“This is my fight more than you know,” Max said. “I’m going after them whether you take me with you or not.” Then he walked past Lyle and headed for the Cherokee.

CHAPTER 48

The first part of the drive went by in silence, Spud afraid to speak for fear of reigniting Reed’s anger. When Reed had seen the phone in Pip’s hand, he’d grabbed it and thrown it to the floor, smashing its screen. Then he beat it against the table until it opened and he could remove the battery. He held what was left in front of Spud’s face.

“You know what this is?”

Spud couldn’t speak.

“This is the end of the plan. This is you messing up so fucking bad…”

“I don’t know how—”

“Shut up! Not a word. I need to think.”

Reed was enraged, pacing like a trapped animal, and Spud believed in that moment that Reed might actually try to kill him. Spud still had the knife in his pocket, but if Reed came at him, there’d be no time to pull it out. Spud slid one foot back to give himself a defensive position.

But Reed didn’t attack. “We gotta move,” Reed said. “I mean right now. Pip, go get your boots and coat.”

Spud waited for Reed to give him an order.

“What are you waiting for,” Reed said, throwing one of the backpacks at Spud. “I said we’re moving.”

Spud carried the backpack to his car, but Reed corrected him. “We’re taking the Tahoe.”

“What about—”

“Leave it. They already know you drove here. Maybe they’ll think you walked into the woods and got lost.”

Spud threw his pack into the Tahoe and went back inside, to Pip’s room. Pip sat on his bed, his chin tucked in as if he was crying, but there were no tears. “Hey, little buddy, you okay?”

“I’m scared.”

Spud knelt down in front of the boy. “There’s nothing to be scared about. We’re just going camping. People go camping all the time.”

“Will you be there?” He whispered the question as if he didn’t want Reed to hear.

Spud held one of Pip’s hands. “Of course I’ll be there. I’ll always be there for you, Pip. I promise.” Spud walked to the closet and picked out the warmest non-cotton clothing he could find. “Put this on, okay? It’ll keep you warm.”

Pip slid off the bed and obeyed.

Reed called to them from the front door. “Let’s go!”

As they drove north, Spud regretted not insisting on taking both vehicles to the trailhead. He hadn’t been thinking. If he could have gotten Pip in his car, away from Reed, he could have driven off with Pip. He needed to start thinking ahead. He needed to be smarter.

Maybe he should just kill Reed in the woods—somewhere away from Pip, so that the boy would have no nightmares. He would have Pip and the money and… no plan. Reed was the one who knew how to cross into Canada, and where to go once they got there. He knew how to get new identifications. Spud needed Reed—but Reed didn’t need him. Reed had no reason not to kill Spud once they got into the woods. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? Spud had no leverage—except the money.