Jeff Abbott - Trust Me

‘And go where?’ Aubrey stayed at Luke’s side. ‘Where are we supposed to hide? How are we supposed to live that way? There’s no rock quite big enough for us to set up housekeeping.’

‘I could have left you to die, Aubrey.’ All the warmth bled out of Eric’s voice. But it wasn’t replaced by anger. Luke heard anguish and bitterness. ‘I gave up everything for you. Even after you dumped me.’

‘Eric, it’s not too late.’

‘I killed a man for you! Jesus, you don’t get a do-over. I killed him.’

‘Under coercion. Under stress.’ Aubrey’s voice went soft, cajoling. ‘You could get everything back, but this is not the way to save our lives.’

‘Give me the gun,’ Luke said.

‘I know you’re a good man at heart, Eric,’ Aubrey said, ‘I know you’re scared. I know what you wanted for you and me. But this isn’t the way…’

Luke moved the light towards Eric’s face, thinking he could blind him, break his resolve. ‘We have to get out of here. Assume they want to flush you out of hiding, force you to tell them where the money is. That means they might be waiting down in the lobby, or the street.’ It wasn’t so different he thought, when he stole food in his runaway days. If you had to hide, you did not hide in an obvious place. ‘We need another way out; we need to hide where they won’t expect us to be.’

‘I have an idea,’ Aubrey said.

Mouser hurried up the stairs and as he hit the door the lights surged back into life.

The power company had overridden the darkness he’d been promised.

No matter. He reached the Crosby apartment, tested the knob. Unlocked. He opened it, scanned the room with his Glock, moved from room to room. A shattered glass, a gush of red wine, a fire extinguisher, blots of blood on the carpet.

The apartment was empty. They had not exited through the lobby; he’d have seen them in the windows as he approached. They must still be in the building.

So where would they hide? A neighbor’s? Unlikely – this wasn’t Aubrey and Eric’s real home, they wouldn’t know the neighbors. So they had to be on the roof or in the basement.

The roof would be a dead end. The basement would offer service exits. Maybe onto a back entrance or alley.

Mouser hurried down to the lobby, then across it till he found the basement entrance, and headed down the stairs. A faint red glow from the emergency lights led downward, the red gleam like a mockery of hell.

‘Trust me, I can cut a deal,’ Eric said. ‘I can reason with them. I’ve been planning on it.’

Of course he was, because he was treating the money like a bulletproof shield, Luke thought. ‘They don’t want to negotiate. They’ll force you to hand over the money and they’ll kill you.’ Luke pushed him along into the depths of the basement. Part of the floor was being renovated into ground-level units, but an open stretch of space at the back contained electrical equipment, a nesting of pipes and a set of industrial water heaters. The disorder created a maze of construction junk, half-walls and maintenance equipment.

The power surged back on.

‘Maybe he’s gone,’ Aubrey said. Luke reached to the switch and killed the lights again.

‘Let’s see if we can wait him out. Eric, give me the gun,’ Luke said.

‘No.’

‘If this is the same guy who’s after me, if he sees you with a gun, he’ll just shoot you. No time for a deal,’ Luke said.

‘I know what I’m doing. I’m keeping the gun. I’m not going to let them hurt Aubrey.’

Luke heard a door open above.

They hid in the labyrinth of pipes, kneeling to the cool concrete floor. In their hiding place Aubrey was further back, then Luke, then Eric, close to the front. Luke raised a finger to his lips.

Luke listened. Hard. A footstep. Another.

In the trickle of the light he peered between the pipes and a black form passed between the far wall and a table of tools. Stopped. Listened.

In the thin red light Eric stood and came out from the hiding place and walked toward the figure. Luke went still. If he yelled he would betray himself and Aubrey. But Eric was already betraying them.

‘Hey,’ Eric said quietly. ‘Night Road?’

The shadow gave no answer.

Luke stifled the urge to run in blind panic. Eric was either going to save them or hand them over to this enemy.

‘I’m Eric Lindoe.’

‘I know who you are.’ It was Mouser. ‘I’ve been carrying your picture in my pocket. I thought I was gonna get a nice vacation in Thailand, chasing you down. How you doing?’ His tone was relaxed, friendly. ‘You look beat up.’

Aubrey closed her hand over Luke’s arm.

‘I’m okay,’ Eric answered.

‘Where’s your girlfriend, Mr Lindoe?’ Mouser asked.

‘She’s someplace safe. You don’t need to worry about her. She’ll stay quiet about this mess. But Luke Dantry’s gone.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘There’s an alley exit – for maintenance delivery – on the other side of the basement. He went out the door.’

‘Luke Dantry was here?’

‘Yes.’

‘How long ago?’ Mouser was already turning to run.

‘Five minutes. I doubt you’ll catch him.’

Silence again. Luke’s heartbeat rattled like wind in a chimney.

Mouser said, ‘You have a lot of explaining to do. You have our money.’

‘Yes, but I’ve kept it safe for you.’

‘That’s a piss-poor interpretation of the situation,’ Mouser said.

‘I know where the money’s hidden. I’d like to trade that information.’

‘Fine. Trade it for your continued breathing. Where’s our money?’

Eric made no answer – there was only the creaking of the building, its bones settling and stirring, the outside hum of traffic, the distant murmur of voices. Luke could feel Aubrey’s breath against his shoulder.

‘Let’s make a deal,’ Eric said after a deep breath. ‘If I give you the money, then you let me walk away. Because I’m done with the Night Road. I want out.’

Mouser’s voice devolved into a low hiss. ‘We’re not negotiating. You tell me where the money is. Or you die. Five. Four. Three.’

‘Okay. Here’s the deal. Immunity for me and my girlfriend, from Henry, from the Night Road. All I did was cause a hiccup in the plan, just to get my girlfriend back. I give you the money. We walk away from each other. I just want out, free and clear.’

‘Except I need more than the money.’

‘What?’

‘This British woman, this Jane. She’s the Night Road’s enemy,’ Mouser said. ‘We need to find her, find out how she knows about us. Because that’s the ticket – ain’t nobody supposed to know about us, about what we’re planning, about Hellfire.’

‘I have no idea who she is. All I can give you is the money.’ And then the knife twisted. ‘Luke Dantry knows. He’s figured out you’re the people he found for his stepfather. He won’t stay quiet.’

‘We’ll call Henry, we’ll talk to him on the phone together.’

Between the pipes Luke saw Eric sag in relief.

‘Except.’ The word hung in the air like a sword ready to slash. ‘I would like to know a couple of details.’

‘What?’

‘You and your lady friend were on a flight manifest to Thailand. Now. How the hell did that happen if you didn’t get on the plane?’

Eric was silent.

‘You buy a ticket?’

‘Yes. But we didn’t use the tickets.’

‘But you don’t get on the manifest unless you use the ticket. How did you get on that list?’

‘I don’t know. Clerical error. What does it matter?’ A panicky edge touched Eric’s voice.

‘It matters. Somebody’s trying very hard to protect you, Eric. Somebody with the rather impressive power to alter a flight manifest. Tell me who’s protecting you, Eric.’