Straight Flushed (Hot Pursuit #1)(11)
“All set to go, sir?” I asked.
“The end to another week.” Avery smiled. “I’ll just be one more minute.”
Avery stopped over to see his secretary and grabbed a couple of hard candies off her desk; I’d eaten all of the Bit-O-Honeys throughout the day. She handed him some messages then we headed down the elevator. I pictured the big bowl of queso and fresh salsa I was going to order, and the chicken enchiladas I’d eat after; I could almost taste it.
Back down in the parking garage things appeared as quiet as they had that morning, and the puddle of urine had dried, but the acrid scent lingered. We wound our way down to the bottom floor and pulled out in the direction of the restaurant where I was going to be having dinner.
It being Friday night, there was likely a show next door at the biggest theatre in town. Our evening would be surrounded by people dressed in fancy clothes. As we passed the restaurant’s windows, patrons already lined the bar inside. I hoped Gabe had gotten us a seat by the window, far enough out of the way to have our privacy but close enough to be in the action.
I’d been so wrapped up in my daydream I hadn’t noticed Vance’s body stiffen.
“Hey,” he said in a hushed tone. “I need you here not in your head, Di.”
I sat up straight. “Sorry,” I said, checking the mirrors. “What’s up?”
“You know that car that was behind us this morning?”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing at my side mirror. “The one that’s behind us now?”
“Yep. Might be nothing. Might be something. I’m going to take a few extra turns to feel it out,” Vance said, his voice was soft but held a serious undertone.
We drove around a few extra city blocks, and the Audi stayed on our tail.
I lowered the privacy glass. “Excuse me, sir?”
Avery eyed me over his bifocals from a stack of papers in his lap. “Is everything all right?”
“I don’t want to alarm you, but there might be someone following us. I want to make sure your seatbelt is on.”
Avery’s brow creased with worry. He shut the manila folder he’d been holding and placed it on the seat next to him. Reaching over his shoulder, he pulled the seat belt across his chest and lap. He peered through the rear window. “I’ve seen that car before.”
“You have?” I asked.
“Yesterday after we left the banquet. I saw it in the lot. It wasn’t in a parking spot but was perpendicular to the row of parked cars.”
I hadn’t noticed a car out of place at the banquet and I was certain Vance hadn’t either otherwise he would have mentioned it. Regardless, this occurrence made three sightings in less than twenty-four hours. It was no longer a coincidence.
“Try to stay as calm as possible, sir,” Vance added. “I’m the best driver at B&B. I’ll get you home safely. It’s probably nothing.”
Avery met Vance’s eyes in the rear view mirror. He acknowledged him with a silent nod.
“When we pull onto the highway in a few minutes I want you to hold on,” Vance said, still looking in the mirror. He turned his head slightly toward me and with a hushed tone said, “Call Cavanaugh and tell him what’s going on.”
I dialed our boss, Richard Cavanaugh, and gave him a quick rundown of what was happening. He said he’d alert his friends on the force. I disconnected the call as we pulled onto the interstate.
The Friday rush hour was congested as usual, but Vance deftly wove in and out of traffic. I watched my mirrors and every maneuver we made the Audi matched. The Range Rover was one of a fleet of vehicles specially made for our company, equipped with an extra steel cage to protect in the event of roll over during an accident and encased in bulletproof glass. It handled well but given its size, the Audi would handle better.
Once we were outside of the city, traffic opened up, and Vance floored it. The Range Rover sprang to life, and Vance initiated the chase.
We travelled close to ninety miles per hour. My heart thumped wildly in my chest. I was somewhere between terrified and thrilled. The Audi was able to keep up with us, but Vance had managed to put a little extra distance between our car and theirs.
Vance’s voice sounded over the smooth hum of the engine, “Look, I think I can get off the exit up ahead and make a loop, double back then take side streets back to Avery’s house. I think that’ll be the safest way to lose them. I don’t like driving this fast around so many innocent people. Back roads will be better.”
“Agreed.” I looked in my mirror. “They’re about ten cars back and stuck next to that semi.” I updated him but had no doubt he knew exactly where the car was. “You’ve got maybe three seconds to make something happen. Is that going to be enough time for you to do what you need to do?” I smirked and gave him a sideways glance.
Vance shot me a crooked smile. “Hang on.”
He cut across three lanes of traffic and took an exit next to a BMW dealership. The area didn’t get a lot of traffic and was off the beaten path. He drove, reducing our speed enough to avoid flipping the car as he turned into the bend. The tires gripped the road as we curved around the side of a tall rock wall. No one was behind us—yet.
At the end of the ramp, Vance barely paused at the stop sign before ploughing through. I estimated he had one second before they’d show up in our mirrors; he needed to get off the main road. Up ahead we’d get into residential areas. Cincinnati isn’t laid out in an easy grid. I hoped whoever was behind us wasn’t familiar with the area. Even a seasoned resident could get lost on the winding back roads.