by Staci Hart
“I called in a favor. I have Rhodes’s new name and Social, and I have a good idea where he’s going.”
“Oh my God. Where?”
“Washington.”
She paused before saying with more relief than even he felt, “Thank you, Jon.”
“Don’t mention it.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll be there in a few. Just sit tight.”
“All right.”
Josie wiped her sweaty palms on her thighs as she paced, more nervous waiting for him than before she called him. She hadn’t really expected Jon to keep going and certainly hadn’t thought he would find any leads. But that was why she needed him after all.
She tried to balance her relief and gratitude and giddiness with her intent to be angry, repeating her mantra in her mind, He hurt you. He left you. He chose her.
He knocked, and she jogged to the door, hesitating, her hand hovering over the knob for a moment before pulling it open.
Jon leaned against the doorframe on his forearm with twinkling eyes and a crooked smile, looking proud of himself. She felt something inside her shift, a flutter in her chest when she looked at him. It was the remnant of what she’d buried so far down in her heart, she hadn’t truly believed it was still alive.
Hope.
She felt herself smile back at the smug bastard.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
She rolled her eyes to cover for the fact that she’d been standing there like an idiot. “Come in, smart-ass.”
He made his way in, and she smelled the leather of his jacket as he walked by.
“Is that any way to treat your knight in shining armor?” he asked.
“No horse, no knight,” she said, glad his back was to her, as her cheeks were on fire.
He just had to be charming. It was like it was genetic, completely beyond his control.
He dug into his back pocket and handed her a slip of paper with a name, address, Social, and driver’s license number on it.
Josie’s mouth hung open, feeling like she held the map to El Dorado in her hands, humbled and disbelieving. “I can’t believe it. You actually did it,” she whispered. Her eyes met Jon’s. “You must have been owed one hell of a favor.”
“Jimmy and I have been friends a long time,” he said seriously. Then, he smiled. “And yes, he owed me one hell of a favor.”
She sat down heavily on the couch, her mind racing as she stared at the scrap of paper. “Washington. He’s definitely trying to get as far away as possible. Why not just jump the border?”
“His picture is posted at every border crossing into Canada. I called in a favor on that one, too. Anyway, it’s cheaper and faster for him to get US papers than to try to get Canadian papers and a passport. He’s driving, and he’s driving to Washington to take over this man’s identity. Right now, he’s somewhere between here and there.”
Josie opened her laptop and pulled up an interactive map, inputting the cities until the direct driving route was outlined in blue. “As smart as Rhodes has been, I don’t believe he’d take the fast and straight route, which means it’ll take him twice as long to get to where he’s going. Do you think we can catch him on the road?”
“I think it’s possible.” Jon sat down next to her, and their thighs touched as he leaned in to look at her computer screen.
Goosebumps trailed up her arms and shoulders to the hairs on the back of her neck, and she took a breath that was filled with him.
He hurt you. He left you. He smells good.
Wait, what?
She cleared her throat.
“He would stay off the interstate, but he’d be as direct as possible. Something like this.” She pointed at the screen to a scenic route. “I think he’d be cautious and stay off the road when there wasn’t a lot of traffic. Assuming he stopped every night, at about five hundred miles per day at a slower pace…that would put him about…here.” She pointed to a small town in South Dakota.
Jon nodded. “If we leave now, we could take the highway to gain on him. Once we hit around here”—he pointed to a spot in Montana—“he can only take the highway. There’s no other way to get into Spokane, not without taking about a four-hour detour. I think he’d risk a few hundred miles on the interstate to save the time. We should be able to catch up with him at that point.”
“But what about this route?” She pointed to an alternate route that ran through North Dakota. “Or this one,” she said as her heart sank.
There were too many variables.
“This is too risky, Jon. There’s no way to know where he is, what route he’d take, not with any certainty. We’re never going to find him.”
“I don’t know, Jo. I think he would go through Montana; that’s where he’s from. He’s familiar with it, and I think he’d take a route he knows over one he doesn’t. The real question though is, just how are we going to find him?” He stared at the screen for a moment. “He’s got to use cash, which means he’ll only be able to stay at motels. The number of possible places on either route is limited.”
She brightened up as a spark of hope lit in her. “I can fax them all of his info and offer a reward for information.”
“Fax? That’s current.”
Josie laughed. “I’ve got an online fax account that can send to fax machines via email.”
“Fancy,” he said with an eyebrow wiggle. “That’s a damn good idea. We’re sure to get a hit off one of them. All right. We need to leave as soon as possible. How much time do you need?”
“Just let me get my stuff together. I need to call my dad at some point too, but I might wait until we’re far enough that he can’t say no.”
“Probably smart. Anything I can do?”
“Start researching the motels and get a spreadsheet going.”
He was already typing in a search term. “On it.”
Josie headed back to her room and grabbed her duffel bag. Her hands trembled a little as she packed, excited and nervous and not exactly sure what had gotten into her. That bastard had found a way to wiggle his way in and in a way that was undeniably chivalrous even if he’d done the opposite of what she’d said and even if he was a jerk who had left her.
She felt the rush of adrenaline that came with every chase, the clarity that it brought. The relief she found in having a plan was a tangible thing. There was nothing she hated more than winging it. It made her downright crazy. The last few days had been proof of that.
Josie came out with her bag, and Jon turned with a smirk on his face.
“Got your toothbrush?” he joked. “You can’t use mine if you forgot it.”
She tried not to think about the fact that she’d be sleeping in the same room as him. “I got it. Don’t forget your hair ties because you can’t use mine.”
“I’m good.” He held up his wrist where a couple of rubber bands were wound.
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile.
He hurt you. He left you. He chose her.
“Come on, let’s get going.”
He snapped her laptop closed and handed it to her.
She cradled it in the crook of her arm and grabbed her keys. “I’ll drive.”
“Oh no, you won’t.” He chuckled. “We’re taking my car.”
Josie propped a hand on her hip and eyeballed him. “I’m driving. My car gets better gas mileage.”
“No way am I riding across the country in a Mazda. We’re taking my Jeep.”
“Your Jeep sticks out too much. Could your tires be any bigger?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, they could. I’m driving. I’ll pay for all the gas, and it doesn’t matter what car we take because your hair draws more attention than if we were driving a Testarossa.”
“Jon, come on—”
“Stop being a control freak, Jo,” he said with firm tenderness.
She knew there would be no arguing with him, not with that look on his face.
“Look, it’ll give you the time to research while I d
rive because I’m never gonna drive a Mazda.”
She sighed, knowing it was a lost cause. “Fine, you win.”
“Thank you. Now, let’s go.”
They walked the block to Jon’s apartment, and he turned to her when she paused at the foot of the stairs to his building.
“Come on up, Jo.”
Josie looked warily at the door, not wanting to see what was inside. “I’ll just wait here.”
“I need you to make sure I don’t forget any other important supplies. You know, like headbands and extra underwear.”
She shook her head. The last thing she wanted to see was the home he shared with his family, and the last person in the entire world that she wanted to see was Tori.
“I’m not going in there, Jon.”
“Tori’s not home, and neither is Lola,” he said, soft and serious.
Josie squirmed and shifted her duffel bag on her shoulder. She’d been so sidetracked before they left that she didn’t realize she had to pee until they started walking. She was ready to get on the road and didn’t want to pull over unless they had to, so she figured, if no one was there, she could bear seeing reminders of the reasons Jon had left her so long as the reasons themselves weren’t around.
She waved him on. “Fine, fine.”
They made their way up the stairs and to his door, and Josie braced herself for what she’d see—proof of his family, proof she had no interest in acknowledging.
But when they stepped in and Josie heard a little girl yelling, “Daddy!” as she ran through the apartment, she went numb, wishing she could sink into the floor as the toddler jumped into his arms.
And just like that, her traitorous warm, hopeful feelings about Jon were gone. All that was left was her feelings of regret and foolishness.
She’d been stupid to get her hopes up. So, so stupid.
“Hey there, baby. What are you doin’ here?” His voice was tight, and she knew he was just as surprised as she was.
Well, maybe not just as surprised.
“I thought you and Mama were going to the zoo?” He smoothed her hair with his big hand.
Josie wanted to die. Her insides physically reacted to seeing him holding her like that, looking at her like he was.
“No zoo,” Lola said. She poked her lip out.
Josie didn’t know she could be any more embarrassed and out of place until Tori walked around the corner.
She was pretty—so pretty, blond and gorgeous, even with a cherry-red nose and in her pajamas.
“Hey,” she said. “Man, it was so weird. I had a crazy allergy attack on the subway. Everything smelled like grass and pine, and I just couldn’t stop sneezing. It was miserable, so we turned around about halfway there and came—” Her eyes flew open, her mouth gaping when she caught sight of Josie. “Oh my God.”
Josie reminded herself to breathe, gripping the strap of her bag like it was a lifeline. “I’m just going to wait outside.”
“Don’t be silly. Hi, Josie, right?” Tori closed her mouth and stuck out her hand, her smile welcoming and curious, though her voice was worn from her stuffy nose.
“Hi,” Josie said as she took Tori’s hand, absolutely mortified. She glanced at Jon, who looked equally mortified.
“Come on into the kitchen. Would you like some tea?”
Josie knew it was a peace offering, one she couldn’t refuse, no matter how uncomfortable she was. “Sure, whatever you’re having. Could I use your bathroom?”
“Yeah, it’s just down the hallway there.” Tori pointed across the living room.
“Thanks.” Josie laid her bag in the entryway and gave Tori a small smile. But when she turned, she shot laser-kill eyes at Jon.
He looked apologetic. She couldn’t give a single, solitary fuck.
Jon’s daughter grinned from his arms and waved at her, and the frost on Josie’s heart melted. The little girl looked just like him with wavy dark hair and intelligent blue eyes.
“Hiyee. My Lola.” She touched her own chest proudly.
“Hi, Lola.”
When Josie smiled at her, she giggled and tucked her head in the crook of Jon’s neck. At the sight of Jon holding that little girl in his big arm, she found her willpower completely shattered.
She looked away and walked to the bathroom, unwilling to meet Jon’s eyes again, unable to process everything in her heart and mind. So she closed the door and looked in the bathroom mirror, faced with too many realities to recognize her reflection.
She had too many feelings, and none of them agreed with each other. She’d felt so separate, so alien as she watched him with his family. For so long, Josie had villainized Tori and Jon, never really considering their child past a sticking point for her pain. But they were real, not just some faceless offenders. They were real, and she found she couldn’t hate them anymore, couldn’t believe they’d wanted to hurt her. That hadn’t stopped her from using them to hurt herself.
And nothing was as it seemed. Those years had been spent feeding a lie that she built in her own heart, a lie that had been wiped away so quickly, she spun from the force. And there was no time or way to find her footing.
Jon’s anxiety had been stretched tight as a drum as he watched the entire exchange go down, waiting for Josie to freak the fuck out, go nuclear, raze all of them to the ground.
But she’d kept her composure, though it was clearly paper-thin.
The second the bathroom door closed, he entered into a hissing argument with Tori. “What the fuck, Tori?”
“Da fuck, To-wi?” Lola echoed.
“Jesus, Jon, watch your mouth.” She reached for Lola and stood her on the ground. “Go play for a little bit, okay, baby?”
“Okay, Mama.” Lola ran off to her room.
He glared at Tori. “Of all the shit timing.”
“It’s not like I planned it. What in the world is going on? How did you get her here, and what are you up to?” she whispered.
“Jimmy Li found a trace on Rhodes, and we think we know where he’s headed. We’re going after him.”
Tori frowned. “Chasing a serial killer? Tell me why I shouldn’t be freaking out right now.”
“We’re not going to hit any problems bringing him in,” he said, knowing full well the percentages were fifty-fifty at best. “Don’t worry.”
“Well, your confidence is reassuring, but damn, Jon,” she said, the words hushed and uneasy.
“I know, but we’ll be okay. I promise.” He hoped he could keep it.
“So…together? You’re going together?” she asked as her enthusiasm sparked.
“Of course together. Why else would we be here together?”
“God, I don’t know. I’m just surprised she’s even speaking to you, never mind going on a road trip.”
Jon sighed. “You and me both.”
“So did you figure this out on your own? Or did she ask you for help?” Her eyebrows inched up, and a grin split her face.
“Both. I found out and was on my way over to her when she called me.”
Tori was practically bouncing. “Oh my God. This is it, Jon. This is your shot.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I know. Don’t you think I know?” He glanced over his shoulder when he heard the toilet flush. “Tori, I swear to God, you’d better not say a word. I don’t need your help, so keep your sledgehammer—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said with the wave of her hands. “Don’t worry, Romeo. I’m not going to do anything to fudge your chances.”
The door opened, and Josie exited the bathroom with her chin high and a mask of composure on her face.
You can do this, Josie said to herself.
She was determined to walk out of the situation with some shred of dignity and repeated one of the many lessons that her grandmother had taught her, “Good manners are made of petty sacrifices.”
Jon and Tori’s heads were together, but they straightened up when they saw her. Jon looked like a rat in a snake den, and Tori gave
her another warm smile. Josie tried to give her one back, but it was bullshit; she only hoped Tori couldn’t tell. Josie assessed the pair of them as she approached, noting their body language and proximity, and realized with some certainty that they really weren’t together. She hadn’t even known she’d doubted it before that moment.
Josie watched his eyes bounce uneasily between the two women.
“I’m gonna go grab my stuff. I’ll just be a minute.”
He gave Tori a pointed look, but Tori just kept on smiling as he turned and walked away.
“Come on, Josie,” Tori said benignly. “Let’s see about that tea.”
They walked into the kitchen, and Tori started her teapot.
“How about vanilla chai?”
That sounds terrible.
“Sounds great,” Josie, a coffee girl through and through, said as she took a seat at the table.
Lola came running in with a brush and a Barbie doll and thrust them toward Josie. “You brush the hair for Barbie?”
Tori held her hands out for the doll. “Here, baby, let Mama help you with that.”
The little girl hugged the Barbie and brush to her chest and gave Tori the stink eye. “No.” She took a step closer to Josie.
“It’s okay,” Josie said as she turned to the little girl. “You want me to help you?”
“Yes, pwease.”
Josie smiled as she took the brush and the doll, whose hair was snarled. As she brushed out the Barbie’s mane, Lola laid her hand on Josie’s thigh and leaned in to watch.
“Ooh, so pooty!”
Josie couldn’t help but laugh. “She is something else,” she said to Tori.
Tori was leaning against the counter, watching them with a smile on her face. “That, she is.” She pushed off and sat down across from Josie. “I wanted to tell you, Josie, for what it’s worth…I really am sorry. We never meant—”
Josie held up her hand, unwilling to have that conversation with the manifestation of her pain, who was sitting across from her, offering tea. “Tori, please. Please don’t. It’s just better for all of us if we leave it alone, okay?”
Tori took a breath, her face tight, almost like it physically pained her to stop talking. “Okay. Whatever you want, I owe you that.”
