“I’ll be honest with you. You’ve got a nasty ten years ahead of you before you get the needle. And you are getting a needle. Think about it, death row at San Quentin with Scott Peterson, your brother Leonard, and the rest of the tattooed mutts. Within your first week, Big Bubba will make you his wife and swap you with all of his friends for packs of cigarettes.”

“Shut the fuck up, McBride.”

“Give me the real GPS coordinates and I’ll give you another option.”

“What other option?”

“A bullet to the head.”

Ernie said nothing,

“See, it’s like this,” Nathan continued. “I’m not turning you over to the FBI just yet. I’ve decided you’re coming with us to the coordinates and if you’re lying about them, we’ll start over. I’ve still got fifty-seven minutes left with you.” He made eye contact with Grangeland, who looked stressed.

Harv jumped in. “It costs the State of California a million dollars to go through the death-row appeals process. Isn’t that money better spent somewhere else?”

“I can’t argue with that,” she said, “but I need to be insulated from what you’re doing here.”

“Special Agent Grangeland, consider yourself insulated. I don’t care how you deal with it. Plug your nose, look the other way, pretend it never happened, whatever works.”

“I’ve got your word you won’t take me in?” Ernie asked, closing the deal.

“Marine to Marine. Now give me the real coordinates.”

Chapter 24

Chapter  24

After dropping Harv, Grangeland, and Bridgestone at Sacramento Executive Airport, Nathan pulled his cell and looked at his watch. It would be a little after 0700, Eastern time. He dialed his father’s mobile number.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Dad.”

“Nathan. Are you okay? The explosion and fire at the truck stop is all over the news.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.…”

“Look, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye. For what it’s worth, I feel like it’s my fault. I have trouble trusting people. Trusting you.”

“Nonsense. You’re my son. Just because we don’t always agree on things doesn’t mean we can’t trust each other.”

“I need to trust you. Now more than ever.”

“You can.”

“What I’m about to tell you can’t go any further. Tell no one. Absolutely no one else can know. It’s life-and-death, Dad. My life, and Harv’s.”

“What’s happened?”

“I need your word.”

“You don’t have to ask for that.”

“Your word.” He heard his dad sigh.

“Okay, I give you my word.”