She glanced over at the lump on the floor. “What was he sent here to do?”
“Either kidnap you or kill you.”
She went pale. He hated having to be so blunt, but it was the only way to get her to move.
“Why?”
“This isn’t the place to explain. Let’s go.” He grabbed her keys and her hand and headed to the back stairs. This time she cooperated. Her car was in the garage, so Jed unlocked the garage door and flipped on the light, his gun raised. He checked out the garage and cleared it and the Chevelle before letting Elena climb into the passenger side.
He opened the garage door, checking the outside thoroughly, then got in and started the engine, wincing as the Chevelle roared to life. Any other time he’d feel a thrill at the 396 engine powering up. Now he wished she whispered like a kitten.
But the Harley wouldn’t be any quieter and he wanted the safety of four doors and a roof to protect Elena. Plus the Chevy had some power behind her—if they needed to move, she’d haul some serious ass.
He pulled out, dropped the garage door down and locked it, then inched to the end of the alley. It was the middle of the night, and despite the rally, traffic was light, so he pulled onto the main street, keeping his eye on the rearview mirror to see if they were being followed. When he’d made enough twists and turns and gone in circles enough times he was certain he didn’t have a tail, he pulled out his phone.
“What’s wrong?” Grange asked as soon as he picked up the phone.
“Hey, Grange, it’s Jed.”
“You can’t talk freely.”
“No kidding. It’s been a while. Just wanted to let you know I was in town. And hey, I know it’s short notice, but my friend and I need a place to stay.”
“You’re compromised. You need a safe house.”
“I know. We kind of got run out of our place. If you can’t, I understand.”
Grange sighed. “I’ll give you directions and an address. We’ll pick you up.”
“You’re a lifesaver. I knew I could count on you.”
He gave Jed the address and directions. It wasn’t far from their current location.
“We’ll be there soon. Thanks.”
“Keep eyes in the back of your head,” Grange said.
“You got it.”
Jed hung up and started the trek south. Miles of shoreline flew by on his left, houses and hotels on his right. After a while he plunged into darkness. He hoped he didn’t pass the place.
“So that was a friend of yours on the phone?” Elena asked.
“Yeah. Someone I trust.”
“Jed.”
“Yeah.”
“You need to tell me what’s happening.”
“I will. Once I get you safe.” She was just going to have to trust him for now. And he was going to have to make up one hell of a bunch of lies once they got to Grange’s place. Hopefully Grange would help him with that, because he had no idea what he was going to tell her.
He’d like to tell her the truth—that she had an uncle—family that cared about her and worried for her safety. But that wasn’t his call to make. If Grange wanted to stay out of the family picture, that was his decision.
Jed intended to do his job, which was to keep her safe, and that was all he was going to do.
Though he’d just done more than that tonight, hadn’t he?