car follows us.”
A break sounded like a very good idea. The fast-food chain they stopped at had a drive-through, so Nell was surprised when Reid told her to park. The gray car not only followed them onto the exit ramp, it turned into the restaurant behind them. By the time Nell eased her Fiat into the parking slot and turned off the engine, the gray car was moving past them toward the drive-through lane. Nell caught a glimpse of the driver in her rearview mirror and gasped.
“What?” Reid asked.
“The driver of the car that’s been following us. It’s the woman who came up to me in the café and asked me to autograph that book. I’m sure of it.”
REID TURNED TO face Nell and blocked her view of the car. “Don’t look at her again and stay right where you are. I’m going to get out and come around to your door.”
Nell’s mind raced almost as fast as her heart while Reid took his time extricating himself from the front seat and circling the front of the car. She summoned up the image of the woman who’d approached her on the sidewalk and compared it to the quick glimpse she’d gotten of the driver. The same hair, the glint of gold at her ear. It was her all right. Though Nell badly wanted to, she didn’t look at the gray car again. Another vehicle drove past. In the rearview mirror she could see it was a big SUV with at least half a Little League baseball team packed into it. In her peripheral vision, she saw it follow the gray car into the drive-through lane.
Then Reid opened her door and extended his hand to help her out. When it closed over hers, the effect on her system was instantaneous. She stilled in her seat. All thought of the autograph lady faded from her mind as it filled with Reid. Just the sight of her hand lost in his had all of her senses heightening. She noticed the contrasts first. His hand was larger, broader, and his skin made hers look even paler. His palms were hard. She felt the pressure of each one of his fingers as they tensed on hers. There was power there. Danger. It pulled at her in a way nothing else ever had. Her body heated so quickly the hot afternoon sun felt cool on her skin. When she looked up to meet his eyes, she saw the same intensity that she felt in the grip of his hand. The gray of his irises had darkened. His hand tightened on hers and for a moment she thought he would help her up and then right into his arms.
She had to find out. Her mind was already racing forward, anticipating what would happen when her body was pressed fully to his, what she would feel when his mouth closed over hers.
Before she could move, he stepped back and shifted his gaze over the top of the car. Then he dropped her hand and closed the door. She made some kind of sound, but he was already moving around the front of the car. Biting down hard on her lip, Nell desperately tried to gather her wits. The time it took for him to insert himself into the front seat again helped. A little. But her heart pounded so hard and so fast she could hardly hear him when he finally spoke.
“She’s gone around the corner, and she’s trapped by the two cars that pulled in behind her. She’s probably expecting us to go in.”
His words and the brusque tone helped her to focus on reality. And on the woman who’d followed them from D.C. A woman who had played a role in nearly killing her sister.
Gripping the steering wheel, she forced herself to relive that horrifying moment when she was racing toward Piper, hoping and praying that she’d get to her before that car did. That did the trick. What she was feeling about Reid and what she wanted to do about it had to be shoved to the back burner for now. They had bigger and much more dangerous fish to fry.
“She can’t afford to stay too close or to follow us into the restaurant. She has to be careful I don’t recognize her,” she said.
“Good point,” Reid acknowledged.
“Still she’s taking a risk. We could leave right now and be out of sight by the time she gets through the drive-through. But there may be another reason why she can afford to let us out of her sight for a few minutes.”
“What are you thinking?”
Nell turned to face him. “She might not be our only tail. And you’re thinking that, too. Aren’t you? That’s why we’re still sitting here instead of going into the restaurant, isn’t it?”
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
“I should have thought of it sooner,” she said.
“Why would you?”
“Because one of my guilty pleasures is watching TV shows about crime fighters. I’m addicted to this one about this ex-CIA agent who’s been burned from his job and is working for private clients in Miami. He and his pals use the double-tail strategy all the time. Police use it, too.”
“So does the Secret Service,” Reid said in a dry tone. “Let’s put your theory to the test. If I’d set up the double tail, the second car would have pulled to the shoulder on the interstate and will be waiting to pick us up when we return. Back out and use the entrance to get us out of here.”
Nell started the car, shot it into Reverse, then drove out the same way they’d come in. Turning left, she headed back toward the interstate. Three cars were waiting in a line to make a turn onto the highway. Other than that, there was no traffic, and no one had followed them out of the restaurant. “We’re clear.”
When she put on her signal to turn onto the interstate ramp, Reid said, “Keep going. You have a GPS system in the car, right?”
She glanced at him as she reached for the button to activate it. “What’s the plan?”
“My guess is that the second tail is waiting for us near the entrance ramp, and your autograph hound won’t panic until she picks up her drive-through order and notices that our car is gone. Her first call will be to the second tail. Keep your eye on the restaurant in your rearview mirror, while I find us a back-road route to Albany.”
“Albany?” It was her turn to feel surprised.
Reid’s fingers were busy on the console. “Just as soon as we’re sure no one is following us, we’re going to use an hour of the forty-four or so we have left to pay a visit to Deanna Lewis.”
“She’s still in a coma.”
He pushed a button. “True. But I’d like to see her in person and talk to the staff. If we’d stayed on the interstate, we would have had to drive around Albany. This way our tail or tails won’t know about our visit. Any sign of the gray car yet?”
She checked the rearview mirror. “No. And the three cars exiting from the toll area all headed in the direction of the restaurant. We’re still clear.”
“Turn left at that intersection ahead.”
Once she made the turn, Reid pulled out his cell. “Keep your eye out. I’m going to text gray car’s license plate to Duncan.” After a moment, he continued, “Can you describe the woman who asked you for the autograph?”
“Sure.” After glancing in the rearview mirror again, Nell pictured in her mind the woman who’d come up to her in the café. “Long dark hair pulled back from her face with a gold clip. Not pretty, but very attractive. Early to mid-fifties, but she takes some
