Chapter 29
Tailed
Nash peered into the passenger side rearview mirror. “I think we’re being tailed.”
“I don’t think. I know,” Rhyne quipped. “I think those guys who were watching the house sicced their friends on us when we left.”
Nash glanced over at him. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Rhyne checked his own side mirror. “The jury’s still out on that. But Welsh can’t get away with what he’s done. He’s endangering all of us.”
“I don’t think Cargill knows that.”
The blunt announcement stunned him. Rhyne threw him a questioning stare. “What did you say?”
“I don’t think Cargill knows what Welsh did. Welsh contacted Cargill soon after he tasted Grace’s blood and got his color sight back. I’m pretty sure Cargill was already on the road when Welsh went on the attack at the hospital and killed Norris.”
This bit of information, if true, put a whole new light on the problem.
“Then if Cargill doesn’t know that Welsh has broken our cardinal rule and brought us front and center to the attention of the cops…” He didn’t finish his remark because Nash knew exactly where his thoughts were taking him.
Nash chose to finish it. “If Cargill finds out, you’re not the only problem Welsh will have to deal with.”
Rhyne noticed the car following him drew back and another took its place. Considering there were two men in the front seat, he assumed it was another unmarked cop car. Seconds later, they passed a sign informing them they were leaving Cobalt County and entering Massey County.
That explained the changing of the guard. The city police had handed them over to the sheriff’s department.
“How long do you think it’ll take to catch up with them?” Nash wondered aloud.
“There’s too many factors to consider.” Rhyne dropped a quick check to the dashboard. He still had nearly a full tank of gas. “Cargill’s driving an Aspenall, you said? Those things are gas guzzlers. Every time he has to stop to fill up, that’ll give us a chance to shorten the distance between us.”
“There’s something else,” Nash observed. “Cargill knows I’m the one who rammed the cop car. But since I’m part of Welsh’s nest, there’s no reason for him to believe that I would snitch on them for switching cars.”
“So you think Cargill is taking his sweet time to get home?”
“All I’m pretty sure of is that Welsh isn’t going to tell him the whole story. They’re probably thinking the cops won’t have a clue as to who kidnapped Grace or stole the cop car, and they don’t…do they?”
Rhyne answered with a shake of his head. “All they have right now is that they’ve IDed Welsh as the guy who killed Norris and attacked the others. They know where Welsh lives, which is why they put a twenty-four-hour watch on our house.”
“But won’t the police expect you to call Welsh and warn him?”
Rhyne snorted. “They have my phone. I had to go buy another one before I could call you.”
“What if Welsh tries to call you?”
“He won’t, but I’d like to see him try. The instant he does, it’s highly likely the cops will be able to do a search to find out where he’s calling from. Or get a general idea of his location.” Rhyne nodded to himself. “That’s probably why they kept mine.”
“I don’t think he will,” Nash firmly admitted. “I think it’s finally over for us.”
“For me and Welsh,” Rhyne corrected him. “You and I are still a team…right?”
Nash answered with a watery smile. Noting it, Rhyne commented. “Feeling the weakness coming on?”
“Yeah.”
“Same here.”
A minute of silence passed, when Nash brought up the question most pressing on Rhyne’s mind. “If Cargill and Welsh and the others are also getting hungry…”
Rhyne tried to force the ugly image rising in his mind’s eye, but Nash continued to voice the awful possibility.
“What if they go ahead and feed on Grace?”
He took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself. He wasn’t successful.
“Welsh has been planning on using Grace as his personal gold mine. If Cargill and his nest get a taste of her now, they could regain their color sight within a few short hours.”
He reminded himself of how soon his color sight had returned once he’d fed on her menstrual blood during their love making. However, it could have returned that quickly because he’d already had the sight. Maybe it would take them a bit longer since it was their first time.
Regardless, once they obtained that ability, Cargill would recognize it for what it was. And at that point, Welsh could kiss his dream goodbye. It would be Cargill’s nest against Welsh. They’d take Grace for their own and leave Welsh in the dust to deal with his loss.
Unless they find out what Welsh has done before that happens, he told himself. Then they wouldn’t abandon the man to find his way home. They’d kill him, effectively preventing him from revealing anything else to the authorities.
Nash grunted. “I wonder if they’re getting hungry, too. Wouldn’t it be rich if Welsh has to fight them off?”
Rhyne pressed his lips together. As much as he wouldn’t lament Welsh’s demise, he was more concerned about Grace’s health. He didn’t know Cargill. For all he knew, the man could be worse than Welsh.
An eighteen-wheeler went around him. Otherwise, traffic was light. He checked his speed. He had to keep within the posted limit. He couldn’t afford to be pulled over and lose precious time.
“Oh, shit!”
Nash’s outburst startled him.
“What?”
The man pointed ahead. “That deer!”
Rhyne squinted against the bright sunlight coming directly from the setting sun as he slowed the car down. Lying half on the tarmac and half on the grassy shoulder, a buck lay twitching and struggling.
Pulling off the road, Rhyne stopped the car and got out to inspect the animal. Nash hurried up to join him.
“I bet that trucker doesn’t even know he hit it,” Nash remarked.
“Maybe he does but he doesn’t care.”
“It’s a fresh kill,” Nash noted.
Rhyne saw the car that had been tailing them went by and kept going. The cops were trying to remain incognito, but he suspected they’d find a spot farther down the road to stop and wait for them to pass before taking up the pursuit again.
Going over to the inside back passenger side door, he opened it. “Come on. Let’s get it inside. You drink your fill first since you need it the most. Then when you’re ready, you drive while I feed.”
Nash eyed the dying animal. It wasn’t the first time they’d been reduced to having roadkill or feeding on the local wildlife. Although human blood was preferable, animal blood could also sustain them.
“Watch your clothes,” Rhyne warned. “We don’t have any extra to change into if we get drenched.”
“Do we have any rags or paper towels in the car?” Nash inquired.
“Yeah. In the bag in the trunk. Speaking of…”
Popping the trunk lid, he extracted the backpack in question, and slipped a strap over an arm. He then bent down to grab the hindquarters. Nash took the front shoulders, and together they hauled the carcass into the back seat.
“Man, Welsh is going to be royally pissed when he sees the mess—” Nash paused when he saw Rhyne’s angry glare. “Riiight. Fuck him.”
The angry glare became a smile.
Not saying anything more, Rhyne snagged a towel from the backpack and handed the bag over to Nash before going around to the driver’s side. Nash crawled in, closing the side door behind him as they took off back down the road.