Page 79 of Final Approach
And now she needed to go visit with her sister, check on her father, and see where Ethan and Aunt Wendy were. Sometimes family was hard. But they were hers and she loved them. Still, sometimes when family was hard, running away was attractive.
She grimaced and shoved the thoughts from her head. She’d never run away from anything in her life. She sure wouldn’t start now.
ANDREW COULDN’T PUT THECONVERSATIONwith Kristine out of his head. Of course. But he made a valiant effort as he wound his way back to Erik Leary’s home. He voice-texted Nathan to let him know he was on the way. He glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed the black SUV that had been behind him since he’d left the hospital.
He slowed to see what the vehicle would do. It passed him at the next opportunity and he shook his head. He was acting paranoid. Maybe not without good reason, but still...
The white car that had been behind the black SUV stayed back a good distance.
At the four-way stop, he came to a full stop.
And the white car behind him slammed into him. The airbag deployed and hit him in the face. Pain radiated from his right cheek and down into his neck.
The driver’s door opened. “Dude, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
Andrew took a second to take inventory and decided other thana little whiplash and a whole lot of flowing adrenaline, he was relatively unhurt. “Yeah, I think so.”
He turned to face the reckless driver, only to find himself staring into the barrel of a gun. “I was going to just kill you,” the man said, “but I decided to have some fun first. Get out.”
“What?”
“Out!”
Andrew ordered his brain to kick into gear. He debated whether he should reach for his own gun when the barrel of his attacker’s weapon rested against his temple. “What do you want?”
“You dead. Eventually. But we have some business to take care of first.”
“Why?”
“Because—” A pause. “No, I think I’ll let you figure it out.”
“Figure what out?”
“Get out of the car.”
Andrew obeyed only because it meant the guy had to move back, shifting the weapon from pressing against his head to merely aiming at it.
Sirens sounded in the distance, and for a split second, his attacker was distracted.
Andrew punched up his arm against the other guy’s forearm and the weapon spun out of his grasp. His curses rang out over the sirens getting closer.
The attacker dove for the gun and Andrew tackled him, his still healing shoulder from the gun battle in the woods protesting the move. He ignored it, ducked under a swing from the guy, and threw his own punch that glanced off a cheekbone.
The man let out a low grunt, shot to his feet, and ran for the white car with the crumpled hood. Andrew went after him, but the world tilted and he slipped and fell to his knees. By the time the dizziness passed, the car had disappeared. Andrew rolled into a sitting position as two police vehicles roared to a stop. He stayed seated, forearms resting on his knees. Okay, maybe the jolt from being rear-endedhad shaken him up more than he thought. It was surprising how hard a little car hitting an SUV felt. But the total unexpectedness of it had caught him completely off guard.
Footsteps poured toward him and he looked up. He didn’t recognize the officers who hurried his way, hands on their weapons. “Are you all right?” the nearest one called.
“Yeah. I think so. Can one of you go after that white car you must have just passed? I need him in custody.”
The one nearest his car waved that he had it, hopped back in his vehicle, and took off in the direction Andrew indicated. The other officer called in an ambulance. Andrew held his head and tried to process. Someone wanted him dead.
Him.But why? Had Showbiz found him? Seemed like a logical assumption. And yet ...
First the hijacking that looked to be targeting Kristine, then someone going after Hank, and now this. So, were they wrong and the hijacking had been aimed athim? But the connection to her mother’s incident refuted that. Maybe? Or had the Serpentine Network put it together that he was helping protect Hank and decided to come afterhimto get to Hank? Or was there something else he was missing? Probably. But what?
The world had gone mad. That was clearly the only explanation possible. Or Showbiz had found him.
The other officer returned the same time the ambulance came screaming up the road. Andrew groaned, his head starting to hurt. He texted Nathan the very short version of what had happened and said he’d be at the hospital. He didn’t think he needed to go but knew his supervisor would insist, so Andrew wouldn’t bother protesting.
