Ultimate Courage (True Heroes #2)(34)
Alex studied Souze. Souze continued to watch Elisa. The dog’s ears were still swiveled to catch every nuance of what she said. His posture was tense, and his shoulders almost trembled with the tension he was sensing from the woman. As composed as she appeared, chances were she was frightened out of her mind.
His daughter was safe. He could help Elisa be safe, too. The men of Hope’s Crossing Kennels had better means to protect the people they cared about than most. They didn’t just keep their old military habits close; it was a part of who each of them was.
“You’re not going back to your car.” He pulled out his smartphone and sent a text to Forte and Cruz.
“I have to.” She said it quietly. “I know he could still be there watching, but everything I own is in that car besides the overnight bag I left upstairs at Revolution.”
He nodded. “Which is exactly why he’ll stay out of sight and follow you until you feel safe. Then nab you. You’re too attached to what’s in that car.”
“It’s still afternoon. Broad daylight.” Elisa unclasped her hands and held them in fists at her sides. “It was a busy parking lot with plenty of people walking back and forth. I can slip to my car and drive away. He wouldn’t be able to grab me in front of all those people without me making a racket and drawing unwanted attention.”
“True.” And good for her for having thought of those things. “Do you know how to check your car for anything he might’ve attached to the bottom? You said he spent some time looking under there. What if he wasn’t just looking?”
Her eyes widened, and her face paled. “Like what sort of things?”
What, indeed? Normal people didn’t have access to things like tracking devices or worse, explosives. “It really depends on who you’re running from and what sort of resources they have at their disposal.”
She pressed her lips together in a thin line. Her eyes dropped, and her gaze settled on Souze. “He owned half a dozen dogs like him.”
Rojas waited. Considering the pressure she was under, if he just let her uncork, it’d all come flowing out without her having a chance to filter it.
“My ex is a businessman. The CIO of his own company with all sorts of contracts and security clearances. He was very good at his job, and he was a control freak. He kept me under his influence until I finally gathered the courage to leave. To be honest, I should’ve left way earlier but it took a hard look at what he was really doing with his special projects to make me decide.” She continued to study Souze, who in turn stretched his neck toward her, sniffing. The dog was inquisitive, which meant her fear was turning to something else. Rojas was hoping it wasn’t her giving up. “There were dogs like Souze walking the property, loose. A lot of them were like him. They noticed everything. And I didn’t know how to make friends with them. I thought about leaving a trail of hamburger patties across the lawn if I snuck away from the house at night, but dogs like Souze ignore food if they’re trained well enough. I couldn’t be sure one of them wouldn’t pull me down as I was trying to get out.”
True. Food was a powerful distraction, but all sorts of working dogs were trained to resist the temptation. A dog didn’t have to be a military working dog, police dog, or other type of service animal to reach that level of training. Besides, guard dogs like those may have had training to ensure they weren’t poisoned by potential intruders. Such training wasn’t foolproof, but it reduced the chances of success.
“When I left, I only took what I could fit in my big shoulder bag. I pretended I was on my way to run some errands and took a detour. I just took a wrong turn and kept driving. Didn’t even plan it. It occurred to me that the moment, the opportunity, might never come again, and I just drove. I’d keep going until I couldn’t stay awake any longer and catch a few hours’ sleep and drive again. When I found a small town, someplace barely on the map, I’d try to stop and see if I could get a job and hide for a while. I even sold my car twice and bought a used vehicle in its place. I’d stay for a week, maybe two before there’d be a text on my new phone or a strange man in town. Small towns always notice strangers. And I’d leave. It’s been six months and almost as many towns.” Elisa tipped her head to the side, still staring at Souze. “You know, the only things I missed about the house were the dogs. I thought I’d feel so much more secure if one of them would be allowed inside the house with me for accompany. German Shepherd Dogs are beautiful.”
Rojas couldn’t help a faint smile. She’d listened and learned. She’d taken an opportunity. And she’d given him a decent amount of information, most likely without even realizing it.
She straightened her head and dragged her gaze away from Souze. “At this point, I’ve driven across the entire country. I can keep going. The stuff in the car I pulled together along the way, things that were mine and a part of the life I was building but I was never sure how long I’d stay. I can leave it all behind again if I have to and make do.”
With nothing. Not even a car to live out of.
“How does he keep finding you?” Rojas watched her blink, come out of her fugue of sadness. She had really hoped to be happy at least for the morning.
“It’s been a learning process for me. You already taught me about the phone.” She lifted her fist and ticked off points on her fingers. “Cruz taught me about incognito windows not being enough. My ex is good with computers, has people who are good with them, too. Maybe they found the e-mail account I set up for myself and noticed when I logged in to check my e-mail in the first town or two. My mother means well, but she might’ve told them about it before I stopped checking in with her. I didn’t realize I wasn’t being careful enough. If I can learn to stay away from those mistakes, I should do better.”