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“Son.” Al smiled and sighed. “Been a long time.”
Oh, hell no. Not long enough. Jace raised his gun. “You’re following me. Why?”
Al held up his hands. “Whoa, stop. It’s not what you think. I’m not here to hurt you...”
Not like all those times in the past. “Yeah? My boss told me you were helping him, but I don’t trust you. You’re just passing through? Why, so you can tag my location so the rest of them can nail me?”
“I’m here to protect you.”
Jace narrowed his gaze. “Right.”
Al opened his jacket. “Look, I’m not carrying. I can’t, I’m a convicted felon. I’m not here to hurt you. Wanted to give you a heads-up. They’re on to you, and Marcus gave orders through Mike to follow you and your lady friend.”
Slowly he lowered the gun, still not trusting him. “And you know this?”
“They don’t know you’re a Fed. I do. Did some digging after I got out of prison so I could find you. Apologize for all the crap I did to you.” Al sighed. “I didn’t tell them your real identity, son. But that day in the garage, I realized you were undercover. I went to Mike, started hanging out with the gang again after you fled, trying to get information. And I went to the Feds to tell them I wanted to work for them as a confidential informant.”
Jace still couldn’t trust his old man. “Why should I believe you?”
Al eyed the gun. “Can you put that away if you don’t plan to shoot me?”
Jace holstered the gun but left it in easy reach.
“I guess if I were in your shoes I wouldn’t trust me, either. But I’m asking you to now. For her sake.” Al pointed to Kara. “They don’t know yet who you are, just that Marcus wants you and her. They’ve been following you all this time, asked me to ride ahead because Mike’s bike needed repairs. Wanted me to keep tailing you. I’d say you have an hour at the most before they come after you.”
Not that he truly trusted his father, but Al was right about Kara. “Why did Lance attack Kara?”
“Not sure. Like I said, there’s a lot they’re not telling me. I know Lance returned early from his trip up north to deal with Kara. That’s about it. Marcus has his inner circle and I’m not part of it. Been gone too long. I also know they’re not worried about me losing you. I think they wanted me to ride ahead to lose me, not to find you. They know where you are, Jace.”
He thought fast. “They must have a tracker on the vehicle somehow. Maybe they put it on the SUV while we were at the motel.”
He eyed Al’s big touring bike with the plush leather seat, saddlebags and sissy bar. Same bike his old man had when he’d been arrested more than twenty years ago. Looked to be in good shape, too.
“You really want to make up for all the crap you did to me? Give me your bike and take the SUV.”
Al blinked. “You want me to ride in that cage?”
“It must have a tracker on it. That’s how they’re following me. I don’t know when or how they did it, but it has to be it. You can drop it off at...” Jace consulted his phone and named a gas station off the interstate. “Then I’d vanish, if I were you.”
Al hesitated a minute. Nodded. “You can have my bike but leave the SUV here. I’ll get a ride. I didn’t manage prison for all those years without knowing how to make my way around a tight spot.”
Waving to Kara, he then went to the car, retrieved their backpacks as Al removed his pack from the bike. After Jace secured their belongings, he felt an unexpected surge of emotion.
How many years had he longed for his father’s respect while growing up? If not for Rafe and his family, he’d never have known love or compassion. Al had changed in prison. Rafe tried to warn him.
As Kara made her way toward them, he shook his head. “Still can’t believe you’re working for Rafe.”
Al smiled. “Let’s just say the moment I figured out my son was undercover with the DP as a federal officer, I wanted to help all I could and do anything to protect him, keep him safe.”
His father’s smile dropped as Kara joined them. “I did a pretty crappy job with him growing up. I know I can’t make up for that, but I had to try.”
Al shuffled his feet as Jace explained to Kara the change in plans. Probably his father wondered if Jace would introduce him. Jace licked his lips.
“Kara, this is...my dad. Al Beckett.”
Al stuck out a hand, which she shook. Kara didn’t look shocked or confused, but graciously said hello. Relief surged through him.
Al glanced backward. “You’d best get going, before those fools catch up to you.”
