Page 101 of Every Which Way

Kenna came awake swinging her arms this time. In a full rage with no intention of letting up. Her wrist clipped the dashboard of a car, and she cried out.

Bruce reached over with his arm across her front, high up by her collarbone, and pushed her back against the seat. “Easy. You’ll hurt yourself.”

They were on the highway, driving somewhere.

“Go back!”

“No.” He didn’t even shake his head.

“I’m gonna kill you. Jax is back there!”

“Easy. The cops pulled up as we left. They’ll get an ambulance out there, and your boy will be fine.”

“And his father?”

Bruce asked, “His dad was there?”

She shifted in the seat, getting out of the cramped way she’d been sitting. He’d covered her lap and her knees with a jacket…after he’d pinched her neck and knocked her out. “Pull over.”

“No.”

“Stop the car, Bruce. I’m getting out.”

“Not with no shoes on you ain’t.”

She should batter him until he pulled over, then kickhimout. Only that was nothing but the bluster of someone who was mad but didn’t have the physical strength to overpower the other person. Weapon. She needed a weapon.

Kenna searched around. Checked the hidden pockets of her dress… “You patted me down?”

“Didn’t want you to run the risk of hurting yourself.”

“I’m more likely to hurt you right now.Whatare you doing?”

He kept his attention on the road in front of them. “My job. Helping you solve your cases, and in this case, helping you get your family back. Isn’t that what you pay me for?”

“Perhaps I made a poor choice.”

“Don’t think you wanna fight me in court for wrongful dismissal. You’ll have to settle, and it’ll cost you.”

Kenna leaned over. “Your enemies would murder you before it even went to trial.”

“We’re doing this my way.”

He knew she was right, but he didn’t want to admit it. “Why would I go along with this when I just left Jax back there in who knows what state, along with his father?” She looked down at her hand and remembered she left her engagement ring in the dresser drawer in the RV. She hadn’t even thought of it until now, but suddenly, it seemed likeeverything. One part of the story, but it seemed to linchpin the entire thing.

More important than a smart watch that would give away her location—which was not on her wrist. When was the last time she’d worn it?

Bruce didn’t know about the necklace, or did he? She needed a second to reach up and flick the switch on the back to transmit her location to Maizie. But the battery didn’t last for hours, so until Maizie knew to start looking for her, there was no point in wasting its life.

He glanced over. “You want your mom back, right?”

She stared at him, aware they were going out of Denver on the freeway. South? Or some other direction. She had no idea. Maybe they were going nowhere in particular. Could Maizie track them? Did the teen know what was happening? Until she got a call from Jax, she might not know that anything was wrong. She wouldn’t think anything was off about Bruce being with Kenna, if she discovered they were together.

“Well?”

“Quiet. I’m plotting how to get away from you.”

He reached over and flipped on the radio, which started playing last century’s greatest rock hits for crusty old ex-CIA officers who were enjoying being back in the US after years of exile.

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