The Immortal Hunter(22)

"Georgian Bay," Dani echoed faintly. That was almost an hour away. She frowned, confused by how they had gotten so far so fast. Surely she hadn't slept for that long, had she? And what had the men been doing during that time for her sister's kidnappers to get such a head start? Her gaze slid to the tarp-covered bodies behind her.

"Nicholas," Dani began, but before she could get any further she heard the click as he ended the call. She pulled the phone away and stared at it, her thoughts returning to his claim that he'd killed someone and that Decker and Justin had been sent to bring him in for judgment. Oddly enough, the claim didn't worry her as much as the one that Decker and Justin could read her mind. It seemed to suggest Nicholas was just as crazy as they were.

As for the bit about them having put the suggestion into her mind not to call her parents, that was just crazy too. She hadn't called because she'd been too distracted with other things, Dani told herself and began to punch in the number of her mother's cell phone. She had to call and tell them what was happening. They needed to know. She didn't look forward to explaining about Stephanie, but it was the responsible thing to do and-

Dani stopped and glanced up swiftly when the front passenger door opened and Decker slid inside. She immediately snapped her phone closed and slipped it quickly in her pocket, afraid it would be taken away if they saw it.

When Decker pulled the door closed and then turned to glance at her as Justin got in on the driver's side, she forced a smile and asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," he said at once.

It was Justin who added, "I just wanted to talk to Decker about something. Guy type things."

Dani nodded and tried not to look like she had heard a good deal of their conversation and now knew they were crazy. She was relieved by the distraction Justin offered when he said cheerfully, "So, while we're waiting, why don't we go into town and get something to eat?"

Before Decker or Dani could shoot down the idea, Decker's phone began to ring. The two men peered at each other silently, and then Justin reached for the tracker in the cup holder nearest him and began to fiddle with it as Decker pulled out the phone and placed it to his ear. Knowing Justin was removing a battery or otherwise deactivating the tracker, Dani concentrated on Decker as he said, "Hello" and then listened briefly, before saying, "Can you repeat that for Bricker?"

He held out the phone and Justin set the tracker back in the cup holder and then took the phone. He too said, "Hello" and listened briefly before saying, "All right."

Decker took back the phone and had a short conversation that consisted of mostly listening and the occasional grunt and then he snapped the phone closed. As he slid it in his pocket, Decker leaned to the side to glance back at her and said, "They weren't able to track the SUV. We're to head back to Toronto to coordinate and come up with a plan to track down the man who has your sister."

"I see," Dani murmured, and despite the fact that she'd expected it, found she was disappointed by his lying. Obviously, both men had just been told that the GPS on the SUV had been tracked and was on Highway 400, heading toward Toronto.

This was proven to her when Justin started the engine and asked, "You don't happen to know how to get to Highway 400 from here, do you? We had GPS in the SUV to get up here and I didn't find a map in the van when I searched it before we left."

Dani nodded and peered out the window as she said, "I can direct you. Head straight up here and I'll tell you when to turn."

Dani was staring blindly out the back side door window, lost in thought, when a curse from Justin made her glance curiously his way. She noted the frown on his face and the way his gaze kept dropping to the instrument panel.

"We need gas... like now. The warning light is on."

Dani's eyes widened in dismay at this news, and she sat up on her knees to peer out the windshield at the dark road ahead.

"Don't panic," Decker said firmly, noticing her anxiety. "I'm sure we'll find somewhere to stop before we run out."

"And if we don't?" she asked anxiously.

He didn't answer. Instead he turned and leaned forward in his seat to peer out at what lay ahead.

They rode in silence for a couple of tense minutes, and then Decker straightened, eyes squinting briefly before he let his breath out on a relieved sigh and said, "There's a sign up ahead."

"I see it." Justin nodded, relaxing a bit in his seat as he added, "An off ramp in one kilometer."

Dani squinted, trying to see what they claimed to, but all she saw was dark highway and taillights. She spent another moment straining before she could make out the green sign ahead, and it was a moment after that before she could read it in the intermittent lights of the cars preceding them and see that it was indeed an off ramp. Dani then sank back on her haunches, thinking that either the men had been lying to try to keep her from panicking, or she needed to get her eyes checked.

The moment they exited the off ramp, Dani rose up on her knees again, relieved when she spotted the gas station ahead.

"There's a restaurant right next to it," Justin pointed out as he steered them up the road. "If-"

"Jesus, Justin," Decker said with disgust.

"I was only going to say that if Dani wanted to use the washroom, I'd drop her there, get gas, and come back for her," Justin said dryly, "This might be her only chance until we need gas again."