She shot Shane a glance and the atmosphere seemed to thicken between them. She blew out a large breath. Nodded. Sleep made sense. She was exhausted and she didn’t want to think. She closed her laptop and found a couch where she could lie down.

30

Ethan opened his phone to look for the nearest drive-thru along this deserted stretch of highway when he saw he had an email notification from his boss. Sneering, he clicked on the message, expecting either gossip about the arrogant prick Eric Pierce who had hopefully died of his wounds or a request to cut short his vacation and come in to work as they were now short-staffed.

Imagining the look on his boss’s face when he discovered who Ethan really was, and how Ethan had used his job to help evade capture? Ha. He felt a surge of anticipation while the message downloaded. Then utter panic had him careening onto the shoulder and punching the brakes.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He hit the disconnect button and sat breathing hard as sweat dampened his brow. Blood roared through his ears until he couldn’t hear anything except the frantic beat of his own heart.

Fuuuuuck.

His VPN should hold up but the Feds might be able to locate the cell tower his signal had jumped onto. He needed to move. He needed to get as far away from here as possible. Still, he didn’t go anywhere. He examined the photograph again. And fury grew until it was lava punching through his veins. They’d stolen his money. Alex Parker and that bitch had broken into his home and stolen his crypto. It would take them time to hack into the wallets but he didn’t kid himself they wouldn’t be able to. Parker had the resources and brains to eventually figure it out. All that work and strife and those motherfuckers had ripped him off.

Ethan didn’t believe they’d give it back. Any attempt to negotiate would be a trap designed for him to tumble into and then back to jail. Death row was not somewhere he intended to spend the rest of his life.

Maybe if he could get to Africa or some country that didn’t have an extradition treaty with the US. Take this bitch with him. Negotiate from there. He had enough online connections that he could turn around and get on a boat and have a new identity arranged before they hit port on the other side of the ocean.

His hands wrung the steering wheel.

Red and blue lights flickered in his rearview and he realized a patrol car was behind him.

“Shit.”

He watched the cop slowly get out of his vehicle, adjust his hat and start walking toward him.

Ethan rolled the window down an inch as he rested the pistol out of sight.

“Sorry, Officer. I pulled over to check my cell phone.”