Chapter Twelve
MARS
I drove toward the Wyndham, following close behind the Beemer, loaned to us by the Vegas FBI’s impound lot, relieved that it’d gone so well with Cam’s mum.
I had no idea how Sterling would react once he learned he had no more leverage to make Cam do whatever he wanted him to.
I knew Candy was, even now, formulating a plan to take Sterling’s auto theft ring down with the help of other agents in my office.
Lincoln Snow and his team would be involved.
I’d seen Beth and Kindness in action several times since our team’s move to L.A.
and they were both more than capable agents.
Cam handled himself well this morning. I was proud of him.
He was young and yet mature in a way I couldn’t help admiring.
I wasn’t sure I could have dealt with the situation that bastard, Sterling, had put his mum in as well as he had.
He’d listened to Beth and Kindness’ exchange with the personnel at Shady Grove quietly, which was what had been needed at that moment.
I was sure he’d probably wanted to jump in and tell Beth what to say but he hadn’t.
“What the ‘ell?” I shouted. “Who the fuck taught that knob head to drive?”
I could barely make out two people large enough to be men in the Audi, but that told me bugger all as the car sped up, closing the gap between Beth and Kindness.
A sinking suspicion replaced the edge-of-the-seat patience I’d been practicing ever since seeing the women walking into Shady Grove less than an hour ago.
I hit the gas, speeding up. Normally, I could deal with my suspicions easily, borne out of years of active-duty service.
At the moment, though, this was giving me the heebie-jeebies, a tingle rushing up my spine.
I yanked the console open and rummaged around for the earwigs’ case.
I slid them in one handed and caught sight of Mickey doing the same thing in my peripheral vision.
Cam leaned forward between the two bucket seats.
“What’s happening?” The worry in his voice was back but I ignored it, keeping my focus on the two vehicles ahead.
The traffic wasn’t as busy on the Strip as it would be tonight when people came out to see the city lit up with the glitter and glam of the lights and neon, but it was still a bit hairy for a car chase.
“Maybe nothing,” I replied. “Michaels, come in.” A few seconds ticked by before I questioned again. “Rayburn, come in.”
There was no response.
“Shite! They’re not wearing their coms.”
“What’s happening?” Cam asked again, sounding a little more panicked.
I didn’t reply but flicked a glance at Mickey. “Try their mobiles.”
Mickey was already calling. He put the mobile on speaker and held it between us as Kindness answered. “Mickey?”
“Put us on speakerphone, please. Michaels, look behind you. We think you’re being followed.”
There was the hum of street traffic from Kindness’ phone, and then a low curse. “I see them…thought they might be a tail.”
“Don’t go back to the ‘otel,” I said. “Don’t want to lead them there.”
“I have no intention of it, Clifford,” Beth replied, almost tersely, as though she was insulted by the very idea of doing such a stupid thing. “Switching to coms.”
Mickey hung up as my coms came to life. “You think it’s Sterling’s guys?” Kindness asked.
“Probably. If so, we’ll wait and see what they intend,” I replied with great effort. Waiting for me—for any of us—was difficult when we were trained to take action all the time.
“Dammit,” Mickey said. He twisted around, looking at Cam who was sitting wide-eyed in the back seat.
In the rearview mirror, I caught sight of him hastily shoving his own coms in his ears as he fidgeted.
I silently swore at myself for not taking them from him as soon as Beth drove away from the care home.
I could only hope he’d keep his mouth shut because the last thing I needed was the distraction of a literal backseat driver.
Ahead of us, Beth changed lanes again. The Audi followed. “Ya see that, Michaels?”
“Yeah, they’re following. I’ll turn east when I get to Flamingo. Don’t want to be caught in a traffic stop on the Boulevard.”
The street coming up was the Tropicana, which meant we still had half a mile to Flamingo. I prayed traffic would keep moving until we got off the bloody Strip. “Roger.”
“Kindness…” Mickey said. “Call for backup.”
“You’re tardy,” Kindness singsonged. “The cavalry is already on the way. Just radioed our location…expect to rendezvous in…two minutes.”
I was glad to hear that.
“Who’s following my mom?” Cam asked shakily.
I checked the rearview mirror. He was sitting ramrod straight, leaning forward to see out the windscreen.
“Not sure, but if it’s Josiah’s guys, they’re not going to stop us ‘ere on the Strip. ‘Ang on.” I made another lane change as the Audi sped up. They attempted a second lane change to pull up broadside to the Beemer, but Michaels swerved in front, keeping them behind her. The move was smart. Allowing them to pull up alongside her wouldn’t bode well for them.
I followed, accelerating to keep up as we approached Flamingo.
“Turning on Flamingo,” Michaels said.
“Ya know where ya ‘eaded? It’s Sunday, so if there’s a confrontation, it should be a safe place away from tourists and traffic.”
“The University of Las Vegas is about a mile east, south side of the street,” came Kindness’ reply.
“There won’t be any traffic there,” Beth said, followed by a grunt and a low curse.
The edge in her voice was understandable.
Seven series Beemers weren’t the kind of vehicle to try to maneuver in a high-speed chase…
way to heavy. They were built for comfort, definitely not for grunty sports speeds like my Camaro even though they did have a V12.
The Audi had a tighter turning ratio and better speed in a pinch.
Thank God I was driving the Camaro, which was fractionally better than the Audi R8, but in order to help Beth, I needed to get out of this bloody traffic.
I wondered who they’d called in as backup.
Getting the local P.D. would make sense.
Since we’d seen neither hide nor hair of the FBI backup which was supposedly watching out for Cam’s mum at Shady Grove, I didn’t have the greatest confidence in the local field office.
I really hoped things wouldn’t go tits up.
The Audi made the turn onto Flamingo right behind Beth and I did too, keeping pace with them.
Traffic began to thin out as we left the Strip, but I breathed only slightly easier.
“What in the hell are they waiting for?” Mickey asked.
I shot him a quick look, keeping the Audi in sight as I followed closely. “Probably the same thing we are, ‘oping for a location to make a move out of the way of so much traffic.”
“I don’t like this,” Cam said from the back seat. “Do you think they followed us from Shady Grove?”
“Probably arrived as we were leaving, Mr. Demarco,” Beth replied. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep your mom safe.”
I watched Cam’s brow crease as he blew out a long breath, trying to keep his emotions in check.
He was no doubt petrified; I couldn’t really blame him.
Danger to his mum and car chases probably weren’t an everyday thing on his agenda.
I dragged my gaze away from the rearview mirror, spotting a sign saying the Uni was just ahead.
I pointed, and Mickey nodded in my peripherals.
Beth sped up, and the Audi followed. I felt the flood of adrenaline as I caught sight of the street sign for University Center Drive just ahead.
Once we were out of traffic, we’d lose whatever advantage we’d had up until now.
Beth turned and the Audi followed into the four-lane road with palm trees whizzing past on the grassy center median.
As I made the turn, the Audi changed lanes, accelerating to come up alongside the Beemer again.
I hit the gas, changing lanes as I raced to follow them.
Beth sped up but barely kept ahead as they closed the gap with their front bumper, now even with her boot.
When the Audi suddenly smashed into the driver’s side, the heavier Beemer didn’t fishtail like a lighter car would, only briefly swerving to the right and coming painfully close to the shoulder.
She corrected quickly, moving fully back into her lane a heartbeat later.
Cam let out a loud gasp in the backseat, but he dutifully kept his mouth shut.
I planted boot as the Audi dropped back several feet, probably regrouping.
I was now in the same lane as it. Oddly enough, there was light traffic here as well, but I ignored it, keeping my quarry in sight.
I checked the speedo; we were close to seventy-five, double the speed limit on the main drag.
Several times, a slower driver attempted a lane change in front of Beth, and she was forced to lay on the horn or hit the brake which wasn’t an option.
She and I both knew she had to stay ahead of the low-profile Audi.
Its V10 was fairly well matched for the Beemer but she had bulk and weight in her favor.
I was no more than twenty feet behind the sleek, black, luxury car when Mickey suddenly called out, “Mars! The passenger just rolled down their window.”
Christ. There could be only one reason for that move. I moved slightly right to get a look and a rifle barrel suddenly appeared.
“Bloody ‘ell!”
Beth swerved right, but the Audi was nearly level with her backseat where Cam’s mom was seated.
“Gun!” Mickey shouted.
“I see it, Mick—” Beth’s words abruptly cut off when a volley of automatic gunfire shot into the Beemer just as she gunned the big V12, pulling ahead so the bullets impacted only her left rear bumper and boot. “Keep them off me, Mars!” Beth cried.