“Who the hell were you talking to?”
Somehow she found her voice. “Rasmussen just called.”
“Damn it, I told you not to talk to him.”
“The display said the call was from one of my coworkers back in Denver,” she said. “How did he manage that?”
The dark look Jake gave her said it all.
Leigh felt sick. “Please tell me he didn’t hurt them.”
“We don’t know that,” Jake said. “Rasmussen could have had one of his thugs steal the phone.” He reached for her phone. “How long did you talk?”
“Less than a minute.”
“He could have traced the call.” His eyes narrowed. “What did he say?”
“N-nothing.”
“Nothing seems to have you pretty shaken up.” He paused. “What did he say?”
“He says if I meet with him, he’ll let you live.”
Jake dropped her cell phone onto the pavement and crushed it beneath his boot.
Leigh couldn’t get Rasmussen’s voice out of her head. If I find you with him, you will hear every single one of his screams as he dies a slow and painful death.
“Leigh.”
He touched her arm. She glanced at him. He’d slid onto the seat beside her and was looking at her with sympathy in his eyes. “He’ll say anything to get what he wants. Don’t believe any of it.”
“He wants me, Jake. Not you.”
“He wants both of us.”
“He said…” Her voice cracked. “He said if I don’t go to him he’ll kill you.”
Jake ran his hand up and down her arm. “He’s not going to kill either of us. Rasmussen is an international criminal. He can’t hide out indefinitely. He’s going to screw up, and someone’s going to bring him down.”
“He’s incredibly connected and wealthy. He uses both of those things to buy his way.”
“Not everyone can be bought.”
Like you, she thought with a small tinge of pride.
He slid his hand from her arm. “We’ve got to keep moving.”
“Where are we going?”
“The only safe place I can think of.”
JAKE MADE THE CALL he’d been dreading, while Leigh freshened up and bought coffee. He dialed Sean Cutter’s personal number. A number he knew was secure.
“It’s Vanderpol.”
A beat of silence. “Where’s my witness?”
“With me. Safe.”
“That’s not what I hear from the Kansas State Police.”
Damn. Cutter knew about the ambush at the farmhouse. “Mike Madrid is the only person who knew where we were.”
Another beat of silence. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying draw your own conclusions.”
“You think Madrid gave you up?”
Jake sighed. “I don’t want to think that, but how the hell else did Rasmussen find us? That house was out in the middle of nowhere.”
“He’s got a lot of resources, Jake.”
“Yeah, well, so do I.” Jake sighed unhappily. “Rasmussen has made contact with her twice.”
“Conceivably, he could have traced the call.”
“He’d have to know someone at the phone company.”
“I’ll see what I can find out. If he makes contact again—”
“I destroyed the phone.”
“We could have used it.”
“Not at the risk of his finding her.”
Cutter sighed. “Jake, bring her in. Let us take her until this bastard is caught.”
It was the logical thing to do. But Jake had never been all that logical when it came to Leigh. He knew what would happen when he took her in. They would take her to an undisclosed location. He would be excluded because as of the day before he was no longer an agent. Her safety would be out of his control….
“Someone hacked the system, Cutter. She’s going to be safer with me.”
“Rasmussen smells blood, damn it.”
“I’ll handle this.”
“The way you did the last time?” Cutter asked.
The punch of guilt was quick and brutal. “I delivered Rasmussen to you.” At what cost? a nagging little voice asked.
“Come on, Jake. Bring her in. Let us handle this.”
Jake disconnected without responding.
Chapter Eight
Jake stuck to the back roads, and by late afternoon they’d crossed the Illinois state line. Leigh had no idea where he was taking her. At this point she thought it didn’t matter. As long as Rasmussen couldn’t find them.
But she knew they were only buying time. Rasmussen wouldn’t stop looking for her.
If I find you with him, you will hear every single one of his screams as he dies a slow and painful death.
She couldn’t get those words out of her head. In the years since she’d been with Rasmussen, she’d researched him. The things she’d learned about the man she’d once thought she loved sickened her. Beneath the charismatic charm lay a monster with a black heart and a thirst for blood. He dealt in death. Weapons sold to the highest bidder no matter what their intent.
“We need to talk about what happened six years ago.”