Dare Me Again (4 page)

Chapter Six

K
at flew into her husband’s waiting arms and it was only then that she felt safe. She didn’t want to drive up to the mountains without him. She didn’t want to leave his side.

“I’ll protect you,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “But I can’t focus on Scott if I’m worrying about you here.”

“But—”

He pulled away, holding her in the circle of his arms, and looked intently at her. “Go to the cabin. Stevie will follow you up in her car, Jack will work with me down here. Once we have Scott, we’ll drive up and they can go home.”

She didn’t like it, not one bit, but she had to admit that having Stevie watching her back as they drove north was comforting. “How are you getting back to my car?”

“One of the officers here will give us a ride back to the apartment. As to your drive, I suggest you provision in Sacramento. Then make a beeline to Truckee.”

Catching her hard shiver, knowing she was terrified, Simon took her face gently into his big hands, and said, “Only the four of us know the address to the cabin. You’ll be safe there with Stevie.”

“Okay,” she said, knowing he was right. “I’ll go, but promise me you’ll come up as soon as you can.”

“I swear to you, Kat, we’ll spend Christmas together.” He kissed her again and said, “But I have a good mind to take you over my knee first for not listening to me, pregnant or not.”

“I’m sorry, Simon, it’s just that—”

“No, you need to understand, I
know
I’m tyrannical when it comes to your safety, but it’s only because I won’t risk anything happening to you.”

He hugged her fiercely, then got her situated in his Jeep. “My cell charger is in the glove box. Make sure you’re powered up. I’ve put the address in the GPS. The key to the cabin and the instructions to light the furnace are written down in an envelope in the glove box. Everything else is easy common sense stuff. There’s an emergency kit in the back of the Jeep if you need it. You’re gassed. When you stop for provisions, gas up again, then text me when you’re back on the road.”

She nodded, suddenly feeling like a little girl on the first day of school, terrified of being left alone. Leaning back into the Jeep he took her into his arms again and kissed her long and hard. When he drew away, there was no denying the tension in his face. “Go.”

She nodded, put the Jeep in gear, and headed for the bridge. Stevie followed in her Mustang.

Simon stood watching the taillights of the Jeep disappear down the street. “I’m going to kill that motherfucker,” he said.

Jack grasped his shoulder. “Leave your emotions out of this, Simon.”

Simon turned and looked at Jack. Since elementary school, they had been the best of friends. They’d gone through boot camp together and jumped together in the army. They’d fought side by side in that sandpit, Iraq. That sense of fear, of knowing they had targets on their backs was nothing compared to the fear Simon felt at that moment. Life without Kat would be the end of his life. It was impossible to keep his emotions out of the equation.

“Imagine it was Stevie,” he said.

And he could tell by the look on his friend’s face that he got it.

Simon picked up his briefcase and headed for the officer who was giving them a ride to the apartment. As Simon slid into the front seat, he pulled his iPad from his case, turned it on, then checked his text messages.

“Onfario gave me the hookup to follow Scott.” He pulled up the website, downloaded what needed to be downloaded, then logged in with the information he was given by the very accommodating DDA.

At first the beacon showed inactive. Just as they were being dropped off, and getting into Kat’s car, the little green light that signaled Scott’s GPS signal flashed his location on a detailed grid. “He’s headed north on the Golden Gate,” Simon said. Then he smiled. “Once he hits the Marin County line, he’s violating his conditions.” Simon practically rubbed his hands in anticipation of putting them on the sick fuck. And he would personally do the honors. Even if he had to chase Scott all night.

“Maybe he knows we’re on to him and making a run for it.”

“He’s got a damn GPS device strapped to his ankle. He can’t run for it!” Simon said, shaking his head. “Kat always said his test tube was only half full.”

“He’s making it real easy, isn’t he?” Jack said.

“Too easy,” Simon said, looking down at the grid.

As they drove across the Golden Gate, they were forced to slow halfway across. “Damn it, there must be an accident,” Jack said, and he checked his CHP app for road condition updates. “Yeah, damn it, a fatal. All lanes ahead are closed, both directions.”

Simon slammed his hands on the steering wheel, then checked Scott’s position. “He’s in Tiburon. I’m going to call it in.”

His first call was to Onfario. “You watching your boy?” he asked the DDA.

“We’ve got a set of eyes on him.”

“Then you know he’s in Tiburon.”

He sighed. “It’s Christmas Eve, West. I’m home with my family, I’m sure someone in my office is on it.”

“I’m sure someone is on it, isn’t good enough for me, Onfario. So this is how it’s going to go down: I’m working my way across the Golden Gate. And when I get off, with back up from CHP and Marin SO, I’m going to personally put my hands on Scott and hand him over for violating his conditions. When that happens, I’m going to call you while you’re making merry with your family, and you’re going to personally make it your mission to ensure Scott is rebooked and put in a nice miserable cell to celebrate the holiday. Then, and only then am I going to let you enjoy the rest of Christmas with your family.”

“Then I’ll be waiting for your call, West.” Onfario hung up.

Simon checked the grid again. Scott hadn’t moved from his previous position near the marina in Tiburon. What the hell? Was he running or getting a bowl of chowder?

“He’s not moving,” he said more to himself then to Jack. As they slowly inched across the bridge, Simon put the players in place. CHP along with Marin SO was in the area, and had Scott on their radar. He was in a cab, parked down by the marina.

As they made it off the bridge, the green beacon began to move.

Jack was in constant contact with CHP and the sheriff’s office while Simon followed the little green dot north on 101. When it began to accelerate, all units went on alert.

“He’s running,” Jack said.

Simon gave the car some gas. “He can run, but he can’t hide.”

As Kat pulled off Highway 5 into a shopping center in southwest Sacramento, she shivered as she got out of the Jeep. The temps had plummeted and a slow steady rain had made the roads slick. She looked up at the darkening sky. She guessed they were just ahead of the heavy stuff. In this weather it would be another three hours to Truckee.

“Damn, where did this weather come from?” Stevie asked, shivering along with Kat as they hurried into the grocery store.

“I don’t know, but I hope it holds for Simon.”

Kat made quick work of her shopping, making sure she got enough to feed four adults in case Jack and Stevie decided to stay. As they loaded up the Jeep, the wind picked up, and icy rain needled her face. “Snow’s coming,” Kat said over the hood to Stevie.

“Then let’s gas up and get out of here before it gets ahead of us,” Stevie answered.

Before she turned back on the road, Kat texted Simon that they were on their way.

He called a few minutes later. “Hey, Princess, drive carefully. It’s already snowing as far south as Auburn. You’re going to get more the further north you go.”

“Did you find him?” she asked not worried about a little snow.

“We’re following him. He’s violated the conditions of his release by leaving the city. We’re trying to get to him, but it’s raining hard, it’s Christmas Eve, and the highway is a mess. But we’ll get him tonight.”

Kat let out a long sigh of relief. “I can’t tell you how much comfort that gives me.”

“You and me both.”

“But you have plenty of backup, right? I need you to be careful, Simon.”

“Always. I love you, baby. Drive carefully and call me when you get up there.”

“I will, love you, too.”

When she hit Highway 80, the rain had turned to ice and Kat lost sight of Stevie behind her. She tried calling, but her calls kept timing out. She vacillated on whether to pull over and wait for her to catch up or to keep going forward. The weather made the decisions for her. It was too dangerous to stop. She prayed Stevie had chains, because after another hour she had slowed to a crawl on 80 as the snow began to accumulate. She couldn’t call out her position because she had no cell service.

By the time Kat got to Blue Canyon, chains were required. Thankfully, the Jeep had auto four-wheel drive and Simon had just put on new all-terrains so she wasn’t required to have chains. But she worried about Stevie. It wasn’t like she couldn’t buy chains—there were roadside stands that sold and installed them. But driving the Mustang in this mess was hazardous, even with chains.

Kat’s car was stopped and inspected. By the time she was ten miles away from her exit, she was in a long slow caravan of cars and trucks moving at a snail’s pace as the snow pummeled the Sierras.

The travel advisory was calling for several feet by morning and advising travelers to avoid 80 north of Blue Canyon. She had no cell signal, but she had gas, food, and warmth. Just as she made her exit into Truckee, CHP closed 80 all the way up to Reno.

Her heart sank.

The way things were looking, there was no way Simon would make it up for Christmas. And she prayed Stevie had had the good sense to turn around.

Simon and Jack came up on the cab Scott was in on 101 just outside of Santa Rosa. For officer and civilian safety, they wouldn’t take Scott out on the highway. Instead they followed at a safe distance, until the cab exited several miles north.

Once the cab had safely exited the highway, CHP moved in, maneuvering the cab off the road into a strip mall parking lot.

With the vehicle stopped and surrounded, they did a felony car stop. After the driver had exited the vehicle, hands up and walking backward toward them, he was instructed to lie face down on the asphalt with his hands locked behind his head and his ankles crossed.