Chapters (46)
- COVER PAGE
- PRAISE
- DEDICATION
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- SNEAK PEEK: EXIT .45
They brought the kitchen table outside and positioned it in the shade. The conversation had dried up. They sat quietly eating, and every so often Leo would reach across and spear something from Forsyth’s plate, or pick a piece of lint off his shoulder and wave it into the breeze. Vincent was pretty sure it was the most uncomfortable meal he had ever eaten. Afterward, Leo went and sat with the old man in the living room. There was another game show on—Trivial Pursuit, maybe—and Vincent could hear them answering questions, calling out a letter between A and D. Erin stayed outside while Vincent and Forsyth cleaned up.
Vincent said, ‘How did you get hold of the truck?’
‘Freeman was going to do it, but he pulled out a couple of weeks beforehand. I think the stress got to him. But it was easy, really. I mean, once I’d decided what to do. It got dropped off in El Paso—they bring a lot of product across at Juárez—so Leo and I drove out there and picked it up, and then I just brought it back here. They’d rigged it with GPS, but I went over it with a scanner and put the unit on another vehicle. So that would’ve been fun for someone. Tracking that down.’
Vincent nodded at the barn. ‘That’s thirty million dollars’ worth of trouble sitting out there. Thirty million, less whatever you’ve shot into the old man’s arm. You can’t stay here. They’ll find you. If we managed it, someone else will, too.’
‘We’re getting out tomorrow.’
‘Leo doesn’t seem to think so.’
‘I’ll change his mind.’
‘I think you better. And it’s worth telling him that not everyone who visits will be as friendly as we are. I were you, I’d call a lawyer, ask them to start negotiating a deal for you. Maybe you can argue you were trapped, all you wanted to do was keep thirty million bucks’ worth of junk off the street, maybe they’ll find you a place in witness protection.’
‘Right. Or maybe they’ll think prison’s a better option.’
Vincent said, ‘I’d take the chance. These people are researching springs for soup cans, make them wobble right, or whatever the hell they do. Which tells me they’ve got more money and resources than I can probably fathom. And with that much money, you don’t need rules or scruples or decency: you just pay for the world you want. So why wait for those kinds of people to catch up with you?’
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-SEVEN
Erin said, ‘You drive.’
She tossed him the keys as they walked to the Range Rover, and Vincent got behind the wheel. Erin climbed in next to him, and they sat there a minute looking at the house.
She said, ‘I still don’t know what I’m going to do.’