Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(22)

She glanced around the parking lot, expecting to see hordes of men in black suits swarming toward her. Instead, a helicopter flew by on the other side of the road. Would they send a helicopter after her?

Ditch the damn phone! She walked to the trash can, fumbling with the battery cover. Then she stopped. She had a better idea.

A truck driver came out of the building. She checked for cameras. Luckily, the only one she saw was pointed in the opposite direction. So, she followed him to his truck, keeping a safe distance.

“Which way are you heading?” She made it sound as if she needed a lift.

“South. You need a ride, sugar?”

“Oh.” She played up the disappointment. “I’m heading north. Thanks, anyway.” The man wished her luck and climbed up in the truck.

She surreptitiously tossed the phone behind the cab. Now it would be heading in the opposite direction. That should buy her a few extra hours.

She scanned the sky again for the helicopter. It was gone.

She tucked her hair up inside a baseball cap she’d found under the seat and pulled the brim low over her face, then started the vehicle. Between that and the thick layer of mud she’d covered the truck with last night, she might escape notice of anyone checking cameras.

It was nearly dark when she pulled into the travel plaza in Frederick. There were about six tractor trailers parked in the truck parking area, and only three cars in the smaller lot. None of them were the silver sedan she’d seen Garrett driving.

The clock on the dash said she was twenty minutes late, and she prayed he hadn’t given up and left without her.

She drove past every car and parked in the very last space before the ramp that wound back out on the highway, in case this was a setup and she needed to get away quickly.

“Why am I taking this insane risk?” she muttered.

None of the answers she came up with made her feel better. Desperation? Laziness? Or even worse…because he was attractive?

She sat in the truck and waited for Garrett to approach her. If she left the truck, she could be ambushed. She hated how much she had to think about every tiny detail just to stay alive. A week ago, she never would have given a thought to where she parked. Now everything mattered.

Everything.

She was looking through the passenger window at the other cars, so of course Garrett knocked on the driver’s side. She jumped a foot out of her seat. She rolled down the window. “Damn it, you scared me to death.”

“Way to pay attention,” he grumbled with an eyeroll.

She might have said something snotty, but he was helping her. She should play nice.

“Did you get rid of the phone?” he asked.

“Yes. I put it on a truck heading south.”

He nodded, and glanced at her mud-covered truck. “Is this the one you stole?”

“Yeah. But I’m sure it’s been reported by now.” she said.

“Good job with the disguise,” he said, but didn’t sound too sincere.

“I took off the ladder rack, too.”

“By yourself?” He sounded skeptical.

She shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard. Just four bolts.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” He jerked his head and started toward the trees. When she didn’t move, he stopped and came back to the window.

She bit her lip. “I, um—”

“Look,” he interrupted. “I know your detail turned on you. I don’t know how you knew or how you got out in time, but you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I’d like to help you keep it there, but you’re going to have to trust me. Not just that I won’t turn on you, but when I say something, you need to do it without asking questions, and without smartass comments.”

She tried to remember the last time she’d made a smartass comment to him. But it happened so frequently with her, she was no doubt guilty. So, she moved on. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Maybe you thought it was a better idea before, but now it isn’t sitting as well?” He spread his hands.

She tried desperately to let go of her suspicions. “A few days ago, my biggest issue was not wanting to go to a party with Nikki. Now people want me dead. Lots of people. I don’t have money, or anything else to give in exchange for turning against Howe.” She let out a sigh. “So, only a good, honest person would ever want to help me. In my experience, there aren’t a lot of truly good people in the world.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “There’s no time for this. I’m walking through those trees to the road that runs parallel to the highway. I’m getting in my car and leaving. As far as being a good person, I’m not. But if you want to go with me, I promise I’ll get you to the trial, or die trying.”

As far as a personal endorsement went, that had pretty much sucked. But it did convince her. And she was running out of options.

She picked up her bag and got out of the truck.

“One second,” she said, and climbed in the back of the truck to get her chain. Yeah, it was stupid. But if it hadn’t been for that chain, she wouldn’t have made it this far.

Garrett watched, but said nothing. He didn’t offer to carry her bag or the chain, which she draped around her neck like a serpent, holding onto it to keep it from clanking too loudly.

It wasn’t far to the road where he’d parked. They had to climb over a chain-link fence which was about five feet tall and covered in dry, prickly vegetation.