Chapter Thirty-Three
The Final Resolution
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L AWES HAD BEEN DRIVING for a little less than two hours when he spotted the car.
The brand-new, red Audi changed lanes to drive behind him—the same vehicle he’d noticed earlier in his rearview mirror.
Rumbling nervous energy fizzled inside of him as, checking the mirror again, he maneuvered to overtake the car in front.
The pressure in his throat tightened when the Audi followed close behind, the feeling that they were being tailed intensifying.
“Is everything okay, sir?” Hannah’s gaze bored into the side of his face. “You seem even tenser than earlier.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at how well she seemed to know him. He supposed all those long hours of captivity had conditioned her to be a good and patient observer, but it meant she was able to read him like a book.
It no longer bothered him that she wasn’t consistently addressing him the way she’d been taught. ‘Sir’ was a decent alternative, and it suited their burgeoning dynamic. He was still in charge, but there were fewer formalities.
“I’m not sure.” Gliding into the slower lane, his gaze darted back to the mirror, watching when the red car did just the same. “I think we might have a tail.”
“A tail?” Her brow furrowed, and for a few fleeting seconds, he wondered if her mind had slid somewhere naughty.
“I think someone might be following us,” he clarified with a smirk.
If the idea of a tail triggered her, it would be worth playing with, just as long as he’d dealt with their new friend first.
Glancing in his rearview mirror once more, he tried to get a decent look at the driver, but to his annoyance, the guy behind the wheel of the Audi was also wearing a hat with a low brim.
“The police?” Stiffening, she twisted to get a look in her nearest mirror.
“It’s a red Audi.” Taking his foot off the gas, he allowed the car to slow, watching to see what the other driver would do.
“Unmarked, maybe?”
He loathed the strain in her voice, deciding then and there that from then on, no one else was allowed to cause her stress. Only he would have that pleasure.
“Maybe.” He wasn’t convinced, and the fact the vehicle appeared to be slowing to match his current speed did little to quell his rising trepidation. “But the police would have signaled to pull us over by now. Do you recognize the car?”
“No, sir.” She shook her head.
“I’m going to pull in at the next service station and find out what they want.”
Lawes was done with running.
He understood he and his little girl would need to be careful, even in Scotland, but his focus was only on cultivating their relationship. He was ready for the days of looking over his shoulder at every passing car to be over.
“But, sir!” Panic spiked in her tone, a sound he usually relished, but not then. “What if it is the police?”
“If it’s the police, then you talk to them.” The sign ahead said it was only two miles until the next rest stop. “Tell them there’s a mistake, and you don’t want to press charges.”
“I’m not sure it’s that simple, sir.” She looked delectable, her eyes widening as her chest rose and fell. “What if it’s about the stolen car?”
“Uniformed cops would use their lights and sirens, Hannah.” His gaze scanned the front of the Audi for the hundredth time. “And unmarked cars don’t deal with petty car theft. That’s not what this is about.”
She frowned. “It’s just... after everything we’ve gone through, I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t.”
He had no way of knowing that for certain, of course, but in typical Lawes fashion, he was surer of himself than before, sensing whoever was driving that car wasn’t the police. If the authorities had found him, they’d have whacked on the sirens and tried to arrest him by that point.
Whoever the Audi driver was, they were someone else.
“Mark.” Her hand was cold as she reached for his. “Please, be sure about this before you leave the main road.”
“It’s okay, little girl.” He didn’t love the way she’d used his name, but there would be time to address that error later. Glorious, wonderful ways he couldn’t wait to enact... “I know it’s one hell of an ask, but trust me.”
She pulled in a breath, nodding as she settled back in her seat. “Okay, sir.”
Pulling off the main road, his attention flitted back to the mirror, watching his unknown follower take the same course.
“Let’s see if whoever they are wants to talk.” His anxiety was morphing into something freer, a sense of infallibility that, with Hannah by his side, he could conquer anything.
She gripped the edge of her seat when he pulled over to the far perimeter of the parking lot and waited for the red car to follow. Duly, it slid into a space a few away from them.
“I’m worried, sir.” Watching the other car, her gaze returned to his.
“You stay here and let me deal with this.” Reaching for her, he squeezed her knee. “And that’s an order, little girl, not a suggestion.”
Her lips curled, although the unease remained in her eyes. “Okay, I’ll be good.”
Leaning closer, he captured her lips in a passionate, unhurried way. Whoever the hell was driving the Audi would have to wait until he’d taken his fill. She groaned at the contact, one of her hands rising to the back of his head to pull him closer.
“Please be safe,” she whispered as they parted.
“Stop. Worrying.” Though he adored that she cared so much, it was time for his little girl to start doing as she was told. “Stay here and wait for me.”
Tugging her hand from his hair, he considered wearing the baseball cap again, but decided against it. If he was done with running, then he was done with hiding as well. Scotland was a fresh start for them, and even though they were still in England, that momentum started then.
Opening his door, he climbed out, casting one final glance at the woman who drove him wild before he slammed the door shut. Wandering around the vehicle, he watched as the driver emerged from their car.
It didn’t take long to ascertain the driver was also a man, his profile briefly familiar as he turned to walk in Lawes’ direction. Head lowered, the guy was irritatingly impossible to identify, but the closer they both got, the more Lawes’ interest was piqued.
“Do I know you?” Coming to a halt, Lawes’ attention drilled into the stranger.
“This hat must be a bloody good disguise if you have to ask that.” One hand rose to the brim and whipped off the headwear, and in a matter of seconds, the individual’s identity fell into place.
“Fuller!” Of all the people Lawes might have expected to see, his old sparring partner was the last. “I didn’t even know you were out of prison.”
The two had lost touch when the governor at Lawes’ first jail had refused to post the letter he’d tried to send to his friend. Lawes had almost given up hope of seeing his friend again.
“Oh, I’m out, and I have good news.” Fuller closed the distance between them and threw his arms around Lawes. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah.” Lawes hadn’t realized how good until that moment. The only man who might have any idea what he’d been living through for the last few months was his partner in crime. “You, too. How did you get out early?”
Fuller sniggered as he drew away. “Same as you, I’d guess? I knew someone who knew someone who got me out.”
“Sounds about right.” Lawes nodded. “But it took bloody long enough.”
“But you’re out.” Fuller beamed.
“With nothing,” Lawes added. That wasn’t strictly true, of course. Hannah was the most important thing in his life, and he had her back, but it didn’t seem as though Fuller had yet noticed the woman in the front of the car.
“I can help with that.” Beckoning toward the Audi, Fuller led Lawes to the back seat.
“How did you get such a decent car?” Lawes knew the model Fuller was driving sold for around one hundred thousand pounds.
Opening the back door, Fuller grinned. “I bought it.”
“With what?” Lawes sensed his friend was delaying getting to the point intentionally.
Fuller drew in a deep breath. “That’s what we need to talk about. I’ve been trying to track you down for weeks.”
Lawes’ brow creased. He wanted to ask how Fuller had found him but was more concerned about the alleged good news he had. The ‘how’ would have to wait.
“That day they busted us at the surgery was intense.” Fuller’s face twisted into a scowl.
“Don’t remind me.” The dramatic fall from grace had been the hardest of Lawes’ life.
“But I used my one call in custody to do us both a favor.” Fuller gestured to the large bags sitting on his back seat.
“Are you getting to a point?” Lawes folded his arms across his chest before peering around at Hannah. Slumped down in the passenger seat, her head was just visible from where he and Fuller were standing.
“Impatient as ever.” Fuller laughed.
“I have somewhere to be.” And some one to be with.
“I called Kevin and asked him to take ownership of the surgery’s assets.” Pride was rolling from Fuller in waves.
“Your brother, Kevin?”
Fuller nodded. “That’s right. I signed everything over to him before they charged me. Naturally, I had to fake your signature too, but I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
“Meaning what?” Perhaps chasing after Hannah had impaired his gray matter, but he still couldn’t see why Fuller looked so happy.
“Meaning, when I got out, Kevin sold the building, the land, and all the equipment and gave me the cash.”
“Fuck.” Lawes reached for the car door to steady himself. He couldn’t believe how shrewd Fuller had been.
“Fuck indeed.”
“How much did it all go for?” Lawes had given up hope of ever seeing any of that investment again.
“A cool 1.5 million.” Conceit rattled off Fuller, but Lawes couldn’t blame him. “And because you’re my oldest friend, I have your half here, Mark.”
Lawes’ focus fell upon the large black bags on Fuller’s back seat again. “In cash?”
What he’d meant to say was ‘thank you’, but somehow, he couldn’t wrap his head around what he was hearing.