrians. Several complained loudly, but they ignored the irate comments.
Abby made an abrupt turn into another office building. Wyatt quickly followed her lead.
“This way.” He gestured for her to head straight to the back of the building. She didn’t hesitate to push through the door. Close on her heels, he glanced around. There was no sign of hoodie or leather jacket yet, but he had to assume there were two other unknown assailants out there. There had likely been four guys total watching each side of the Dettmer office building.
They couldn’t slow down now.
Abby read his mind about the need to keep moving. She quickly turned right to join another group of pedestrians.
“Keep up the good work,” he whispered as they merged with the others.
She nodded and broke into a run. He remained close behind her, wishing he could wrap her in bulletproof gear from head to toe.
Abby darted into a restaurant next, leading him through the kitchen. He was glad she was experienced in evasive techniques, no doubt learned from her father over the years.
“We can’t stop yet,” he urged as they continued along another sidewalk. He tried to bring a map of downtown Chicago to the forefront of his mind. “There’s a park up on the left. That will be a good place to look for a taxi.”
“Okay.” She sounded breathless but didn’t slow down. He risked a glance over his shoulder.
From what he could see, no one was following them.
So far, so good.
Abby put on a burst of speed to get through the next crosswalk. Then she veered to the left.
The park wasn’t big enough to hide in for long. He followed Abby to the other side, where she finally slowed down.
“Is this okay?” she asked, between gulping breaths.
“Yeah.” He quickly scanned the street. The good thing about Chicago was there were always cabs around. “Up ahead, see the taxi? Let’s grab it.”
She nodded and rushed forward, raising her arm to grab the driver’s attention. He nodded and eased forward. Then he unlocked the doors.
Abby scrambled inside as Wyatt slid in right next to her. “Can you take us to the Fresh Family Restaurant?” He thought for a minute, then added the address. “And there’s no rush.”
“Of course.” The driver glanced at them in his rearview mirror, obviously curious about the sweat beading their brow from their mad race through the city followed by the lack of urgency in getting to the restaurant.
He wasn’t about to explain.
“Thank you.” For the first time since leaving the Dettmer office building, Wyatt relaxed against the seat.
They’d made it!
Abby leaned close, speaking in his ear. “All that and we haven’t learned anything helpful.”
“I know.” He understood and shared her frustration. With Tony and Franco dead, his boss could continue with business as usual.
He couldn’t keep investigating the case alone for much longer. At some point, he’d have to trust Larry Turks, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office.
Yet, without something tangible, he feared Turks would ignore him. Or worse, believe Hawthorne’s lies that he was the one taking money from the Marchese crime family.
It was difficult to prove a negative. Especially now that both Marchese men were dead.
His only hope was to find Abby’s father. Something he knew she wanted, too.
And if that didn’t work?
No, don’t go there. He straightened in his seat, refusing to accept defeat. They would find Peter Miller.
They had to find him.
When the taxi driver stopped at the next light, he caught a glimpse of the guy wearing a black leather jacket. He turned his back toward the window, cupped Abby’s head and drew her in for a kiss.
She seemed surprised but melted against him in a way that made his head spin. On some distant level he knew she’d be upset that he’d kissed her to hide their faces from leather jacket guy, but that wasn’t enough to make him stop.
He’d dreamed of kissing her again since yesterday.
He didn’t want to ever stop.
The taxi lurched forward. He forced himself to break off from the kiss, but continued holding Abby close.
“Don’t be mad, but I caught a glimpse of leather jacket guy at the intersection back there.”
Despite his request not to be angry, she stiffened. “That’s why you kissed me?”
“Abby.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “I always want to kiss you. But yes, the timing was because of the guy. I assume the men who were watching the office building spread out to see if they could find us.”
She stared, her bright blue gaze accusing. “You could have told me so I could hide my face against your chest.”
“Yeah, I could have.” He shrugged, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile. “But kissing you was more fun.”
“This isn’t about fun!” She kept her voice low so the driver couldn’t hear. “Next time let me know what’s going on!”
“Okay, I hear you.” A pang of regret hit hard. Maybe she hadn’t enjoyed the kiss as much as he had. Although her response to the kiss seemed to indicate otherwise. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the situation.”
“It’s fine.”
He risked a glance through both side windows, but didn’t see hoodie or leather jacket. He hoped that meant they’d lost them.
“Excuse me, would you mind heading to a hotel, instead?” Wyatt met the driver’s gaze. “It’s about five miles from here.” He gave him the name of the hotel where they’d spent the night.
“Sure, why not?” The man smirked as if imagining the were heading there for a quick liaison. Wyatt didn’t intend to correct his erroneous assumption.
“Thanks.” Wyatt lowered his mouth toward Abby’s ear. “We’ll get another taxi from the hotel to the restaurant, just to be on the safe side.”
“Fine with me.” She peered around him to look out the window, too. “I assume it’s safe to sit back now?”
“Ah, yeah.” He reluctantly released her. If the driver noticed the sudden coolness between them, he didn’t comment.
When they reached the hotel, he paid the man in cash, including a large tip. He also surreptitiously keyed in the 800 number painted on the side of the taxi. Once the driver left, he drew Abby toward the side of the building.
“We need to wait a few minutes before calling another taxi, or the same guy might show up.” He showed her his phone. “I took down the toll-free number.”
“I understand.” She didn’t look him directly in the eye, her gaze focused on the traffic moving up and down the street. “I hope the SUV is safe,” she added. “We weren’t planning to leave it at the restaurant for this long.”
“I know.” It would put a serious dent in his cash reserves if he had to get the vehicle out of a boot, a contraption used by the city to lock up car tires of vehicles illegally parked. It was easier than towing them to another location and cost a couple of hundred bucks to get removed.
He forced himself to wait at least fifteen minutes before calling the number to request a taxi. He was promised one would arrive in five to ten minutes.
“I can’t wait to get out of Chicago,” Abby said. “I hope these guys don’t follow us all the way back to Green Lake.”
“We should be safe once we’re on the interstate.” Even as he spoke, he continued watching for potential threats. “They staked out the Dettmer office building because they don’t have our vehicle information.” He grimaced. “And they knew we’d show up there to talk to Kevin Twain.”
“That’s somewhat reassuring.” She frowned. “I just hope he’s not in danger.”
“I don’t think he’s a target now that Tony and Franco are dead.” He saw a taxi two blocks down, making its way toward them. “Here’s our ride.”
Thankfully, this driver was a woman. He opened the door for Abby, then scooted in beside her. He asked the driver to take them to the Fresh Family Restaurant, and she seemed to know right where it was.
Wyatt wished he could relax, but his nerves were still on edge. Seeing the leather jacket guy so far from the Dettmer office building made him wonder how far the men, all four of them he assumed, had spread out their search.
Traffic was its usual mess. Their driver was more conservative in threading through the vehicles, unlike most taxi drivers in the city.
When he finally saw the restaurant up ahead, he considered asking the driver to let them out here so they could walk the rest of the way.
Then changed his mind. Better to remain in the taxi for as long as possible.
The driver pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. He paid her, then followed Abby out of the car.
To his relief, no boot was on their vehicle. Still, the restaurant wasn’t nearly as far from the office building as he’d have liked.
“Get in. I need a minute to check it out.”
“Okay.” She didn’t argue.
After glancing around one last time, he searched for a tracking device. He made his way to the front of the car, and froze when he saw it.
Pulling the device off the vehicle, he stared in shock. Somehow the men outside the office building had discovered this was their vehicle. How, he had no idea.
He quickly attached the device to another car, then got behind the wheel. “We need to get out of here.”
“Why?” Abby’s eyes widened with concern.
“Those guys from the office building put a tracker on the car. They know what we’re driving.” He quickly backed out of the parking spot and merged into traffic.
How long before he picked up a tail? Moving the tracker wasn’t enough, not if they had his plate number.
He needed a plan, ASAP. Before more bullets began to fly.
NINE
“How did they know what we were driving?” After escaping the four men stationed around the Dettmer office building, Abby had hoped they would be able to head straight to Green Lake to find her father.
Obviously, she’d been wrong.
“I don’t know for sure, but the Wisconsin license plates may have been a clue.” His expression was grim as he navigated toward the interstate. “They may have decided to track several cars, figuring we’d be in one of them. They also knew we went to the office building on foot. It’s not a stretch for them to think the SUV belonged to us. Especially if they had someone run the plates to discover it’s registered to Green Lake County. Unfortunately, my boss has many resources at his disposal.”
She swallowed hard, the very real threat they were facing overshadowing her annoyance over the way he’d kissed her. “What can we do? Ditch the car?”
“It might be better to swap the license plate with another SUV.” Wyatt glanced at her. “I don’t want to waste our cash to buy a replacement.”
“We can ask Liam for help.”
“I’m not going to risk bringing more bad guys all the way to Green Lake.” Wyatt sighed, then added, “Not on purpose, anyway. I’ll find someplace to get a new license plate once we’re back in Wisconsin.”
“Maybe it’s better to do that here, in Illinois,” she pointed out. “That way the tolls won’t register this license plate number at all.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s a good point. I guess that means we should head for the airport.”
“That’s a good idea. By the time they discover a plate missing, we’ll be long gone.”
“That’s the goal.” He flashed a wry grin. “Never thought I’d be the one breaking the law.”
“It’s for a good reason.” She reached over to squeeze his arm. As much as she’d been hurt by knowing he’d only kissed her to hide their faces, she couldn’t stay mad at him. Especially when he claimed he always wanted to kiss her. She felt herself blush, and did her best to stay focused. “I know you wouldn’t normally do this sort of thing.”
