Behind the Lies (Montgomery Justice #2)(58)

His heart swelled at the words he’d doubted he’d ever hear from her. Using side streets and alleys, Zach trudged into the mountain town. Soon enough, though, he had to walk down Main. He caught speculation in people’s faces. His torn shirt and dusty jeans couldn’t be hidden. Using most of his cash, he grabbed burgers for Jenna and Sam, a ball cap and some ibuprofen for himself, then hit the rental car company.

He tugged the hat over his eyes and walked into the garage that doubled as a rental site. The kid behind the counter nearly fell off his stool and snapped his cell phone closed, tossing it on the counter.

“Can I help you?”

Zach slipped his credit card across the counter. “I need a reliable car for a quick trip,” Zach said.

The clerk pointed to a nondescript older Buick in the parking lot. Perfect. He would blend in easily. The kid studied Zach’s clothes and face as he filled in the form using the La Jolla address. When the clerk ran the card, a strange look crossed his face, and all the color leaked out. The guy moved a shaking hand behind the counter.

Well, crap. Zach didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the cell phone from next to the cash register, whirled away, and shoved through the door. Too bad the clerk hadn’t pulled out the car keys yet.

Zach rounded the building and headed to an alley. Within seconds a siren screamed toward the store.

It only took a few minutes to race across town and slam into the abandoned wood shelter.

The room was empty.

“Jenna!” Zach shouted.

She creaked open a closet, the door hanging on one hinge. Her face was tight with strain, and she hugged Sam to her side.

“Those sirens are for me. My credit cards have been flagged.” Zach handed over the smashed burger bag and palmed the ibuprofen bottle. Jenna sat on the floor laying out the pathetic picnic for Sam. Zach parked himself next to them, tilting the baseball hat away from his face. Wincing as he fought the childproof cap, he finally opened the lid and downed three tablets.

She paused as she fixed Sam his burger and looked up at him, her eyes shuttered. Zach hated disappointing her. It twisted his gut in a way he hadn’t felt since his father spoke his last word.

“We can’t stay,” Jenna said. “Hidden Springs is too small and they know we’re here. How far is the next town? Maybe I can find work and earn enough to get a car.”

“In a year maybe,” Zach said. He shoved his right hand through his hair. “We’re out of options. We’re going to Arvada.”

Her face wrinkled in confusion.

“It’s a suburb of Denver,” he explained. “I’m out of tricks and people I trust. I don’t want to, but we need my family’s help.”

He pulled the stolen phone from his pocket with its skull-and-crossbones skin.

At her questioning glance he frowned. “Don’t ask.”

Zach dialed a number only a few people knew.

“Montgomery.” Seth’s voice held a suspicious tone. He wouldn’t recognize the number of a store clerk from Hidden Springs.

“Hi, Seth.”

The phone went silent for a moment. Zach strained to hear footsteps.

“Where the hell have you been?” Seth’s voice was a whisper.

“Incommunicado.”

A door slammed. “You could have let someone know!” Seth raised his voice. “Why didn’t you call us back?”

OK, he hadn’t talked to Seth in months, but still…his brother never lost his cool.

Zach’s entire body froze. “What happened?”

The last time he’d been out of touch on his recon mission in South America, his then three-year-old niece, Joy, had been kidnapped.

The only thing that could get Seth this upset was family.

“What’s wrong, Seth?”

His brother took a shuddering breath. “It’s Mom.”

Zach’s body went numb. If he hadn’t been sitting, he would have collapsed.

“Is she—” He couldn’t finish the sentence.

“She’s going to be fine…” Seth hurried. “Captain Garrison might not be so lucky. He’s still in a coma. When I find out who did this, they’re dead.”

Zach could almost see his brother pacing, his eyes narrowed in cold, hard revenge.

“Someone tried to make it look like the gas line near her house exploded,” Seth bit out. “Coward attempted to make it look like an accident.”

“Explosion,” Zach whispered.

Jenna’s mouth dropped open.

His eyes closed, the ash-laden clearing of his house flashing in his mind. He scratched the ball of his palm with quick, hard strokes. “When?”

“Two days ago.”

Bastards. Three days ago, the organization he’d trusted had contracted a hit on him. Three days ago, Jenna stowed away trying to escape the Chameleon. Zach didn’t care who had hurt his mother and Captain Garrison. They’d used his family.

They would pay.

“Seth, I may know who did it.” Zach met Jenna’s gaze, and she closed her eyes, her face turning a gray to match the nearly rotten wall behind her.

“Who?”

“It may be our mutual friends, but there is another option. You’ve heard of the Chameleon.”

A string of curses pelted from his brother’s lips. “What the hell are you into, Zach?”