Seven
Bent over in her seat, her head tucked between her knees, Nina silently repeated Jackson’s earlier prayer. Lord Jesus, keep us safe in Your care!
She strained to listen above the thundering staccato beat of her heart. When she heard Jackson telling Creed to go, she bravely lifted her head. “Are they gone?” She was proud of the fact that her voice didn’t tremble as much as her hands were shaking.
“For now.” Jackson’s expression was grim. “I don’t like that they found us here, though.”
She swallowed hard. “Maybe they’re tracking your phone or Creed’s?”
“That’s possible.” Jackson quickly wiped his phone, lowered his window and tossed his device out. Creed wordlessly handed his over, to be disposed of as well. “Guess we’ll stop for new phones right after we get the rental.”
She turned to look at the road behind them. There was no sign of the black truck now. But she wasn’t entirely convinced the gunmen had tracked the rangers’ phones. Maybe it was as simple as tracking the SUV.
The strong scent of gasoline seared her nasal passages. She leaned forward to lightly touch Jackson’s arm. “I think we’re losing fuel.”
“We are. One of the bullets hit the gas tank.” Creed sounded remarkably calm. “I’m hoping to get close enough to a rental car facility before the engine dies.”
Jackson covered her hand with his, offering a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll be okay.”
She appreciated his attempt to soothe her fears.
Yet she also knew she was the liability in this mess.
Her lack of field experience worked against her.
She wanted to log on to the computer to find the closest car rental place, but without a phone to use as a hot spot, there was no way to get access to the internet.
Tugging her hand free, she sat back in the seat. Once they reached the city, they’d have more options. All they needed was a café with free internet access.
The outskirts of the city loomed before them. The SUV slowed as they approached the East Town Mall.
She sighed in relief when she caught sight of a rental car sign. The SUV slowed even further, rolling to a stop a half mile from the facility.
“We’re walking from here,” Creed announced. “Nina, grab the laptop, okay?”
“Got it.” She clasped the device to her chest. “I can’t believe we made it.”
Jackson’s expression relaxed into a grin. “I told you we’d be okay.”
She forced a smile. Trusting Jackson with her life was easy. It was her heart she needed to protect. He was too handsome, too attractive for her peace of mind. She’d learned her lesson not to mix work with pleasure. Jackson was off-limits no matter what.
As they walked away from the useless car, she spied a coffee shop. She reached out to grab Jackson’s arm. “Wait. We need to obtain a clean vehicle, one not associated with the Rangers.”
He tipped his head to the side. “And how are we going to do that?”
“I have an idea.” She nodded toward the coffee shop. “But I need internet access to make it work.”
“Okay.” Jackson glanced at Creed, who shrugged as if to say it was his call. Jackson quickly veered off the road toward the café. Once they were inside, he asked, “Creed, do you mind buying some coffee?”
“Not a problem.” Creed brushed past her to stand in line. She headed toward a four-top table and settled in.
Once she was logged into the coffee shop’s internet, she rerouted the IP address to provide another level of anonymity.
From there it didn’t take too long to obtain a rental car under a fake company name that was not obviously associated with the Texas Rangers, or the state government.
It was one she’d used before, but it was better than nothing.
She still had to list Jackson and Creed as drivers, but the actual rental lease would be hidden under the fake company name.
“Let’s just get one car for now,” Jackson said. “Better to stick together until we have more to go on.”
“Okay.” She quickly went back to work.
Creed returned with three coffees. She asked for their driver’s license information, which they readily provided.
She sipped her coffee as she waited for the reservation to go through. The internet was a little slower here, as there were other people using it, but finally the swirling icon stopped spinning.
“We’re set.” She closed the laptop with a click and took another sip of her coffee. “An SUV will be waiting for us when we get there.”
“How did you keep us anonymous?” Jackson asked.
“Magic,” she teased. Then sobered. “I rented the car through a fake company I created and used a few times this year. It’s not perfect, because you and Creed are listed as drivers. The only way to avoid that is to get fake IDs. But this should cover us for the time being.”
“That’s amazing.” Creed tipped his coffee cup toward her. “You’re good, Nina.”
“Thanks.” Creed’s acknowledgement was nice, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from Jackson’s. After a moment, Creed stood.
“I’ll get the car. You guys wait here. It will be less noticeable than the three of us showing up at the same time.”
“Good idea,” Jackson agreed.
Nina opened the laptop after Creed left. “I need to download a copy of the subpoena now that you and Creed ditched your phones.”
Jackson grimaced. “I hadn’t thought of that. It seemed more important to cut any potential ties to the gunmen who have been hot on our trail.”
“That is a priority.” After taking precautions, she logged into the Texas Rangers’ email system. “What’s your password?”
He rattled it off. She accessed his email and found the document.
“We have the subpoena.” She eyed Jackson. “We’ll need to take a picture of this once we obtain our replacement phones.”
“That works.” There was a hint of admiration in his tone. “Thanks for doing that.”
Creed’s appreciation earlier hadn’t meant nearly as much as Jackson’s.
Which only reminded her of the need to keep an emotional distance from him.
No more crying on his shoulder or leaning on him for strength.
They needed to maintain a professional relationship, especially once this was over and they went back to their usual roles, with her just supporting him as well as other rangers.
Turning her attention back to the computer, she looked up the various high schools in Temple. There were more than she’d anticipated, but she was able to narrow down the list by eliminating private schools. She doubted her mother would have been able to afford that.
Nina didn’t know anything about her maternal grandparents, another question she’d intended to ask Uncle Mark during their meeting.
She wished she’d taken more time to dive into her uncle’s background, but he wouldn’t even give her his date of birth, so she thought she’d wait until they spoke in person.
Now, she at least had that much. Hopefully she could find them in the vital records database.
Before she could look at either of the top two high schools on her list, Jackson said, “Looks like our ride is here.”
She glanced up as Creed pulled up in front of the coffee shop in a dark gray SUV, like she’d requested. Closing the laptop, she finished her coffee and stood.
Following Jackson outside, she slid into the back seat. “We need disposable phones,” she reminded them.
“We’ll get them at the mall.” Jackson gestured to his right. “It’s only a few miles away.”
“A mall?” She peered through the window. “Perfect. I need a change of clothes and some toiletries.”
“We can’t stick around too long,” Creed cautioned.
“I only need a few minutes.” She would rather skip the clothes in favor of something to use on her crazy curly hair.
“We’ll get the phones while you shop,” Jackson said. “Do you need cash?”
“I have enough. I hit the ATM prior to heading to visit my uncle.” She flashed him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
True to her word, Nina was back at the phone store within ten minutes. The guys were talking in low voices when she walked up, and she hoped there hadn’t been any trouble.
“Ready?” Jackson asked.
“Yes.” She tucked the bag of toiletries under her arm as she followed them outside. Thinking about the two-hour drive ahead and the need to use the laptop, she held out her hand. “May I please see the phones?”
Creed passed the bag to her.
She was glad to note they’d included car chargers. “Great. I’ll get these up and running. They’ll be charged and ready to go soon.”
As she settled into the back seat, she went to work. Keeping busy with tasks she could readily accomplish was the best way to stay on track.
The danger was over for now, but they were on a tight timeline. They only had the weekend and maybe Monday to figure out what was going on.
And to arrest whoever kept trying to kill them.
* * *
Jackson turned in his seat to check the highway behind them.
Taking the interstate to Temple would get them there faster than side roads, but that also made it more difficult to spot a tail.
Pickup trucks were very popular in Texas.
Especially in black or other dark colors.
Every time he saw one, he tensed until it passed.
Nina’s using a fake company name to obtain the car should provide the cover they needed. But seeing that brand-new truck coming up behind them earlier had rattled him.
He didn’t like the way the two goons had obtained a new set of wheels so quickly. Money was apparently no barrier when it came to taking them out of the picture. And that meant someone in a position of power was involved.
It wouldn’t be the first time he and his fellow rangers had gotten entangled in a situation where political corruption was involved.
That was an area the rangers excelled in dealing with.
But he was having trouble figuring out the connection between Nina’s Uncle Mark and politics.
It made more sense if the gunmen were coming after him and Creed to prevent them from testifying against Diego Sanchez.
Yet if that was the case, how did Mark Lange’s murder fit into the picture?