Page 79 of Close Pursuit

She looked up quickly. “Why?”

He replied sardonically, “I have something to talk with you about, and it may make you unhappy. I thought I’d borrow a page out of the good sister’s play book and do it with Dawn present so you can’t yell at me.”

What did he think would make her shouting mad?

“Will you come with us?” he asked tersely.

Was he nervous at the idea of her turning him down? As if she could deny him anything. “Sure, if it’s that important to you.”

She went to Dawn’s room to fetch the baby bag, but when she returned, Alex was gone. “Where’d he go?” she asked Sister Mary Harris.

The elderly woman smiled broadly. “He’s installing Dawn’s car seat in his BMW. And he’s none too happy about having such a thing in his fancy sports car.”

Katie smiled back, amused. She picked up the dozing baby and followed the nun to the parking garage beneath the building. Alex was just emerging from the back seat his car when they strolled up.

She commented lightly, “This is the beginning of the end for you.”

“How’s that?” he retorted.

“Baby seats. Bottles. Diapers. Before long, you’ll be coaching Little League soccer and going to PTA meetings. Another bachelor playboy bites the dust.”

The nun cackled and Alex scowled. As he held the door for her, he muttered, “I’m not going down without a fight.”

“We’ll see about that, big guy,” she replied breezily.

As Alex helped Sister Mary Harris into the front passenger seat, she said, “I believe you’ve met your match, young man.”

Tight-jawed, Alex slid into the driver’s seat and guided the car to the street. Very quickly, Katie noticed Alex watching the rear view mirror an inordinate amount.

“Problem?” she asked.

“Yes, in fact.”

She swiveled in her seat to face Dawn’s car seat which allowed her to peek out the back window surreptitiously. An SUV with blacked out windows was maneuvering in and around cars behind them a little too aggressively to be innocent.

“Are you followed everywhere you go?” she asked him.

“This is worse than usual.”

“Did I lead them to you?”

“Nah. The CIA has always known where I live.”

Alex sped up smoothly, and before long, the BMW was weaving in and out of traffic like a stunt vehicle. Clutching the wooden cross hanging around her neck, Sister Mary Harris started to pray quietly. Katie kept an eye on Dawn who, so far, was sleeping through the increasingly aggressive ride.

They accelerated onto the Beltway—a major highway circling Washington, D.C.—and the SUV flew onto the Beltway behind them. Alex dived off an exit at the last second and swerved onto surface streets once more. He ran red lights and screeched around corners, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to shake the big vehicle behind him.

“What do they want?” Katie demanded in exasperation.

Alex bit out, “Maybe just to harass us, Maybe to kill us. A high-speed auto crash would look like an accident.”

She didn’t bother to tell him to be careful. He was an outstanding driver, much better than her, and he knew full well he had a baby on board.

A screech of locked tires and a cacophony of blaring horns followed by a car-on-car crunch behind them ended the chase as quickly as it began. The SUV had broadsided a truck in an intersection, mangling its front end.

Alex decelerated and Katie started to breathe again.

“Who was that?” she asked.

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